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I have eggs! a. cacatuoides, first spawn

lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
The juvenile pair of cacatuoides I bought two weeks ago decided to spawn in their quarantine tank. They are still young, so time will tell how they manage the whole parenting thing on this first go around. I am excited none the less. I was not expecting a spawn so soon. I have dried cyclops, frozen baby brine and the tank is rich with biofilm, infusoria and leaf litter. I ordered cultures of vinegar eels and microworms last week but they wont likely come in time. I dont have any questions yet really. Mostly just wanted to share my excitement. <3
 
Messages
36
Location
AZ
YAY! Congrats!!
Good luck with them.
With most dwarfs it usually takes about 3 tries before they get the whole parenting thing.
The female may have nothing to do with the male and beat him up the protect the fry so be careful!
 

Andy452

Member
Messages
39
I had a similar experience with a pair of Agassizii who bread in the quarantine tank, it took them a few tries but I did in the end get a successful spawn which are now in a grow out tank. :)

I highly recommend baby brine shrip (BBS) as food for fry. Hatching your own is well worth the effort.
 

Siggi

Member
Messages
86
Location
Manteigas, Guarda, Portugal
Hi, everybody.

Congrats on the spawn.
It's not unusual to have spawns in quarantine tanks. The parents are more isolated without predation, no current and often no lighting...
I just wanted to add that brine shrimp are normally too big for newly hatched Apistos.
In the first 2-3 days they'll live off the yolk sacks - them another 3-4 days they'll feed on biofilm and infusoria.
They need to be at least a week or so to be able to take BBS, but when they are big enough for them it's a great food source - a complete aminal, crustacean, with all it's internal organs. VERY small, but nevertheless a whole animal, so it contains all it's nutrients.
So, with Apistos you can begin setting up the Artemia hatchery when the fry are 2 to 3 days after hatching.

Good luck.
 

lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
Thanks everyone! It appears nothing hatched this time around, but no big surprise there. The female is out and about in the tank again, acting frisky. They are at the end of their 3rd week of QT. Another week or two of forcing myself to be patient, then assuming nothing unsavory develops, they will get to move into their permanent tank. It is a mature tank, so there should be plenty of goodies to snack on in addition to whatever cultures I manage to get going. Started attempt #2 at getting an infusoria culture going. The microworms and vinegar eels have not come in the mail yet. I've gone back and forth on whether the brine shrimp would be worth the trouble but it sounds like I should go for it. I felt like managing something that grows in salt water would be more difficult to than freshwater critters like daphnia, or stuff like the vinegar eels and microworms that are more "set and forget". I've been watching videos on the brine shrimp and listening to all y'all talk about em. This hatchery (in the picture) seems pretty simple, and since they hatch fast i could just set it up whenever a spawn happens, and put it away the rest of the time.
 

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Messages
36
Location
AZ
Also think about golden pearls as fry food.
I don't have any experience with them but you might want to look into them.
Just an idea. :)
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
Also think about golden pearls as fry food.I don't have any experience with them but you might want to look into them.
You need to have a fry food that moves, like BBS or Banana worms etc., this elicits the feeding response from the fry and then they are much more likely to have a go at dried food etc fed at the same time.

cheers Darrel
 

Ben Rhau

Apisto Club
Messages
566
Location
San Francisco
Brine shrimp are pretty easy and more nutritious than microworms and vinegar eels. The hatchery dish you showed works great if you have a small number of tanks, say, less than 5. I have one and hatch every 3 days, since BBS is excellent food for the adults as well.
 

Andreas

Member
Messages
99
Believe it or not I'm using the same 2-liter bottles I was using 25 years ago. I miss the old round-bottom bottles.
How do you do you hatch baby brine shrimp? Sorry I still have a lot to learn and it seams you have a lot of knowledge
 

Apistoguy52

Active Member
Messages
275
Start with water, add salt, add brine shrimp cysts, and use air (through an airline) to keep the water moving. Harvest live baby brine shrimp 18-30 hours later (temperature dependant). I made it a few years hatching them in a spaghetti sauce jar before I graduated to the 2L bottle.
 

yukondog

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
664
Location
N.W. Fl.
You Tube Hatching Brine Shrimp, it really is very easy, like Mike I'm still using the same 2 liter bottle for years.
 

Andreas

Member
Messages
99
Start with water, add salt, add brine shrimp cysts, and use air (through an airline) to keep the water moving. Harvest live baby brine shrimp 18-30 hours later (temperature dependant). I made it a few years hatching them in a spaghetti sauce jar before I graduated to the 2L bottle.
Thanks
 

ARJDA

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
9
Congratulations Lexi. BBS will be the best bet for raising your fry. There are numerous videos on raising them on YouTube and in forums. It is not hard. The best thing is that any excess can be frozen and used as the fry get a little bigger. I actually hatch additional batches just for freezing. Just remember to thoroughly rinse them in cool, fresh water.

By the way, saying that Mike Wise has a lot of knowledge is an understatement. Mike knows probably more on the topic of dwarf cichlids than anyone else in the hobby. Mike, I hope I made you blush but it's true.
 

lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
Congratulations Lexi. BBS will be the best bet for raising your fry. There are numerous videos on raising them on YouTube and in forums. It is not hard. The best thing is that any excess can be frozen and used as the fry get a little bigger. I actually hatch additional batches just for freezing. Just remember to thoroughly rinse them in cool, fresh water.

By the way, saying that Mike Wise has a lot of knowledge is an understatement. Mike knows probably more on the topic of dwarf cichlids than anyone else in the hobby. Mike, I hope I made you blush but it's true.

I went ahead and ordered the little hatchery and eggs yesterday. Should be more than enough for my two little pairs. Glad to know extra can be frozen, that's awesome. I hate wasting things! Mike has been immensely helpful and patient with my incessant newbie questions. Hehe
 

JennyP

New Member
Messages
6
My cacautoides frys are always able to eat fry foods like first bites. My first batch i didn't know they had laid eggs, so, they ate powdered flakes until i could get my hands on live food.

But, i usually give them copepodes, and vinegar eels from start. Vinegar eels are bigger than bbs, but their shape is easier for them to eat from.
 

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