Well, after moving from FL to GA, I am really excited to see how the breeding goes up here. Its still warm in south GA, but not as much as FL. I always believed that Fl is just hot too long in a year, and with the lack of a cooler winter the parent fish can not really get in the condition of spring spawning the natural way, like other fish would with a cool down period where the weather all around gets noticeable cooler.

Well, I have been conditioning my ranchu and ryukin, and my calico ranchu girl and calico ryukin really getting fatter by the minute. But the fry didn't come from them - they came out of the oranda rubbermaid! The funny thing is that a day prior to the spawning I put my two new baby lemonheads and calico in the rubbermaid after their quarantine time is over. Wouldn't you know, those lemonheads aren't so "baby" anymore! They are both males, and the more aggressive one is the father of the fry. Mother being one of my panda orandas. Those were the only two females being chased.
So, they laid eggs in the roots of my papyrus plant, which I planned on repotting into a bigger container. Guess that has to wait now. The plant is in a 40 gl rubbermaid for now, with an airstone/sponge filter, and hatched yesterday and today. Its kind of hard to tell how many there are - the rubbermaid is pitch black, the plant roots are black and green from algae, and the container is under a roof. Really hard to count. But I saw 4 swimming near my hand in one tiny corner of the container, and I hope I have at least 50 or so. I'll check it out with a flash light tomorrow.

Anyway, hatchery is brewing, and I remember now how much I hated it when half the shrimp eggs are stuck above the water level in the hatching container due to the current from the airstone. Sigh....but, oh well, who cares! I GOT FRY!
Now, ryukin, move it already! Those are the ones I REALLY want fry from. I have a nice batch together of nicely humped calicos, which is rather hard to find. The calicos with a good hump are not so easy to breed than the usual red/white ones, and I am really happy with the group I have. So, now, get going!

COngrats on the fry! get some light over them and get us some pictures! Orandas are my FAVORITE! You are so lucky to have babies! especially now that some have a good chance of being lemonheads!!! Thats so exciting!

GOod luck, and please get pictures soon, I can't wait to see the little guys and girls grow up!

That is GREAT!!!!! SUPER! I hope you are soon innundated with wonderful fry full of promise!

As far as the shrimp factories - I have become quite an expert at that. I use V8 bottles - they have some curves in the bottles. I add in the water, then the shrimp eggs. AFter about 10 minutes, when the eggs are fully wetted and twirling in the water, THEN I add the salt. This prevents the beginning of the "sticking eggs".

I have a 60 watt light bulb lit near them. Light is essential.

After they start to hatch, I use a turkey baster to suck out one or two glops of shrimp. Do not replace the salt water sucked out. The hatched shells will catch in the grooves of the bottle so that the next time you go to get shrimp, there are no shells to worry about!

Whoop! I hope those veils are beauties, too!

Thanks for the tip with the V8 bottles, Carol. Unfortunately, that means I have to empty those bottles first, which means I have to drink that stuff. And I HATE that taste! Oh, well, all for my fish.

I do the same with the brine shrimp eggs - first water, then eggs, and a little bit later the salt. In this case,salt goes in 2 hours later, since I...well.... forgot!

How exciting!!! Congrats Andrea!

Suggestion. (drink the V8 Splash, or the V8 Fusion) those ones are much better than the straight up vegetable crap. lol.

Plus, some is pretty good, get the very strong fruitty flavors, strawberry kiwi and tropical blend are pretty good.

ACtually, I have found that my pomogranate juice bottles, cranberry bottles, etc. all have that same shape. I have 6 of them. I drilled out the caps and set them on some 6in PVC pieces. I drilled a hole in the side of the PVC so the hose can run out to the airpump. Don't forget the checkvalve so when you pull the hose off the airpump to harvet your shrimp the water does not run out!

I LIKE V8.... the spicy one. It is good. But too much is too much. It also makes a WONDERFUL base for a stew - nice and thick and tomatoey. What about Bloody (or virgin) Mary drinks? Can't beat V8 with some lime and tobasco for that! There are lots of ways to use that stuff....

congrats on your new fry!

Congrats Andrea! Hope all goes well with those fry babies. Hope to see some pics soon.

Congrats Andrea

Andrea,Congrats oln your fry.Can't wait to hear more,and see a few pics of them/

Pictures, huh? With a dark tub, and my camera? Not any time soon, I am afraid....
Brine shrimp hatched after just one day in the salt solution, and fish went after them like crazy (what else is new?? ). I ordered same frozen daphnia to give them some variety. The papyrus also contains a ton of little organism that they can munch on.

Now, I go and work on some little ryukin....

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..........

:

Trade-sies?

Congrats Andrea!! and a Panda as a parent..wow...I cant wait to see pics!!

V8 is really good in pasta sauces too if you dont like to drink it

Congrats Andrea I hope you get some lemonheads . .