Beybeys!

[amoonklein 1,212]

I am still pinching myself over the fact that I have teeny tiny fancy goldfish fry.  I’ve had male and female goldies in the same tank before, but I’ve never had them spawn… I’ve never even seen the females lay eggs. 

 

I was so surprised to wake up last Saturday (1/30/2016) morning to find eggs in the tank.  Not just that there are eggs there, but I’m mid QT, doing lots of water changes and keeping a steady 68-69 degrees in the tank.  I just figured if that spawning behavior would happen later when the tank has been established for a while and everyone was a little older.  Guess not!  Ha   Overall, I take it as a compliment because I must be doing something right if they were feeling frisky enough to spawn.

 

I was able to salvage 88 eggs from the main tank and moved them into a 10 gallon with a little less than 5 gallons of water.  Then I did an impromptu water change on the main tank.  Boy are eggs messy and hard to remove.

 

That same day I went to my LFS and picked up a tiny sponge filter, airstone, and Acriflavine (my LFS didn’t have Methylene Blue at the time).  I got the sponge filter and air stone set up in the egg tank.  It was at about 68 degrees so I thought I’d wait to add my heater (I had to order once since my heater was WAY too big and I didn’t want to cook them).

 

Sunday (1/31/2016) rolled around and I half expected to see most of the eggs (if not all) white because I wasn’t sure if any of them had been fertilized.  I half ignored the egg tank and focused on the main tank since I planned on doing another water change to start their 4^th round of prazi.  While doing the water change, I found 43 more eggs (all stuck to the plastic plants).  I carefully moved them to the egg tank with the others and put my total egg count at 131.  I added the Acriflavine and twiddled my thumbs… again, not expecting much.  Plus the temperature in the tank had dropped to 66 degrees.

 

Monday (2/1/2016).  The teeny tiny heater arrived.  Yay.  When I got home from work I saw EYES!!! So cool.  About 40-60 had those cute little speckles inside the egg and I even saw a few twitch.  I went and picked up a magnifying glass so I could try and get an up close look.

 

Tuesday (2/2/2016).  The egg tank is now at a toasty 75.  Got home from work to see that 2 had hatched and the rest of the eggs were twitching a lot more.  I left to run a few errands and when I came back 2 more had hatched!  By the time I went to bed, there were 8 fry in the tank.

 

Wednesday (2/3/2016).  Woke up to 19 fry in the tank and there are still eggs that need to hatch.  Went on my lunch break and picked up brine shrimp eggs so I could DIY a hatchery.  Got home to find about 36 fry in the tank.  They are hanging on to the sponge filter and side walls, with some just sitting on the bottom.  Occasionally they will squiggle and jerk around.  I set up the brine shrimp hatchery which felt like a cool science experiment… hopefully some baby brine shrimp will be ready to go just in case these guys get hungry.

 

 

Thursday (2/4/2016).  I think I have between 35-40 fry.  It’s hard to keep count.  About half are swimming horizontally and darting around the tank with the other half still hanging onto tank surfaces.  I checked the brine shrimp and it looks they are ready so I put just a tiny amount in the tank to see if there was any interest.  There was!!  Several of the fry are interested and will stalk the brine shrimp.  It is such a trip to watch them try to eat.  I can also see that their bellies are full of brine shrimp since it has an orange hue to it.

 

Friday Morning (2/5/2016).  I left the brine shrimp in the tank as they are still buzzing about and the fry are still following them around trying to eat them.

 

This whole process has been absolutely fascinating.   I can’t wait to get home tonight and see how they are doing.  I will continue to update on their progress.  

 

Thanks for reading, and of course, any and all comments/suggestions are welcome as I am open to feedback on what I can be doing to better help these little guys have the best chance at becoming healthy happy fancy goldfish.

 

 

[DawnMichele 6,045]

Congratulations!!!!     

[FishyMandy 6,247]

Congrats on your babies! It's so fun to raise them and watch them grow, lots of work but very rewarding

[amoonklein 1,212]

Congratulations!!!!     

 

Congrats on your babies! It's so fun to raise them and watch them grow, lots of work but very rewarding

Thanks, Ladies!  It's definitely a lot of work, but I'm having such a great time watching them.  I hope they keep it up and get to be big strong water monsters <3

[SweetMamaKaty 2,788]

So fun!  Be sure to take lots of pics, it's amazing how fast they change.  My main suggestion on the brine shrimp hatchery (and maybe you're already doing it this way), is to have two going, 12 hours apart.  That way you'll never be without a batch when you need it.  And even though it's scary, be sure you do daily water changes.  That fresh water every day and plenty of food are the two main things that will grow them big!

 

Mine also spawned during prazi, and I've read several other accounts of the same, almost like the fresh water helps that along too.  I forget the exact age, but somewhere in the 2-4 week range, you'll want to prazi the babies too (without salt).

[amoonklein 1,212]

So fun!  Be sure to take lots of pics, it's amazing how fast they change.  My main suggestion on the brine shrimp hatchery (and maybe you're already doing it this way), is to have two going, 12 hours apart.  That way you'll never be without a batch when you need it.  And even though it's scary, be sure you do daily water changes.  That fresh water every day and plenty of food are the two main things that will grow them big!

 

Mine also spawned during prazi, and I've read several other accounts of the same, almost like the fresh water helps that along too.  I forget the exact age, but somewhere in the 2-4 week range, you'll want to prazi the babies too (without salt).

Thanks, Kathleen

 

I have only 1 hatchery going right now, but I did get some more supplies so I can run two at once like you suggest.  I'm hoping to get that set up tonight so I can have a constant food supply for these hungry guys!

 

I also have a turkey baster and last night I started slowly sucking up the eggs that didn't hatch.  Tonight I'll start sucking up the remnants of their brine shrimp smorgasbord.

 

Thank you for the heads up on the prazi treatment. Right now they have .3% salt in the tank.  When the time comes for prazi, would I remove the salt and do prazi by itself and then replace the salt when the prazi treatment is over?  I think I read somewhere on here that salt concentration could be at .3% for the first 4 months and then wean them off gradually?  I'll need to double check that.  I'd love to hear what others have done so  I'll start perusing through some posts too

[SweetMamaKaty 2,788]

You know, I'm not sure on the salt.  I didn't purposely salt them, but I never rinsed my brine shrimp   so they were in some amount of salt because of that.

 

Shameless thread spam - my thread if you are interested.  I asked a lot of zero knowledge questions and people answered them. 

Edited February 6, 2016 by SweetMamaKaty

[amoonklein 1,212]

You know, I'm not sure on the salt.  I didn't purposely salt them, but I never rinsed my brine shrimp   so they were in some amount of salt because of that.

 

Shameless thread spam - my thread if you are interested.  I asked a lot of zero knowledge questions and people answered them. 

OOOOO I LOVE shameless thread spam!  Thanks for the linky.  I'll take a peek

[koko 14,302]

:photo:

[fantailfan1 26,742]

Where are the pics, young lady?  

 

I never salted my fry . . . . my single fry that I had.    He's 2 years old now.  

[amoonklein 1,212]

Where are the pics, young lady?  

 

I never salted my fry . . . . my single fry that I had.    He's 2 years old now.  

Ahhhhhhhh impending kokos stick!!!!

 

I love Waldo!  So happy to hear that bugger is years and waddling

[amoonklein 1,212]

This morning everyone is doing well except for 1 fry that didn't make it (must have been early on as it is very tiny and not as developed as the others).  I think I have close to 50 in the tank, but it's hard to get an accurate count of them all.  They are more active and are constantly swimming about.  They are also more aggressive about stalking the brine shrimp.  I am using the turkey baster more frequently to siphon debris off the bottom of the tank to keep it clean.

 

 

Below is a photo/video timeline to help me keep track of their progress (thanks for the suggestion Kathleen)... plus it's fun to spam you guys:

 

1/30/2016 - 88 eggs moved to a separate 10 gallon tank

 

 

 

2/1/2016 - I see some eyes!

 

 

 

2/2/2016 - Some are starting to hatch (Day 1)

 

 

 

2/3/2016 -  Day 2 Fry.  More are hatching.  I also made a brine shrimp egg hatchery using the Solid Gold tutorial (http://www.sg.com/2013/11/easy-diy-brine-shrimp-hatchery.html)

 

 

 

 

 

2/4/2016 - Day 3 Fry.  Added some brine shrimp to the tank

 

 

 

 

 

 

2/5/2016 - Day 4 Fry.  Added fresh brine shrimp to the tank (accidentally added A LOT)

 

 

 

2/6/2016 - Day 5 Fry.  I tried getting a video of them through a magnifying glass... so blurry!  Definitely going to keep trying this until I get it right.

 

[SweetMamaKaty 2,788]

I love it!

[jenzaar 11,605]

Yay!!!

So exciting. I'm not sure if I want to say "keep spamming us, nonstop! all the pics!" so I can live vicariously through you, or if I want to duck out of this thread so I don't get jealous and raise fry again (as if I could just will my fish to spawn ).  

[amoonklein 1,212]

I love it!

It's nice to have one spot to keep a log and update progress... besides, I think my family and friends will soon get tired of seeing posts on facebook

 

Kathleen, when did you start prazi treatment on your fry?  I was reading through your thread and I think it said 1 week, but I'm not sure.  I've seen several fry spit out brine shrimp last night and this morning.

 

 

 

Yay!!!

So exciting. I'm not sure if I want to say "keep spamming us, nonstop! all the pics!" so I can live vicariously through you, or if I want to duck out of this thread so I don't get jealous and raise fry again (as if I could just will my fish to spawn ).

Haha   I love it!  It's crazy how much work it is... and I've only just begun!  Looking through other members' threads, it really is a labor of love.  I don't know what I'd do if Ralph laid more eggs anytime soon.

[SweetMamaKaty 2,788]

 

I love it!

It's nice to have one spot to keep a log and update progress... besides, I think my family and friends will soon get tired of seeing posts on facebook

 

Kathleen, when did you start prazi treatment on your fry?  I was reading through your thread and I think it said 1 week, but I'm not sure.  I've seen several fry spit out brine shrimp last night and this morning.

 

 

 

Yay!!!

So exciting. I'm not sure if I want to say "keep spamming us, nonstop! all the pics!" so I can live vicariously through you, or if I want to duck out of this thread so I don't get jealous and raise fry again (as if I could just will my fish to spawn ).

Haha   I love it!  It's crazy how much work it is... and I've only just begun!  Looking through other members' threads, it really is a labor of love.  I don't know what I'd do if Ralph laid more eggs anytime soon.

 

 

Yes it did end up being about the one week point - and the spitting is the sign it's time from what I understand, to avoid mouth deformation from flukes. 

[amoonklein 1,212]

 

 

I love it!

It's nice to have one spot to keep a log and update progress... besides, I think my family and friends will soon get tired of seeing posts on facebook

 

Kathleen, when did you start prazi treatment on your fry?  I was reading through your thread and I think it said 1 week, but I'm not sure.  I've seen several fry spit out brine shrimp last night and this morning.

 

 

 

Yay!!!

So exciting. I'm not sure if I want to say "keep spamming us, nonstop! all the pics!" so I can live vicariously through you, or if I want to duck out of this thread so I don't get jealous and raise fry again (as if I could just will my fish to spawn ).

Haha   I love it!  It's crazy how much work it is... and I've only just begun!  Looking through other members' threads, it really is a labor of love.  I don't know what I'd do if Ralph laid more eggs anytime soon.

 

 

Yes it did end up being about the one week point - and the spitting is the sign it's time from what I understand, to avoid mouth deformation from flukes. 

 

Thanks

 

I'm working on a water change for them right now.  I will look into dosing them with some prazi as well!

[amoonklein 1,212]

2/7/2016 - 6 day old fry.

 

The fry are currently in 5 gallons of water.  I did a small water change today (about 1 gallon) to slowly remove the salt from the water and to start getting them used to water changes.  I think I'll swap out another 1 gallon this evening and start a prazi treatment (I am definitely seeing more fry spitting out brine shrimp).  I have prazi powder on hand as well as some old PraziPro.  I am pretty sure I read on here that PraziPro is preffered over the powder as it's easier to dose for such a small volume of water, but I'm not sure how effective my PraziPro will be since it's a few years old.  I recall Hikari indicating that it doesn't expire, but may be less effective over time.  I suppose I can dose the tank and see how it goes, but I think I'll peruse some threads on here first to see what other kokos members have done.

 

In the meantime, here are a few videos of them today (because this is way more fun than the superbowl):

 

 

[amoonklein 1,212]

Second water change completed and 1/4 teaspoon of liquid PraziPro was added to the tank.  I also added a small amount of media from the main tank into the fry tank and it's hanging in a mesh bag.  Some of the fry are a bit curious and have been checking it out.  They also seem to be a bit more active.  Hope their first round of prazi goes well

[amoonklein 1,212]

Checked on the tank this morning and all the brine shrimp were gone!  I guess the prazi is working it's magic because those guys ate everything in their tank while I was sleeping   Yay!  I just dropped in some more fresh brine shrimp and they are gobbling it up as I type this... and no one is spitting out their food!  Looks like my bottle of PraziPro is still effective.  Hooray

 

Today is also their 1 week anniversary of hatching (well, about 8-19 of them). 

 

 

For brine shrimp, I've been getting the pre-packs of hatch mix (San Francisco Bay brand) and I like them, but at $8 for a 3-pack, that will get expensive quickly.  Also, since they are packs, I can't regulate how many eggs I want to try to hatch.  I know I could buy the egg vials at my LFS too, but I was feeling lazy yesterday and ordered some shrimp eggs from Brine Shrimp Direct instead.  Although the cost of those eggs was initially more than what I spend on eggs locally, they will end up paying for themselves.  And with these eggs, I can choose how many I want to put in the hatchery each time, plus the hatch rate is supposed to be really good.  I'm looking forward to their arrival and seeing how these little guys like them.

[amoonklein 1,212]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I have a new cute green egg in my siggy!  

 

Thank you koko!!  So exciting... I feel very official

[koko 14,302]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I have a new cute green egg in my siggy!  

 

Thank you koko!!  So exciting... I feel very official

[amoonklein 1,212]

Got home today and saw that several fry were spitting out their brine shrimp again (maybe my bottle of PraziPro isn't as effective as it used to be) so I did a 75% water change (with my handy dandy turkey baster) and re-added the PraziPro.  I can't wait until I feel comfortable enough to do water changes by siphoning water using airline tubing.  For now, I'm too worried I'm going to accidentally suck someone up.

[FishyMandy 6,247]

Got home today and saw that several fry were spitting out their brine shrimp again (maybe my bottle of PraziPro isn't as effective as it used to be) so I did a 75% water change (with my handy dandy turkey baster) and re-added the PraziPro.  I can't wait until I feel comfortable enough to do water changes by siphoning water using airline tubing.  For now, I'm too worried I'm going to accidentally suck someone up.

 

I sucked someone up in my WC yesterday He was swimming around the bucket all happy looking though so I scooped him up in a cup and put him back in the tank 

[jenzaar 11,605]

I sucked fry up all the time.

I siphoned into a bowl, rather than directly to the sink , but they always made it out fine. Just gotta have a good eye for them.