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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Saturday, January 28, 2012 4:16 PM
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I would stick with formalin (37%), 1mL formalin/1L saltwater for 15min.
Jonathan Foster FishEye Aquaculture
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Saturday, January 28, 2012 8:56 PM
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There may be something to my California formalin concern. One LFS had Malachite Green, but it has no formalin. Absolutely nobody has any medications that contain formalin. I can probably order something online, and at the very least I'm certain that I can get some through the laboratory I work for. On another note, I dusted off Witt's book tonight, looking for his tumbler reference I allude to in my old post on that other breeding site. I re-read through the "Eggs & Incubation" chapter of his book. Jeez. Wish I had re-read that a week ago! Just about all of the issues I've been wrestling with in the last couple of days are addressed there, in exquisite detail! I read that chapter probably two years ago, but it meant nothing to me at the time, since I has so little breeding experience at the time. It all means so much more to me now. Reading is good. Re-reading is sometimes even better! I often rely too much on "the interwebs" for my info, and sometimes, like this time, neglect to use those big, heavy things on the bookshelf. Doh!
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Sunday, February 5, 2012 3:14 PM
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They're spawning again as I'm writing this. That makes eleven days since the last spawn. Of course, fish breeder Murphy's Law has kicked in: on Thursday (the night the hatch is expected), Jacquie and I will be leaving for Oahu! Tal was right -- the one way to make sure they spawn is to go on vacation! I have determined, like Matt, that they never seem to figure out how to get back to their own side through the PVC gate contraption that he designed, and that I've implemented. Today, I simply remove the PVC gate entirely, leaving only a hole in the divider. This morning, the male went on her side, but then was able to easily find his way back "home", and then went back and forth between sides with ease. He was showing no aggression towards her, but rather, was enthusiastically "leading" her over to his side. She wasn't in the mood this morning, though, and was somewhat aggressive towards him, but only slightly so. This afternoon, she was at the divider again, and looking very plump, and just like the last time they spawned, she wasn't shy towards me at all, but rather, was coming up to the glass when I approached -- almost like she was begging me to open the gate! (I actually got that feeling from her the last time they spawned.) So, I did, and within a minute or so, she was on his side, being led into his capped PVC cave, and they almost immediately started spawning in there. They've been in there for about 15 minutes now (I keep checking on them from across the room). I guess I'll just have to let this be a "training" spawn for him, and hope that he tends the eggs instead of eating them, or if he does eat them, that this is one of the early spawns while he's working things out, since I won't be able to deal with the hatching fry, and our house/dog/fish sitter isn't going to be up to all that goes into dealing with dottyback larvae. But now, I have an idea of what kind of time frame I'm looking at between spawns, and I also am getting much better at "reading" the fish, and knowing when they are ready to spawn. EDIT: They were in the PVC for about 25 minutes together, and then he came out, and she came out about 30 seconds later, and immediately went back on her side of the divider through the hole. She had no problem finding her way back home. He went back into the cave immedately. I closed the gate, and will leave them alone now.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Monday, February 6, 2012 10:40 PM
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As of tonight, he's still tending the eggs, and hasn't eaten them. So far, so good!
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Monday, February 6, 2012 10:46 PM
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Do you have any pics that show the "divider" you set up for them?
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Monday, February 6, 2012 10:55 PM
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Aside from the ones I posted early in this thread? It's a standard Penn-Plax Tank-Divider for a 29 gallon from PetCo. The only mod is the hole I cut into it for the PVC "gate". I did modify the tank lid so that the "door" part of the lid that swivels up for feeding, etc. has an extra piece of plastic that is super-glued to the middle of it, right over the tank divider, to help secure that gap there, to help prevent any jumping from one side of the divider to the other. Does that help? The divider is basically a flexible piece of thin plastic perforated with many small holes. It is held straight at all four sides with these rigid plastic pieces that clip over the edges. There are metal clips that secure the top front and top back corners to the aquarium edge. The gravel helps hold it in place at the bottom.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Monday, February 6, 2012 11:01 PM
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Ok, just making sure you didn't do anything different from the original plan.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Monday, February 6, 2012 11:39 PM
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The only differences from the original photos are: 1) I have a HOB filter for each side now, and not just the one side (overkill, I know, but still.... I was worried about how much the perforations would allow free flow from one side to the other, and since I have no clean up crew in this tank, and just the two fish, and I'm feeding like crazy, but it doesn't all get eaten... I thought I'd be extra safe), and 2) I have recently simplified the PVC gate between the two sides, removing one ell, and just capping the single ell. I could use just a plug and and a cap, but I have no right-sized plug handy. Both fish are able to easily find their way home, if I simply remove the PVC obstruction altogether. With Matt's basically "U" shaped tunnel, both fish could find their way out from their side to the other side, but never could figure out how to get back home. The "U" shaped PVC gate is maze-like enough to confound them, when stressed, which they invariably are when they are on the "wrong" side of the divider, and trying to get back home. If you read Matt's journals about similar species, he observed the same phenomenon, and always had to net his female to get her back into her breeder basket, and 3) I did add another piece of PVC that is capped on one end, and restricted on the other end with a smaller piece of PVC hammered into it, for the spawning cave. That is the one cave that the male has chosen as the place for the spawning to occur, just like the books say he should.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 5:30 PM
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Day 3 now, and the male is still tending the eggs. He seems to want to be a good Dad. Just for giggles, I have one of my 2 gallon kriesels set up that has a very, very dense Apocyclops culture and some live green water. Tomorrow night, at lights out (day 4), the fish sitter is going to see if she can get the egg ball out of the PVC, and place it in the kriesel, and keep it in the dark. If the eggs are developing and on schedule, then they should start hatching almost immediately. The circulation won't be great, but there will be a gentle flow due to the airline in the kriesel. The fish sitter has instructions to check on them after 1-2 hours, and if she sees any larvae, to turn the filtered light on, and leave it on 24/7 until I return. This approach may or may not be successful, but at least it is better than doing nothing, which would guarantee certain failure. Let's just start with seeing if we get any larvae hatching, and take it from there!
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 5:38 PM
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My fridmani would hatch if I pulled them on day 4 and put them under a bright light. Usually within 10-15 minutes. They don't hatch in the dark like clowns.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 10:23 PM
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 10:31 PM
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Dunno why but it always worked for me, like clockwork.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 10:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Fishtal
...like clockwork.... Exactly.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 11:02 PM
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Originally Posted by JimWelsh
Originally Posted by Fishtal
...like clockwork.... Exactly. I meant the timing after placing them in the hatcher under the light, not the number of hours post-spawn. That didn't seem to matter much as long as it was on the 4th day.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Friday, February 10, 2012 2:13 AM
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Long-distance (3,600 + miles) report of a hatch! The fish sitter put the egg ball into the kreisel after lights out, and per my instructions, agitated it a bit with a turkey baster. Checking back after about an hour, she reported seeing, "small, translucent things, longer than the copepods, with two silvery eyes." She has added 5 drops of AmQuel Plus, has turned the light on and will leave it on 24/7, and will remove whatever is left of the egg ball in the morning. There are plenty of copepods in there, for sure. There's also plenty of live phyto in there, and the SG was about 33 PPT before I left. The fish sitter has instructions to dose 5 drops per day of AmQuel Plus. I'll be returning on the 14th. Wish the larvae good luck!
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Friday, February 10, 2012 9:30 AM
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If that works, your fish sitter may charge a plus from now on. Good luck !
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Friday, February 10, 2012 11:03 PM
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Fish keeper reports some dead larvae on the bottom today, but many still alive. I had her turkey baste out the dead ones. She reports that the live ones, "...swim mostly near the top of the fishbowl, and they will dart forward very quickly, then swim more slowly, then dart forward very quickly again." Sounds like they are striking at the copepods! It is challenging enough to try raising larval fish when fully present physically. Doing so by "remote control" via cell phone from halfway across the Pacific is even more challenging.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Sunday, February 12, 2012 12:05 AM
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Again, the fish keeper is reporting several larvae alive and apparently striking at food items tonight. Good news still! Time will tell what I will arrive home to late on February 14th.
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Sunday, February 12, 2012 8:15 AM
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awesome that you can do this remotely!
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Re:Breeding Journal, Species: Pseudochromis tapeinosoma
Tuesday, February 14, 2012 12:37 AM
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The fish sitter has been reporting daily. She has been distressed at the fact that each day, she sees fewer and fewer larvae in the kriesel. Tonight, she reports seeing only one, but she also reports that is it appears to be swimming differently than before. The difference she reports is that previously, the larvae seem to be floating in the current of the kriesel, and only actively swimming to strike at food. Tonight, she reports that the one larvae she sees appears to be swimming under its own power, and of its own volition, as opposed to simply floating with the current of the kriesel. It will be interesting to see what I come home to tomorrow.
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