15 replies to this topic

[koiguy1969]

i have not put this to the test but today i was talking to a fellow ponder at pet smart, and he said a large mason jar, alittle of the brown filter sludge and some egg white is all you need for one of the best fry foods. take some filter sludge put in a mason jar with some clean pond water and crack an egg put some egg white in it, and give it a couple of days of filtered sunlight. and you are culturing your own spirulina.

[DrDave]

Define "filtered sunlight".

[koiguy1969]

just indirect sunlight

[DrDave]

So partial shade or a sun screen will do.

It takes a lot of live food to keep them from starving. I have 4 hatcheries going, and I am makeing 4 times as much in each as the recommended amount and I still don't have enough food for them. I have a kiddie pond with several thousand in there that do not seem to be growing. My tanks have babies 10 times the size of the outdoor setup. The tanks are tall and allows the food to be found since it is areated and lighted.

[koiguy1969]

yeah the sun screen should work or a window sill with sheers. i gonna try it.. all ive got to lose is an egg. i bought some fry powdered food from petsmart they are eating it. if id of known id of been equiped. its from hikari its called first bites.

[DrDave]

I have used first bites for the past 2 spawns, but only until my hatcheries were up and producing.

[DrCase]

My fry are living on green water and all the things living it it..first bites is added often and i feed them fish food flakes..and smash some of my high growth food..It does seem like watching grass grow,,it slow but its growing.

[koiguy1969]

QUESTION........ are you guys soaking your first bites before putting them in, or just sprinkling them in????

[koiguy1969]

will they eat frozen brine shrimp? thawed of corse

[DrCase]

I just sprinkle it in ..and i do have some frozen brine shrimp i thaw in the water and they eat it..

[koiguy1969]

same here on both accounts... they hangout at the surface so when i soaked it it sank right by them

[johns55belair]

I currently have some fry of my own.I have been feeding them frozen brine shrimp thawed.

[koiguy1969]

my fry dont seem interested in the brine shrimp...is it just too big.. should i smash it up? or just wait till they are bigger?

[DrDave]

They want live brine shrimp. You should see the feeding frenzy when thousands of them go after it. it is not that hard to do it but you need the hatcheries and eggs in advance of the hatch. Mine are going on 6 weeks old and still loving it. You can see their bellies swelled with the shrimp.
I have seperated the larger fry and they are on flakes and small pellets now.

[koiguy1969]

whats the cost to get a hatchery going? what do i need?