instinct practice or real

[koiguy1969]

i believe DR.DAVE said that koi dont spawn untill about 15" well mine are definately going thru the motions the males are about only 11" or 12" inches but shes only 8 or 9" they are on her loike white on rice. is this just natural instinct(practice) or are they actually going to make some fry???? does she even have eggs at this size? do they have sperm?
p.s i put the spawning matt in just in case

 

[koiguy1969]

im sitting here now watching as shes forcing her way up on top of the hiacynths i have in a floating planter ring and they are right there glued to her.

 

[koiguy1969]

my hiacynth roots are covered in eggs the spawn is still going on so i need to know when to remove the plants to the hatchery.

 

[DrCase]

Koiguy i wait till they are done,,,or start to eat them,,if it has a lot of eggs on it pull it out ,and give them something else to lay there eggs on.

 

[DrDave]

As long as they have plenty of places to lay the eggs, you can start removing clumps of them anytime. They won't even realize you are there, they are busy and focussed on doing their business. I was actually petting one of my females while she was laying eggs.

 

[koiguy1969]

o.k i put the water hiacynths ina 20 gallon tub with a 1/2 teaspoon of anti fungal on line said its safe for eggs and fry... i did a half dose as i remember you saying something about that.. i put in an air stone. the smaller fish have been eating them as they also ate the golfish fry that were in the gravel of all my lilly pots. and on the walls and border stones ,ther is eggs all over the place in small globs but i think the majority were on the hiacynth roots those are the ones i pulled. the mop head is in place in case.

 

[DrDave]

Can you catch the smaller fish until the spawn and egg collecting is done? A trash can works with a liner.

 

[DrCase]

Whats going on up there KoiGuy ?

 

[koiguy1969]

o.k i think i may have screwed up i just checked the weather and we went down to 51* last night... did i just just wipe out my eggs by not moving them inside? i did get the majority of them i think...i looked at the mop head it doesnt look like it was used. she was an immature fish unexperienced maybe. everything i read said that she would be naturally drawn to the strings of the mop head.

 

[koiguy1969]

tub temp is 59* this morning @ 6:42am... i killed em didnt i?

 

[DrCase]

My first hatch went thru a small cold snap it took them a 5 to 6 days to hatch out, My water was at least that low ,,The second hatch took 3 days in warmer water

 

[koiguy1969]

o.k maybe thats a good thing then.. i was reading on a breeding site that lower temp incubation @63* produces a stronger fish less prone to defect 68* will hatch days faster but the fish are much more suseptible to defects and annomolies including humped backs, missing fins etc..

 

[koiguy1969]

i saw the first of the fry in the hatchery today but there is still alot of eggs to go. how long should i give before removing fry so ther isnt any cannabalism? are these "tobys"? everything ive read says they will eat the smallers soon after they develope mouths

 

[luvmyasagis]

Are they still clinging to the sides, if so they are still feeding on their yolk sack.When they become free swimming you will be able to tell the tobies. Do you have brine shrimp hatching for their food ? You do not want to feed as long as they have their yolk sac.I also use growth food pellets that I grind to a powder to feed them and I use a air hose to syphon of the waste and a sponge filter so they are not over powered.

 

[koiguy1969]

i was gonna go the hard boiled egg yolk route then the canned green peas and spring/fall food mash combo. i read that canned green peas not frozen shelled and mixed to a paste with spring fall diet food is an excellent replacement for brine shrimp. this is my first time bothering with the spawn results.