Fry growout tanks

[kakamac]

G'day All,

I've currently got some L201 fry growing in a cheap fry trap at present and want to move them at some stage into a growout tank. The fry have been out of the cave for around 1 week now so the question is when should I move them to the growout tank?

What I would also like is if people could please post some shots of their fry growout tanks? I have a new tank for this purpose and would like to look at some examples before setting up mine. Thanks for reading my post all.

Kak

 

[Jo Crane]

With my L201 I use a large breeding trap untill big enough then pop them back in the main tank with the adults, had no losses and they seem to grow faster

 

[FF MkII]

With my L201 I use a large breeding trap untill big enough then pop them back in the main tank with the adults, had no losses and they seem to grow faster

You have answered my question too Jo, cheers

 

[thegeeman]

With my L201 I use a large breeding trap untill big enough then pop them back in the main tank with the adults, had no losses and they seem to grow faster

Thats the best way to do it.:yes::yes:. Just try not to feed big bloodworm that they may choke on. All my fish are now fed on crushed foods including the adults

Cheers

thegeeman

 

[st24rsap]

i wouldnt risk transfering them to a growout tank untill they are older & stronger

i do the same as above, breeding trap in main tank for about 4 weeks and feed them up so they are nice and strong, then release into parents tank. I only transfer to a growout tank when they are several months old

 

[kakamac]

Well thanks for the replies all. I guess I'll release them back into the main tank when they are ready. I feed the fry Sera Viformo, Sera Catfish Chips and flake. I tried lettuce and cucumber and they didn't try either although I will offer it again. I'm concerned about bloodworm so choose not to feed it often and never to young fish.

I'm glad that I can return them to the main tank to live with their parents for a while. Now although i'm going to the parents tank I'd still be interested to see peoples growout tanks if anyone has any photos. Thanks for the replies once again.

 

[Andrew]

Moving fry to a growout tank depends on how big the tank is you are breeding them in, how regularly the pair breed, and also the amount of fry they produce.

I find a difference between the numbers in a brood and regularity of my hypancistrus breeding, though i have moved them around recently to get breeding pairs in bigger tanks so i can leave the fry in with the parents longer, which has stopped a couple of them breeding just now.
Eg, my L340 can produce around 15 fry each month, whereas my L333 can produce around 30 fry each month.
L340 fry are a smaller fish, so don't produce as many fry, which also don't look to grow as quick as L333 fry.
L333 are bigger fish, so produce more fry, which reach look to grow quicker, and i need to move them to a growout tank sooner than my other fish.

I don't have any 201's, but i would keep the first two broods in with the parents, and keep an eye on how crowded the tank is.
You will know by the time the third brood is about to appear, if the tank is getting over crowded, if it is, move the bigger fry into a growout tank and let the new fry stay with the parents.

 

[kakamac]

Thanks for that Andrew. My colony of 6 L201's are housed in a tank which measures 4 foot long x 20 inches high x 20 inches wide so will accomodate the first and second clutch easily. They share the tank with a small colony of Cherry Shrimp and nothing else.

This is the first time the L201's bred and for me it was quite a surprise as I thought they were still a little too small to breed. The first clutch though produced 4 young of which one died and the others are still going strong in the fry saver which is situated in the parents tank. I'll introduce the fry back in a few weeks time. Thanks again for the information. Hopefully they will be back breeding soon.