View Full Version : Pic of Baby Redi
Just thought id send you all a pic of our baby redi now 7 days old and eating nicely on copods.
The Parent Male gave birth to approx 30 last sunday and this is the first time we have managed to keep for this period of time so fingers crossed.http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q3/Image001_1.jpg
Good luck with them :) Keep us updated.
Indeed congrat's, fingers crossed for you though its still early days,
Imo, the first eight to ten weeks are the hardest part, for the first two / three weeks they are really small and getting enough nutrition into them can be really difficult, during this time they can consume anywhere upto 3000+ rotifers / copepods "each" within a ten hour day!
After the first two weeks or so, as they grow bigger they can then be offerd larger foods such as freshly hatched enriched live bbs, naturally as they grow bigger their food should also get bigger, Reidi fry being pelagic will generally start to hitch anytime after eight to ten weeks and this is when it becomes a "little" easier and from then on they stand a much better chance of survival :)
Hi thanks for all your interest and comments but unfortunatly the baby died today I think the main problem was the filteration/areation I had a small airstone inside running of the airpump turned right down but when the babies floated near the steam of bubbles the got floated around and possible bashed around a bit so the next time im going to try and do this a bit diferently and incorparate the airstone again but this time it will be behind a tank divider either this or revert back to my sponge filter again and again behind the divider.
I also found the live food a strain as its not available over here and I had to order this online but it can take a few days to arrive so im now in the stage of starting my own culture ( artemia ) shelless eggs .
We did have I think a reasonable success by feeding thawed cyclops at the start while we waited for the live food to come.
But im going to persevere with this in the hope that we can rear at least one up to adult size.
If anyone has any sugestions as the the type of filteration/areation that would be better please come back to me also the food situation maybe something else I could try to culture and where available.
I know that there is ZM foods sponser have brine culture and I think rots.
Chris
Oh forgot to mention tank size is 14in long 8 in depth 8in high.
Hya
You'll find that getting a load of copepod/rotifer/baby brine shrimp cultures on the go will be very beneficial (although can be quite time consuming and noisy). You've already got this baby further than many.
I always try and have a few cultures of each on the go so you will always be able to provide fresh, appropriately sized food. Just remember that what you feed the food is as important. Have a look at ZM's website for just about everything you need.
Although I have never raised Reidi I will always swear by using sponge filters from day one but everyone you talk to will probably give you a different opinion. For pelagic fry I have a sponge filter on one side and a rigid airline on the other (no air stone just big, bubbles) in an attempt to keep the fry and their food suspended in the water column rather than 'stuck' on the surface.
hth
whats wrong with using algae to give oxygen its one of the worlds biggest oxgen producers and it also it eats nitrates and using liverock to convert the waste into nitrates? or would this not me too good? have i read something wrong some where?
also please correct me if i am wrong but with the air stone you risk giving them gbd from the micro bubbles.
Hya
You'll find that getting a load of copepod/rotifer/baby brine shrimp cultures on the go will be very beneficial (although can be quite time consuming and noisy). You've already got this baby further than many.
I always try and have a few cultures of each on the go so you will always be able to provide fresh, appropriately sized food. Just remember that what you feed the food is as important. Have a look at ZM's website for just about everything you need.
Although I have never raised Reidi I will always swear by using sponge filters from day one but everyone you talk to will probably give you a different opinion. For pelagic fry I have a sponge filter on one side and a rigid airline on the other (no air stone just big, bubbles) in an attempt to keep the fry and their food suspended in the water column rather than 'stuck' on the surface.
hth
Hi Sailfin
Thank you for your info sounds like very good sound advice and I am intending to have plenty of the culture on the go for as and when needed ( when the next batch arrive ) I think that for what you said about using the sponge filter on one side and a ridgid tube on the other sounds good to me but what I will do is to have these behind 2 screens ( tank dividers ) as to avoid the fry comming into contact with the bubbles.
Could you also tell me on how you syphon the bottom of the tank ( each day ) for the debris Ive used small airline tubing and syphoned this out but I had trouble in trying to do this and aviod sucking up any babies.
There is little risk of gbd with an airstone in a baby tank. The main risk with airstones is the males getting micro air bubbles stuck in their pouches when they're flushing them/breeding/mating etc.
Your quite right - many people actually have a phytoplankton culture on the go in their Reidi raising tanks for just this reason. However if the phyto crashes (as it can) then it will take the babies out with it. Most people don't tend to have live rock/macro algae in their raising tanks as the rock can bring nasties in with it (hydroids etc) and the algae can crash. Not only this but any tank decorations make it very hard to syphon the crud from the bottom daily (which is essential). Also live rock only acts as an efficient filtration media when there is sufficent flow through it. In a baby seahorse tank there should never be enough flow to achieve this.
I'm not sure how to avoid sucking the babies up. I always use a piece of rigid airline attached to some normal airpipe and just try to avoid them (not always successful I have to admit!) If I'm just changing water then you can syphon the water out through an airstone (takes an eternity but works!) I also use one of those airpump driven hoover things which works a treat as you can hold it tight on the bottom of the tank (the babies are usually in the water column) and the crud just passes throught the slits.
Sorry I couldn't be more help with that one!
There is little risk of gbd with an airstone in a baby tank. The main risk with airstones is the males getting micro air bubbles stuck in their pouches when they're flushing them/breeding/mating etc.
Your quite right - many people actually have a phytoplankton culture on the go in their Reidi raising tanks for just this reason. However if the phyto crashes (as it can) then it will take the babies out with it. Most people don't tend to have live rock/macro algae in their raising tanks as the rock can bring nasties in with it (hydroids etc) and the algae can crash. Not only this but any tank decorations make it very hard to syphon the crud from the bottom daily (which is essential). Also live rock only acts as an efficient filtration media when there is sufficent flow through it. In a baby seahorse tank there should never be enough flow to achieve this.
Now that could be another reason on as to why the baby died as I did use phyto within the tank and as you said if this had crashed then this could have been the cause so another lesson learnt I wont be using phyto within the tank again.
Hya - it could well have been, however, I think (but could be wrong) that when phyto crashes it 'clobs' (sailfin term, you get the picture) together and smells really bad. Most people do use phyto and its not too common to crash although I don't use it personally. The main cause of Reidi fry death is malnutrition - try as we might its just so difficult to get the right nutrients into them. Its also worth baring in mind that in the wild Reidi 'expect' their fry to die. To maintain their population two parents only need to replace themselves in their lifetime yet they can give birth to thousands of fry during their lives. The animal itself has evolved to cope with massive fry mortality so its really no wonder that us mere seahorse keepers only ever raise one or two when we're lucky!
I have managed twice to get Reidi fry to 8 weeks, but only after trying lots of different methods. The method which seems to work well is this:
The fry need to be in a round bowl, with green water (phyto added) and a rigid airline with bubbles at the rate of no more than 1 or 2 per second. The vessel needs to be quite small as the food needs to be concentrated in a small area, otherwise the value of the food is all used up chasing the food. The circular shape combined with the air flow keeps the food and fry gently circulating in the water, and keeps the fry off the water surface.
They need to be fed on Rotifers for 10-14 days (these are easy to culture) and can then be fed on copepods and/or BBs which is no more than 6hrs old as after this time it loses any nutrition it had.
After a week the BBS can be grown on a bit but must be enriched.
The water is kept green with added phyto for at least 2 weeks. The phyto keeps the water fresh by absorbing ammonia etc. It is useful to also have an ammonia neutraliser handy and add a small amount daily.
If you keep the water green, the rotifers added will also multiply in the bowl and provide a constant source of food.
I'll post some pics of the way I set mine up tomorrow when I have more time.
HTH
As promised, a few pics:
This is the 'bowl' I used ( actually a biscuit jar from the £1 shop ;) ). A small goldfish bowl would be ideal.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s74/Feebscass/Cube/6308Fry2days002.jpg
This can be stood in water in a small tank so the tank water will keep the bowl at the correct temp. It is best to light from the bottom or side as the food is attracted to the light, and it keeps the food off the top.
A closer view:
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s74/Feebscass/Cube/6308Fry003.jpg
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s74/Feebscass/Cube/23508002.jpg
At about 2 weeks old I transfer them to this tiny tank, still with green water and a slow running airline. No filter at this stage as it would take out the phyto.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s74/Feebscass/Cube/Fry18days24308004.jpg
They are being fed on 3hr BBS at this stage, which will consume the phyto and i gradually let the phyto fade over a few days, then use a sponge filter.
I made a 'hitcher' out of strimmer line, and put a bit of chaeto in and they start to hitch at between 2 and 4 weeks.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s74/Feebscass/Cube/2408Mixed005.jpg
As I say I havn't got them past 8 weeks yet, but I'll keep trying.
I have read other peoples methods extensively, and had some invaluable help from a couple of knowledgeable people to arrive at this method. I'm sure with perseverance it will work, it's just getting them to eat bigger and better food which seems to be the problem.
HTH
Thankyou Linda for your info and this has givin me some great ideas by using the round fish bowl sounds like the best idea.
Thanks again
Chris
Pleasure. Hope you have lots of luck :)
I got some good tips and info from someone who farms Brine shrimp, so when you are ready to start hatching them, shout and I'll pass on what I learnt :thumbsup:
Pleasure. Hope you have lots of luck :)
I got some good tips and info from someone who farms Brine shrimp, so when you are ready to start hatching them, shout and I'll pass on what I learnt :thumbsup:
Thanks again Linda I will do that
Chris
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