Angel Lady
Pet of the Month Leader
Wow I cant wait till I get some of them. That is a awsome father I hope he keeps up the good work..
Gabriel's Spawn Diary -- F2
- Thread starter Synirr
- Start date
OP
OP
Synirr
"No one is a failure unless you try"
I culled some fry, I feel so guilty... many of them STILL weren't swimming correctly and hadn't eaten anything, so I thought it best to go ahead and cull them. They might have ended up ok, but they also might have been weak fish their entire lives. That's just not a risk I wanted to take, considering I was hoping for a smaller spawn this time anyway. 
I painstakingly pipetted one-by-one into a cup of tank water, then put them all in the albimarginata tank. I figure they'll at least have a purpose, as live food is great for the albis.... and hey, that tank is full of infurosia and hiding places, so some might even manage to survive in there. A total of 93 fry were removed, but 3 stuck to the cup when I poured them in with the albis so I returned those to the growout (luck was on their side.) That leaves me with about 105 fry. I found a total of 4 dead bodies on the bottom of the tank too, which was included in the cull count.
I feel a little bad about it, but I just have to keep reminding myself that, in my last spawn, I didn't notice them having any real awareness of the world around them until about the 4th week, so in all likelihood they don't even have a clue what's going on. They're kinda just mouths with eyes at this stage.
I painstakingly pipetted one-by-one into a cup of tank water, then put them all in the albimarginata tank. I figure they'll at least have a purpose, as live food is great for the albis.... and hey, that tank is full of infurosia and hiding places, so some might even manage to survive in there. A total of 93 fry were removed, but 3 stuck to the cup when I poured them in with the albis so I returned those to the growout (luck was on their side.) That leaves me with about 105 fry. I found a total of 4 dead bodies on the bottom of the tank too, which was included in the cull count.
I feel a little bad about it, but I just have to keep reminding myself that, in my last spawn, I didn't notice them having any real awareness of the world around them until about the 4th week, so in all likelihood they don't even have a clue what's going on. They're kinda just mouths with eyes at this stage.
Aw, it's okay. Besides, you gave them a purpose in life, didn't you? Just to get all Disney on you, It's the Circle of Life. At least you didn't just kill them or flush them.
(I gave some guppies that I had raised from fry and a cory to a friend of mine and I just found out that she was tired of arguing with her step-dad about having the fish tank so she flushed them ALL, alive and well.
)
And you still have a giant spawn!! 100+ fish coming about is a LOT! I have 11 bettas and I am close to being at max capacity! (notice how I said "close"?
I could probably squeeze a few more in....) And at least you did something humane, if they weren't eating and swimming right, who's to say that their quality of life would have been normal? At least they aren't going to starve to death.
Anyways, I'm excited about this new spawn! After all, Gabe is one handsome boy!
(I gave some guppies that I had raised from fry and a cory to a friend of mine and I just found out that she was tired of arguing with her step-dad about having the fish tank so she flushed them ALL, alive and well.
) And you still have a giant spawn!! 100+ fish coming about is a LOT! I have 11 bettas and I am close to being at max capacity! (notice how I said "close"?
I could probably squeeze a few more in....) And at least you did something humane, if they weren't eating and swimming right, who's to say that their quality of life would have been normal? At least they aren't going to starve to death. Anyways, I'm excited about this new spawn! After all, Gabe is one handsome boy!
SandyMushCowgirl
Fish Crazy
Well, it a shame that you had to cull, but you got to do what you got to do. And all the little ones left should be more than plenty. 
sukie
Fish Addict
Don't feel guilty. . .
(and that's all I have to say bout that)
(and that's all I have to say bout that)
Joby
Hypan addict
Excellent pics of the fry!
Agree with others, its a hard job but I'm sure you only did what you had to do. Better now than to let them struggle through life and only have to do it later when they have developed a personality and possibly suffered
Agree with others, its a hard job but I'm sure you only did what you had to do. Better now than to let them struggle through life and only have to do it later when they have developed a personality and possibly suffered
OP
OP
Synirr
"No one is a failure unless you try"
Thanks guys, I feel better about it now...
I just wanted to rant about Gabe today, because he is still in with the fry and being an excellent daddy!! I can't say enough about him, there's no way I could have asked for better. I thought he might cull the ones that don't swim right himself, but no, he's still babying them, taking them into his mouth and bringing them to the surface, but leaves all the others alone to do their thing. Today we had our first meal of BBS and they were a big hit (my hatchery failed yesterday because I forgot to dechlor, otherwise we would have had them sooner), and I actually caught Gabe eating BBS with his babies! 
I had no idea he could even see them to eat them!
He also did a magic trick for me yesterday... I fed him some bloodworms and saw him munch one, THEN spit out a mouthful of fry! I dunno how he could separate food from fry in his mouth, but the fry were completely unharmed so I guess he could!
I just wanted to rant about Gabe today, because he is still in with the fry and being an excellent daddy!! I can't say enough about him, there's no way I could have asked for better
. I thought he might cull the ones that don't swim right himself, but no, he's still babying them, taking them into his mouth and bringing them to the surface, but leaves all the others alone to do their thing. Today we had our first meal of BBS and they were a big hit (my hatchery failed yesterday because I forgot to dechlor, otherwise we would have had them sooner), and I actually caught Gabe eating BBS with his babies! I had no idea he could even see them to eat them! He also did a magic trick for me yesterday... I fed him some bloodworms and saw him munch one, THEN spit out a mouthful of fry! I dunno how he could separate food from fry in his mouth, but the fry were completely unharmed so I guess he could!
BrookeLea
Fish Addict
Amazing trick! I'm glad he's being such a good daddy. One of his brothers got moved to a new home...a shelf in my kitchen. You should see the nest that he's made! Perhaps he'll get a chance to be a good daddy one day, too.SandyMushCowgirl
Fish Crazy
That must have been really cool. 
Sounds like he's a very good daddy.
Sounds like he's a very good daddy.
OP
OP
Synirr
"No one is a failure unless you try"
We're a week old today, woohoo (well, technically yesterday now, as it's 12:02AM!) Some have tiny caudals coming in and I can already tell they've grown some. They prefer BBS over microworms BY FAR, but are still getting fed some of both since I'm a little rusty on my BBS hatching skills and production hasn't been at its best. I gotta figure out what the ratio of baking soda and salt that I used to use was.
It's amazing how much variation there is among them already... light and dark bodies, light and dark eyes... this should be interesting
Anyway, here are some crappy pics of the fry. I figured out how to delete pics off my cam using my comp, so there's no risk of running out of room now, but I still can't change any settings
Light-bodied light-eyed fry
Light and dark fry
It's amazing how much variation there is among them already... light and dark bodies, light and dark eyes... this should be interesting
Anyway, here are some crappy pics of the fry. I figured out how to delete pics off my cam using my comp, so there's no risk of running out of room now, but I still can't change any settings
Light-bodied light-eyed fry
Light and dark fry
SandyMushCowgirl
Fish Crazy
They are too cute Synirr.
Angel Lady
Pet of the Month Leader
They look great Synirr I cant wait to see them in another week. THey are awsome. I would love to have a good daddy. Those fish you sent me are beautiful I cant say enough about them. They are one that is simply beautiful. I wish some one didnt steal my camera I would love for you to see how pretty this one really is. It looks like its mother and its father. Colors and all. I will try to get one with the web camera and show you that way...
splashluff
Fish Addict
Great pics, Synirr! Gabe's babies look very healthy 
... I completely understand culling, I have around 100 fry and they are a BIG handful as it is. I've had to cull about 10 fry that were very weak and small and having swim bladder troubles in the first few weeks. It's much better to have a smaller number of fry than to have a huge amount that is way too difficult to treat with the care they deserve. I'm actually realizing that I should thank God my pygmy cory ate some of the fry 
Can't wait to see them growing up and getting their colors! It's unbelievable how fast they grow!!
... I completely understand culling, I have around 100 fry and they are a BIG handful as it is. I've had to cull about 10 fry that were very weak and small and having swim bladder troubles in the first few weeks. It's much better to have a smaller number of fry than to have a huge amount that is way too difficult to treat with the care they deserve. I'm actually realizing that I should thank God my pygmy cory ate some of the fry Can't wait to see them growing up and getting their colors! It's unbelievable how fast they grow!!
OP
OP
Synirr
"No one is a failure unless you try"
Yeah, big spawns certainly are a handful!! I think culling, so long as you do it when they're young and probably don't even have the physical ability to feel pain yet (if they ever do, since there's still debate over that,) is actually better in some ways. That way you can devote your time to the rest of them and are better able to give them the care they deserve
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