Weather Loach Fry Journal

[star4]

The lid has been half off the tank, lots of small flies have been laying eggs by the look. I also have some wood in there I have been soaking to sink. There were palania (SP) worms in the tank, but they have gone. Whatever it has been eating its eaten a lot of as it is fat! I am just defrosting some cyclops at the moment, I will put some in for it

 

[star4]

Nobody, it looks like baby weather loach feed heavily on algae!!!!! I have counted 5 so far and they are growing really really fast. Watching their activity they are taking the worms/lavae from the algae and algae itself off the wood and the glass. They are now starting to root around in the gravel. Leaving the lid off there are a fair amount of insect larvae in the tank. They were interested in the cyclops I put in but not really interested in the flake food. Now as I said before I had abandoned this tank thinking there were no fry, I cant describe how much algae is on the glass and its thick!! the water itself is clear and I have done small water changes, but what would you do? would you leave the tank covered in algae or clean it up? I am in two minds what to do here as they seem to be thriving in horried conditions. I have managed to get some better pics of them at last

 

[Wills]

Wow!!! Lesley this is amazing!! You should post this in the loaches.com section as it is pretty rare

Wills

 

[Baccus]

I would leave well enough alone for now, the baby loaches have grown well up till now in 'horrible' conditions. I bet it was partly the huge amount of micro biolife that had managed to explode in your tank that has enabled the loach babies to survive and grow. If anything I would keep doing what you have been doing for them and only once you are sure they are taking more standard food (flakes etc) then I would look at giving the tank a clean.

Congrats on not only getting the parents to spawn but also for managing to get some young out of them as well

 

[star4]

Thanks

I have posted on some other forums too, but no one else has heard of weather loach spawning and getting fry before in the uk, I am really winging raising them now as I have nothing I can research!.

Wills is loach.com a forum?

edit: found it wills

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Great stuff! As the saying goes, don't fix what is not broken... Baccus has said already in this thread and fish48 was telling me today, all those critters in amongst the algae are a great source of food for the fish. And the loach youngsters are looking anything but underfed!

 

[star4]

Will leave as is then I have cleaned some of the glass at the front so I can see better. I did find an interesting article about MA in lincoln accidentally breeding weather loach too, the fry ended up in the sump tank which was not yet cycled!

 

[star4]

I added some crushed flake last night, far too much for 5 little loach but its all gone this morning, the way they can get between the large stones at the bottom of the tank I am wondering just how many there are!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Sounds like you need something like my PIR SmartCam to film the tank at night, to see how how loach youngsters are doing "laps of honour" midwater!

 

[star4]

lol it would probably be the only way to really see them, the tank is so dark and dingy I just get an occasionaly glimps of something flying under the rock. I am wondering now why they were browing on the wood so openly the other day, not seen them do it since.???

 

[minnnt]

Wow Lesley!!! Great read, really enjoyed it!!

Great pics too!

Hope you're ok, David.

 

[star4]

Thank you David , just a lot of personal stuff going on at the moment I am finding things a little difficult, but will cope. I still cant believe I have achieved the impossible of spawning and getting fry from weather loach!! lol just typical as I am in desperate need of this tank, but have no where to move them too! *sigh*

 

[minnnt]

I'm sure you'll be fine Lesley. Feel free to E-Mail me if you want to talk.

Your 'breeding pair' of Weather Loaches maybe worth a little more money then if there is a market for them?

 

[star4]

awww thanks David, your a pal the pair were up for sale before they spawned, still up for sale now, but I am getting the impression from some e-mails I have recieved that not a lot of people believe me lol lol

(not off this site, from a known aquatic selling site )

 

[minnnt]

I think i have seen your ad.

LOL @ the emails... What do they think they are then if they're not young Weather Loaches? Tadpoles?