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Breeding Cardinals


matthewY

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  • 4 weeks later...

just thought Ill do a quick update....

EPIC FAIL :-(

anyone else????

Plan to try again in a month or so, see if I can change what I'm doing just enough to make these guys happy. I'm not the besta spotting eggs but I dditn see any at all :-( I left perants in there but had a gril underneath and hoped whatever eggs they lay would hatch and I would actually be able to see soem movements (and then at that point, remove the parents)... no luck

I'll try again in a month or so.... fatten them up first :-)

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Hi

My setup is actually based on leave alone..The tank is big at 800x500wx450H

Just 8 fish are in it..Equal sexes.

The bottom is u/g filter and fine punis sand as for all my tanks..

Water is 100% rain at 28 c and inside is wood and plastic gutter cover and java moss making up 50% of the total tank..All at one end..

The tank is covered about 75 % With dark cardboard and i just see new fry when big and bold enough to come out..

I lift a flap and feed bbs live twice a day + light crushed flakes..

Im yet to see more than a few fry at a time so starting to think they might be mass spawners in the wild and each just a few eggs..The population now in about 2 months is about 40..So if selling at $13 each later as i have been getting is not to bad over the year..

Many of the imported are likely to have been hit by hormones so may never breed..I have emerald eye rasbora that never have looked like breeding and were imported..

Try it...........Cheers Phill

:P

The food and moss means fry dont get eaten ans the 8 breeders could never catch them...

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Hey Phil, Thanks heaps for teh advice, I'll have to try it with a larger tank by the looks of things. Its great to hear you have had success with just rain water, it gives me a *fair* amount of hope.

I have afew question though.... When you say u use undergravel filter and sand, I'm guessing you are talking about putting the sand over the filter and not using teh filter as a mesh to protect eggs?

also, how long before you think you want to start and sell your guys? if the shops use guys which can breed then that kind of sux and justifies why so many of us who try are unable to get any success :-(

ohyeah, ps: :-) the baby discus are still doing very well and not so baby any more ;-)

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yea crazy price considering i've seen them in shops for $8ea. don't jump into the big tank idea.. the guy that bred them by the hundred with the moon cycles used to breed them in TWO LITRE tanks!! the mod Pegusus knows more about this... if you're out there Peg can you shed more light on this? smaller is more managable and easier for fry to find food. still, lucky they bred NZDM

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When i did them a couple of years ago i did it like this.

First select a couple of males and females.

Feed well with a good mix of food.

Keep them in seperate tanks, say 18x9x9, no gravel and just a filter.

When nice and ripe, net one male and one female and put into your breeding tank*

Turn lights off at normal time and check in the morning for eggs, if none wait till following morning and check again, if none remove and put back to the holding tanks.

Try again in 3 - 4 days, mix pairs up if need be.

Breeding tank.

Small 14x7x7 or 12x6x6

Stainless mesh (1mm) wedged into bottom to allow eggs to drop thru.

Fill tank with about 2inch of black water.

Add a very small amount of java moss.

DO NOT FEED when in these tanks.

Made black water by pumping water thru peat for a week or so before hand, the darker the better.

This will work for a lot of tetras etc.

Could get a spawn out of most fish every three days.

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Wow that's really interesting and great to hear! more inspiring when you hear from others who have actually done it. btw those old school measurements (roughly) are:

18"x9"x9" = 45cm x 23cm x 23cm

14"x7"x7" = 35cm x 18cm x 18cm

12"x6"x6" = 30cm x 15cm x 15cm

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Hi

If people were that successful and easy then why are they not breeding now..??

To prices..Its up to the buyer to set standards not the seller..Think about that,,If not selling at good price,,why..To high..Maybe but also whats the point of buying imported if they wont breed..Pretty yes..Breed no in a lot of cases so like my cockatoo's..If you want the breed then a fair price is required for time spend or no point in it..

To question about undergravel filter..No as proper filter and on top is a fabric to stop sand entering..

The guttering mesh will do the same job along with moss giving hiding places for fry..My way works and no time chasing fish and stressing them out so thats why most likely the dont do anything...By the way this not an arguement about prices just how to breed them.Phill :P

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Hi

If people were that successful and easy then why are they not breeding now..??

:P

Just letting people know how i did them.

As most would know Breeding Cardinals are really hard. I am not suggesting that i breed hundreds by any means.

Reason i am not doing it now is we brought a house and my efforts are on that at the moment. Will set up a few more tanks at a later date.

Anyway this is how we did it for a number of species and it worked.

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it's an issue of time, dedication, and conditioning them and the tanks properly more than it is too difficult to breed them (as Bryan's article [still find it inspiring how many he was able to breed) and TM have demonstrated)

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it's an issue of time, dedication, and conditioning them and the tanks properly more than it is too difficult to breed them (as Bryan's article [still find it inspiring how many he was able to breed) and TM have demonstrated)

Well said.

Also selecting good quality fish from different sources. Age is also important.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi

Soon to remove all from tank and seperate young out and looks like 8 have gone to estimate 40 or more..

Ok not great but what about the satifaction of actully getting them to breed..Been doing some hunting and singapore farms are not producing many so wild are being imported and believe a made sterile..So to price..

180 tank uses power and water and work out for 4 months..Going on trade me shortly so if want a price before had e mail me direct..

I have already orders so dont delay or none left....Phill

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  • 1 month later...

I wish I did :-(

Nope, after about 4 or so attemps I gave up. I'm still hoping to get some of Phil from auckland at some stage but postage is a bit high (pay for the box, heat pads etc) and also I havent had that much time to commit in the last few months so delayed doign so...

From previous information, not all cardinals will bread (the way they are captured) so its easy for me to say my guys just wont bread (as opposed to taking the blame myself :-p)

Been fighting fires elsewhere with the loss of 2 discus recently and goldfish gettign whitespots / fin rot etc...

Good luck with yours. I may try and get some of Phil in the next few weeks if he still has some and restart my attempts :-)

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Hi

Yes that Phill Again...

Notice thread still going..Anyway..Im about to pull breeding tank apart and remove the young ones..E mail me if want to order..$12.50 each as around 1/2 to 3/4 grown..Im not competing with imports as we all know they dont breed here usually..Mine are F1 from wild stocks..Phill

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Phil- If yours are F1 from wild stock they must have been imported or you caught them in the Wikato river, therefore imported stock does breed.

They never have been prolific breeders.

They are from Peru..Can find river but not just at this moment..Agree ..They dont drop hundreds of eggs or i would have seen them..Only in dark side of tank..Fry come out when bold enough..Phill

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