Culling spawns

[ss_boy86]

at what age should i start culling the smaller ones of the spawn, soem seem to be quite alot smaller in size.

[Adrienne]

It depends why you are culling ie not enough space, deformed fry etc. They grow at different rates so often people sepearate them in to tanks depending on their size. This prevents the bigger fry getting the bulk of the food and allows the smaller ones to catch up.

If you are culling due to deformity then do it as you see them appear.

If it is because you don't have enough tanks for the number of fish wait until you really have to as often the slower growers will turn out with the best form.

I might be interested if you have some fry to get rid of

[ss_boy86]

yea some of the size difference is rediculous , i like to know the herritage so am hesitant at seperating in size due to the number of fish.

[alanmin4304]

I used to always seperate by size for a number of reasons. The small ones are often the best ones and the largest are the ugliest and the most aggressive. I would take future breeders from near the middle unless there were particular features I wanted. Removing the largest allows the smaller ones to catch up. This is a problem with fighters and gouramis.

[ss_boy86]

thanks alan i will think about this tonight