Unexpected spawn

21 years ago

Woken up at 2:30am to a lot of splashing, looked in my pond this morning to see thousands of little tapioca like eggs. These aren't koi carp though. I have three carp which are capable of spawning I think due to their size. They are 1 mirror carp, 1 common carp and 1 lovely ghost koi. I put the ghost koi yesterday. The common and mirror have been in there quite a few weeks now, the common isn't as big as the other two though. I have a feeling it was the mirror and ghostie that spawned. Anyway the fish have been eating quite a lot of the eggs but I have managed to get thousands (which are mainly attached to algae) and put them in this big tub I use for quarantining. It has a pump running not to fast but enough to keep it aerated, and the fry shouldnÂt be sucked in it. Most of the eggs are transparent (which are the good ones I think) a few are white. I have read somewhere I should put in a bit of malachite green to prevent fungus growing on the infertile ones. How much malachite green should I use; just a little bit not the recommended amount and will this damage my eggs? I plan on buying a kiddies paddling pool within the next few days. So when the fry hatch I will transport them to the paddling pool and raise them in their what should I feed them and how much, I hear of something called brine shrimp. Would blended koi pellets to a fine powder be enough? Also how often would I have to do water changes? I live in England by the way, and would really like to raise some fish. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

daddytony80
21 years ago
congrats on your first spawning! Sounds like all 3 had fun to be honest - provided your Ghosty came from similar water conditions theres no reason why it wouldn't be "in the mood" so to speak, in fact in commercial breeding they separate the sexes, raise the temp, then put them back together to stimulate spawning, which sounds exactly like what happened! OK - eggs, the truly clear ones and any white ones, will be infertile, the fertile eggs will be an opaque slightly beize colour, which will darken the closer to hatching they become. If you want to raise them the BEST first food is infusoria (they move on to daphnia etc after a few days)you COULD fiddle around spending days in complicated biological preparation for something they'll eat for a week and then move on from, or you could do as ive always done and just spend a couple of quid on the pre-prepared liquid ones you can get - it's not like they'll be on it for long anyway - remember - the first 3-4 days after hatching they dont need ANYTHING as they'll be consuming their yolk sac - once they reach the 10-15 day point i feed them on REALLY finely crushed FLAKE (not the pellets - they don't crush finely enough - just bog standard goldfish flake) - as they get bigger just de-crease the amount of crushing, till theyre up to about 1/2 " long at which point i'd switch to roughly crushed pellets. If at all possible i'd avoid putting them back into the pond wih the adults until youve got a nice weedy section for them to hide in, and they're about 1" long (growth depends on temp and food).
As for the malachite green - yes, it's great stuff for keeping down the fungus i use just enough to give the water a very light tinge - approx half the standard dosage.
Don't forget - you will NEED to cull if you are raising outside of the pond or you'll end up with THOUSANDS of fry, that you just don't have room for and will stifle the growth of the good ones - as cruel as it sounds i just pop them back in with mum and dad, and pretty soon they're a fish supper - the other most humane way is pop them in a bag, and freeze them - the fish go into hibernation mode, their brain shuts down, and they effectively die in their sleep.

Lastly - Good Luck!!!
daddytony80
21 years ago
P.S. Water changes should be around 30% each week after the first fortnight after hatching - p.s. i always use a siphon with a piece of old stocking over the end of the hose to avoid sucking the little ones up and out!!
Related Discussions
The Real Accidental Gardener
Q
Comments (2)
Shoot! Was hoping it would grow up, like summer squash, not out, like pumpkin! Here I go again! LOL I can tell the difference between the main stem and the laterals -- the main is dark green, and looks in thickness and color, like it's a zucchinni with branches coming out of it! Was surprised how thick and sturdy it became before even out growing the trash can. Thanks for your help. I'm going to try to tie it loosely with string, to pull the leaves higher, instead of letting them keep spreading wider, and then follow your plan, hoping it doesn't really spread completely across my yard! (I was pretty sure the leaves were God's way of protecting the fruit from too much sun and bugs, since the insects have stopped flying out when I water it, ever since the leaves have completely covered the trash can. If it's anything like last year's pumpkin, the bees will find or have found the flowers, since one is definitely growing a squash.) Only place left in my yard is where we can actually walk around and enjoy or work on the garden. I already need to move containers to water other containers. Moving big branches and leaves is tougher, and I always worry about rodents jumping out at me. (Has happened a couple of times. LOL) I may have finally gone overboard - completely! LOL Thanks! Your info is much appreciated!
...See More
The Real Accidental Gardener
Q
Comments (1)
Hi Valentine, I like this forum as much as I like the Vertical Gardening forum but both are extremely under-utilized. You'll wait forever for a response...post your question over at the Veggie forum and you'll get answers within 24 hours, otherwise don't hold your breath!
...See More
Spring Me a Surprise - Received...
Q
Comments (150)
I received a surprise today from Chris (grolikecrazy)! Thank you. :) The plain letter envelope had holes in it- looks like it was damaged in transit. There was no bubble wrap or other padding inside of it to cushion the seeds. Seeds sent to me with no bubbles almost always do get destroyed like this, because the PO runs mail through some hard metal rollers unless it's in a bubble mailer marked FRAGILE in big red letters. :( The Dianthus barbatus seeds were about 75% destroyed and the Red Noodle Yard Long Bean seeds were completely dust. Thank you grolikecrazy, for kindly sending to me. I can still sow the few Dianthus seeds that made it, and hopefully get some plants! Excited about that. :) I'm sorry this happened, Chris. You were so kind to send seeds to me. I'm very glad you were thinking of me, and some of the Dianthus seeds do appear to be usable. It made my day to receive this, even if it is just a few seeds. : ) Thanks, Grovespirit Wondering why the surprises I mailed out haven't shown up here yet. I do hope they didn't get lost in the mail.
...See More
The Relationship Of Cooking, Food And Companionship
Q
Comments (24)
DH & I spent 6 years together only on weekends. We had an apartment in NY where he stayed during the week & I stayed in Mystic. Only sometimes would I spend a couple weeks in NY. I cooked in Mystic & froze individual servings of entrees, sides, desserts, & snacks. DH would transport via our huge boat ice chest every week. I cooked for us both on the weekends. I, OTOH, had the same opportunity to eat great POOF'd meals but rather just grabbed a carton of yogurt, a spoonful of peanut butter, or a slice of cheese & piece of fruit calling it "dinner". I didn't follow a schedule...usually ate when I realized I'd had nothing for the day. I didn't care enough about eating to even bother getting something from the freezer & walking it to the nuker. Just didn't have an appetite. But I loved cooking to fill the freezer for DH. He ate very well. I love cooking more than I love eating. Now, he's retired & we're both in Mystic. Suddenly, I'm ravenous! Now granted, the steroids I have to take now have something to do with it but it's a lot more...it's having DH here to share a meal. There's no doubt in my mind that if I were permanently alone I wouldn't bother with much cooking. I enjoy good food but (pre-spinal injury/stroke) I'd likely be involved with my piano, gardening, or painting/drawing & just never think much about eating. When I'm deeply involved in something food doesn't occur to me. DH, OTOH, wants 3 meals/day & gets grouchy if he misses one. :) Bottom line, I enjoy cooking for others but would rarely (if ever) do much for just myself. Another thing, after I've prepared a huge family holiday meal I then don't want to eat. I either don't eat at all or just pick at a small plate. Then, hours later I'll fix myself leftovers (love leftovers!). When the kids were all home it was frequently the same thing. After fixing a big family dinner I didn't want to eat. So, I'd fix something light, or leftovers again, after the kids were down. After cooking a big meal I'm just not hungry anymore. I could definitely work as a chef & not gain a single pound. Being around all that food...I'd never be hungry. /tricia
...See More

Unexpected spawn

Comments (2)

daddytony80

daddytony80

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US