The Great Fry Hunt- Do it or not?

Post by **TwoTankAmin** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:14 pm

Here is the situation:

-A breeding colony of 13 zebras housed in a 30B.
-Fry from 5-6 spawns from Apr. to the current batch of eggs have been left in the tank while the fry from 3 other spawns were removed to a 15 gal. growout tank.
- The number of fry in the breeder tank is unknown but there are an assortment of sizes/ages from as old as 6 months+ down to a few weeks out of the cave.

The dilemna:

- I am afraid the breeder tank is over crowded.
- The fish continue to spawn.
- I am afraid that pulling the tank apart to remove a bunch of the fry could disrupt the colony and halt the breeding process
- I have an additional 2 adults (possibly a pair) not in with the breeders which I would like to get into the spawning game but might disrupt the colony.

The current plan:

- Break down the breeding tank over the weekend of the 14th or 21st and remove as many fry as I can and then put the tank back together.
- Distribute the removed fry between the current growout tank which holds about 15-16 fry and a new growout tank to be set up for them.
- Add the two adults currently parked in a discus tank in with the colony after the disruption of the fry hunt.
- Begin to sell fry over an inch to recoup some of my rather substantial investment.

I would really appreciate input from the more experienced zebra folks here on this all. Am I doing the right thing? If not what is a better course of action?

Thanks in advance for your input and ideas.

Alistair · Post by **Alistair** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:30 pm

most people would love to be in your position (my self included)8)

eklikewhoa · Post by **eklikewhoa** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:43 pm

ditto!

i would upgrade the tank and then for later spawns let the fry grow out in the tank! but i would break it down and hunt fry, afterwards introduce new pair. after awhile you might have problems with water conditions.

jerms55555 · Post by **jerms55555** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:56 pm

I was in your same position about a couple of months ago and i broke down the tank and captured all the fry and within a few weeks there were at it again! So i dont think it will mess with there productivity!!

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 11:48 pm

IIRC, your Zeebs have already been 'disturbed' before since you bought them from someone else who had fry from them..? In which case, you know that nature is taking its course and they're breeding again already. I really don't think you'll have much downtime in their production.

Post by **Barbie** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 5:47 am

I already told you my take on all of this. I think you'd be fine removing everything and pulling the fry, then putting the adults back in. Maybe with less "stuff" in the tank so you can actually even keep track of the fish

.

I also think it would be a big mistake in a successfully spawning tank to add new adult fish. If they were on hiatus, that would be one thing. The whole group will have to reestablish hierarchy and you could potentially put them off. It's not broken, don't fix it. The male can only spawn as often as he is now anyway. If you MUST mess with success, remove your third male and put him in the other tank. That is the only thing I would potentially risk.

Just my opinion though.

Barbie