My BN Breeding set up in BN only tank

Tank - 29 gal. / 110 liter acrylic

Temp- 78 f / 25 c
PH- well water, varies:
slightly hard and alkaline in summer, offset with peat.
neutral to slightly acid in winter, use as is.

Ammonia 0 / Nitrites 0
Nitrates appr. 10 ppm after water change / up to 30+ before w.c.

Water changes- at least 30% daily, or 50% every other day, minimum.
Tank carries a heavy bio-load, esp. with fry. I don't use grow out tanks so water changes are not optional ( which is ok, as an angel breeder I eat, sleep, and breath water changes!)

Food- zucchini, spinach (raw or slightly steamed), cucumber, romaine, pumpkin, yellow squash, dried marine algae, spirulina wafer and flake (28%protein), live newly hatched bbs.

Tank- bare bottom / half filled with Malaysian and Mopani bog wood.

Caves- 1 inch and 1 1/4 inch opening X 6 inch square terra cotta, 1 1/4 inch pvc, and drilled hole in Mopani wood. 7 caves total, angled and shaded by bog wood so males cannot see each other when on a spawn. The square clay caves are preferred, the hole in the mopani was used once, the pvc is totally ignored.

Filters/air- 3 air stones and 2 HOT Magnum filters along back wall. Use sponge in the Magnum cartridges, not carbon. Sponge covers over the intakes. 2 large sponge filters, one on each side, attached above the bog wood by magnets. There is a strong pull of water across the bottom, then pushed out at the top. I have had no issues with bacterial buildup, and with the huge amount of bog wood the fish, esp. fry, spend very little time on the bottom.

I also keep a small number of ramshorn snails in the tank. I control them by manual removal when cleaning out excess food (they are invariably clinging to it) as well as keeping some assassin snails too.

I stimulated spawns with heavy feedings of veg, moderate amounts of bbs, and large slightly cooler water changes.

There are 4 males (1 brown, 3alb.) and 5 females (1brown, 4 alb.). 3 of the males seem to actively spawn at once, I've never seen all 4 fanning at the same time. There is very little aggression, except one of the large alb. males wants to take over the cave claimed by the smallish brown male- they all seem to prefer the 1 inch openings, so I am ordering more to keep everyone happy.

There are a lot of youngsters, ranging from newly emerged to 1+ inchers. They are about 75% albino, the rest brown. I have put together a nice group of super reds, in a similar set up, hopefully they will prove as cooperative and prolific!

Hi Sarahdd,Good info there and thanks for sharing it.Sounds like a good set up you have and a good system going.Do you manage to find homes for all those fry?


Bristlenoses

Thanks, so far it's working extremely well for me.

Yes, I do have lots of fry, fortunately I have an excellent relationship with a LFS - one of the only non-chain stores around here. The owner takes good care of his stock and is very knowledgeable. He originally began buying angels from me, after I convinced him mine were not the sickly weak fish he had given up carrying.

Now he wants pretty much anything I have -several varieties of angels, Moscow guppies, apple snails, and of course Bristlenose. I take credit rather than cash, I charge him less than the wholesalers, and I often throw in extras.

In return I can enjoy my hobby, offset the cost a little, and know I have a store owner who truly cares enough about his business and the fish to educate his customers rather than just push as many fish out the door as possible.

I consider myself extremely lucky in this regard.

That's excellent and i know what you mean about having a good and knowledgeable store that care about their fish and know what they are doing.



Bristlenoses