German super reds

Well these guys won't stop right now, I've got the system running sweet as a nut with a seneye installed to keep a close eye on things, as there must be 120 ish fry now.
I've 25 ish 1.25-2 inch from first spawn
50 ish 0.25 inch from last weeks spawn
And now another 50 ish eggs hours away from becoming wriggles.

Any tips on food, to get these guys fattened up quick.
I feed.
Cucumber
Courgette
Algae wafers( three different brands)
Jmc pellets
Spirulina
Cockles
Brine shrimp with garlic

I keep the temp at a average of 26.2 c

Mine devour no salt added canned green beans. Other than that you seem to be providing a good variety already which is key.

The brine shrimp haven't caused any issues with bloat?

And congrats on all the success! I am happy about my 6 little wigglers at the moment, lol. I just tell myself it 's about the quality not the quantity. You've got both! Any pics?

All your foods sound great. I also feed:

Fresh spinach, steamed till it wilts enough so most of it sinks-everybody loves it, there is never any leftover, and the babies ride around munching away on any floating leaves.
Dried marine algae/raw nori
Raw mushrooms - the fry esp seem to like them
newly hatched bbs
microworms

Would LOVE to see some pics of your reds!

Sarah

Hi,sounds a good diet except i wouldn't feed cockles.The green beans do go down well (opened length ways and beans removed) and i also feed Tetra Pro Veg Crisps which they love.


Any pics of the german super reds ? and may i ask where you obtained them as i have been interested in some for a while.


Bristlenoses

They dont get loads of brine shrimp or cockles, but why not cockles cos my god they love the stuff.lol
sorry cant remember which two different countries i sourced my breeding stock from, i order so much fish i just cant remember, it was six months ago.
i kept the two lots seperate til i could sex them, then selected the most handsome male from one group and some pretty females from the other, then took the rest in to work.

some pics.

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not the best pics to be fair, ill try and get some better one tomorrow after work

wow, its really hard to see all the little guys. lol

Amazing fish! I have no idea what cockles are! Time for google!

Drpuzzled wrote:

wow, its really hard to see all the little guys. lol

Yes, I have the same problem trying to get a decent pic of my red fry. They have taken on a lot darker orange in the last couple days though, so I'm going to give it a try.

My guys are nuts for the seafood (live bbs) too. I've never tried cockles (clams to us yankees) but I'm sure they'd go for them. I do feed more "protein" foods than most people seem to think is good, but it's always (and regularly) in the form of live bbs, or (occasionally) frozen brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, bloodworms, or live microworms.

I think that makes a difference IMO. For one thing it's very small bits of food spread out in the tank so no one fish is able to hog down on a huge amount. When the live bbs hits the water, the tank comes alive and nobody stops until its gone, there is a lot of competition for it. I think they would be eating small live organisms they encountered while grazing in the wild, probably on a fairly regular basis, so rather than being bad for them I feel it's healthy.

I would be careful giving them a single larger piece of protein food such as cockles, simply because one or more of them could eat it to excess at one sitting, possibly precipitating a bout of bloat. I think that is why Bristlenoses is advising against it.

Anyhow, it's hard to argue with success, which you obviously have!

Sarah

How big are the red parents? I just got a male/female pair today, and wondering how far away they would be from spawning. My red male is about 3in and my red female is about 2.5-2.75in. I'm not sure of their age, and they have not spawned at all, ever yet.
Your adult red, and fry in the pics look great. Can you post a pic of the red adults, and again how big are your red adults?

Hi,as Sarah said,cockles are a biggish piece of meaty food.I would worry that it would cause bloat if they ate a lot.I do agree that a very small percentage of protein foods such as bbs would be healthy for bristlenoses as they would encounter such things in the wild but i personaly feed only algae and vegetable matter.


Bristlenoses

Very valid points on the cockles, think ill knock them on the head, ty.
The adults are in the pics, they must be 3-4inch and must be 8-10 month old.
I will admit I thought these guys would grow bigger.
The male is more slender than the females, the females are phat lol.
Ill try and get some close up of the adults.

What about if I finely chop the cockle and only feed sparely??
Because these guys go nuts for it and I feel a bit tight cutting them off, what if they go in to withdrawal.lol

Just thought I'd mention, I don't really breed to sell these guys. I take them into work and let the shop benefit.
I really do it just or my own personal enjoyment and these super reds are a test run for the custom tank I designed.
I just get such a buzz learning there's more eggs and then seeing the wriggles, and what seems like a life time for the little guys to emerge(no time at all really).
This is my love really, and my reef tank I'm getting together.
I work in the trade and keep fish and go fishing. Fish have kinda taken over my life and I couldn't be happier. (Ex fabricator)

Drpuzzled wrote:

What about if I finely chop the cockle and only feed sparely??
Because these guys go nuts for it and I feel a bit tight cutting them off, what if they go in to withdrawal.lol

I was actually going to suggest that very thing. Mince it up fine and put just a small amount in- they still get their treat, and also some exercise searching for every last one of the tiny bits!

Sarah

WOW!, my GSR last spawn has produced in excess of 100 fry easy, I rescued a small clump kicked out and put them in a tumbler, they all have hatched and there s 30 in there.
Wouldn't be at all surprised if there was 150.
Glad my filtration is amazing.

Congratulations on the Super Red explosion!!



Sarah