fry tank population density

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bicolormoth
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fry tank population density

Post by bicolormoth »

i have a shoreham 220g tank that i intend to use to grow fry in. its filtered & heated. can anyone tell me a sensible/safe stock density for bringing up fry. :?:

Russell.
Davej
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by Davej »

Hi Russell

No simple answer to this; depends on how old the fry are, how good the filtration is and how much you want them to grow?

Regards

Dave
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bicolormoth
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by bicolormoth »

i have access to lots of fry. I am thinking of getting them going in the shoreham, then as they grow move the bigger ones out into a 250g 'tub' for growing on. say after they get to 2". then any real 'shooters' could be moved to a 450g tank for nore growing. does that sound sensible. ? i know nothing about 'culling', should i even be thinking about it, or just let nature do its thing ?
Davej
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by Davej »

Hi Russell

Getting access to fry is onething - decent quality fry a different matter altogether.

Believe me there is no money in it, I do it for the fun of it - but the costs in terms of cash and time are massive.. £8 a day for Liquifry....

You can keep 50,000 week old fry in 250gallons no problem, but they grow and they need feeding.. holidays, weekends away are outthe window you have to structure your life around them; not something you can do unless you are on hand for them.

Ive had fry in 10 gallons and they survive but dont thrive..

In optimum conditions they very quickly get bigger and you either need more water or less fish.. Natural wastage is not a sensible option unless you want a wipe out;

This year I am looking at about 3-400 Doitsu Showa fry at coming up to 4 weeks (about 30-35mm) that need about 200g to thrive at the moment and will need and have double that in a fortnight... Yes I could run double the number but they would then be 20-25mm..

It's a balancing act, but in 250g then raising 15 -20 to 15cm -25cm by April would be the max but that does depends on how good the filtration is etc ..

Regards

Dave
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bicolormoth
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by bicolormoth »

cheers Dave. I am looking at getting maybe 100 - 200 fry to start with, they are about 1/2" - 3/4" at the moment. I am hoping to learn about the way they grow & develop, patterns & colours etc. if i sold them on in the spring and broke even i would be delighted. not trying to make a pile out of it, just for the experience really.
what is Liquifry ? and where can i get info about feeding ?

cheers Russell.
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by Dave T »

Hi Russell.

for the past 3 years i have been tank raising fry.

200-300 in a 250 gal tank is fine...but the filteration is the key.Something ive learned is that the amount of food you'll be throwing in needs a more than adequate filter to cope.
Best advice would be to use a flow through system on a long rectangular tank (mine is 150 gallons 200 fry approx.) fed by a spray bar up one end and gauze covered outlets on the other end. I use my reliable mature pond water....many would advise against this but i found it works best if you tank raising large numbers of fry.

ok feeding...this can be expensive...you can buy liquifry( cysts of micro organisms for feeding fry,comes in liquid form)or Artemia and go down this route. I found the best and easiest way was to fill some containers (5gals) with pond water.
leave outside for weeks in full sun, all kinds of creepy crawlys will start to grow...feed this to your fry.
At 1/2 inch the fry should be over their''night feeds'' they should take flakes or dust of feed.

all said ....''a flow through system is the way to go''...with lots of air going in.
best of luck
Russell
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bicolormoth
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by bicolormoth »

this is the tank i will be using. i have replaced the sump grid with a stainless plate with 3mm holes in it. and replaced the media so that it now has brushed in the 1st chamber and jap mat in the second. it has air & heat.
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Dave T
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by Dave T »

ye...looks good...

looks good...if not 100% flow through system start it up now...likewise get the few 5 gals live feed
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bicolormoth
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by bicolormoth »

bit of an update , i now have this tank set up in my shed, i have 82 small koi from 3/4" to 2" , bit of a mixed bag really. I have a heater on and it is at 17C at the moment and lots of air. i was given some food which looks like 2 different pellets ground up, one brown one red.
i am hoping to learn from how they develop, colour wise & growth too. i have about 20 shiro looking dudes, about 20 kohaku-ish chaps , 16 Showa-ish ones and around 20 that are really pale with a little black/grey around the head/eyes/fins.
and a tancho :)
it will be good to watch them grow up & go through the changes. I just might need a few pointers along the way. :wink:
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bicolormoth
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Re: fry tank population density

Post by bicolormoth »

another update. 4 months on and these little fella's are doing okay. i lost 5 or 6 so have about 75 left. they are mixed in size from about 1.5" to 4" . some are now starting to show the colours breaking up into what they might end up like. particularly a shiro and a tancho showa. I have just ordered some grade 12 growth food from TA aquaculture, up to now they have been getting my normal pond food (kusuri pf1) ground up along with some silkworm/shrimp etc.
i am hoping to put some pics up as soon as i figure out how to take a steady pic. they keep coming out blurry. :oops:
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