Let the Breeding Season Begin!
On Wednesday, 2/15/12, we found one of our "in color" males protecting a small clutch of eggs under a shell that we placed in the aquarium. On Thursday, prior to a four day holiday weekend, we determined that it would be best if we removed the eggs from the male and place them into our baby nursery as they would most likely hatch during the extended weekend and require protection from hungry adult minnows.
We returned to school on 2/21/12 and were very excited to observe approximately 15 baby minnows! We quickly utilized our paramecium cultures and collected hundreds of individuals to feed our young. The next few days will be critical in determining if we truly have mastered the proper techniques for raising the fathead minnow!
We returned to school on 2/21/12 and were very excited to observe approximately 15 baby minnows! We quickly utilized our paramecium cultures and collected hundreds of individuals to feed our young. The next few days will be critical in determining if we truly have mastered the proper techniques for raising the fathead minnow!
ALMOST!The results of the season's first clutch has brought us a total of 3 healthy and growing baby fathead minnows! A 20% success rate of raising fry from egg is still not meeting our standards. As always, back to the drawing board to analyze what can be changed in our aquaculture practices to produce a higher success rate of raising young.
Check out the video to the left to see our modifications. They will be tested VERY SOON when we place our second clutch of 100+ eggs into our new nursery! |
FINALLY!
Check out all of our babies on the left side of the image!
After numerous attempts with limited success, it seems as if our current method of raising the baby fathead minnows worked! The smaller volume of aged aquarium water coupled with a higher concentration of paramecium has fostered the development of ~ 50 young fathead minnows! Many of the babies have started feeding on prepared fry food. Stay posted for their continued progress!
