Substrate Spawners

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Substrate Spawners
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Artificially Raising Substrate Spawning Fish

• Hobbyists have been artificially raising
  substrate-spawning fish for many years.
• This technique is popular for angelfish, Central
  American Cichlids and other substrate-spawning
  fish with small eggs.
• Some hobbyists feel that artificially raising fry
  (i.e. pulling the spawn) weakens the pair bond of
  the fish.
• This notion has not been explored scientifically.
  
• It should be pointed out the the majority of
  angelfish breeders (and many cichlid breeders)
  raise fry artificially.

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Angelfish Production
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Topics

• Background
• Varieties
• Water Quality
• Nutrition
• Spawning
• Hatching
• Juveniles

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Angelfish Background

• Angelfish
• Cichlidae family
• Pterphyllum scalare, P. dumerilii and P. altum
• Amazon basin and coastal rivers of the Guineas

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Varieties

• Colors
• Silver
• Gold
• Black
• Finnage
• Normal
• Veil
• Super veil

• Scales
• Normal
• Pearl scale
• Operculum
• Normal
• Blusher

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Silver (wild type)
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Gold Marble Veil
Black and White
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White Blusher
Black Super Veil
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Chocolate Super Veil
Black Marble
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Water Quality

• Temperature
• 82ºF spawning (27.8ºC)
• 76-84ºF growout
• pH
• 6.8-7.2

• Hardness
• Less than 100 mg/L
• Daylength
• 14L 8D

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Nutrition

• Breeders
• Frozen Brine Shrimp in the morning
• Flakes in the afternoon
• Juveniles
• Newly hatched Artemia salina
• Flakes
• Fry
• Newly hatched Artemia salina

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Flake Feeds
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15 oz Brine Shrimp
1 tsp eggs with 2 tbs saltin 2.8 liter water
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Brine Hatching Station3 liter soda bottles
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Spawning

• Broodstock selection
• Hard to distinguish males from female
• Natural pairing
• 6 high quality juveniles in tank
• Separate when bonding commences

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Spawning

• Place pair in 10-15 gallon aquarium
• Water
• 82F
• 14 hrs light
• Feeding
• slacked out frozen brine shrimp
• Flakes
• Spawning substrate

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Natural Pairing
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Natural Substrate
Slate Tile
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Female
Male
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• 200-400 eggs per spawn
• Spawn every 7-10 days

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2.5 gallon hatching tanks
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Juveniles

• 3 months from hatch to market
• Sizes
• Dime 0.50
• Quarter 0.75
• Half dollar 1.00 to 1.50
• (These are 1997 data.)

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Substrate Spawners (Robbing the Nest)

• Rem there are as many ways to raise fry as there
  are aquarium hobbyists and scientists.
• Before you get started
• Purchase the necessary supplies.
• Make sure you have space!!!
• Decide where you want to place the hatch tank.
• Observe when your fish spawn. One day
  post-spawning, you can pull the eggs.

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Partial Supply List

• Small hatching tank
• Air Pump (10 gallon size).
• Standard, plastic airline
• Gang Valve
• Small 7.5 Watt Heater
• Methylene blue (any brand)
• Small sponge filter
• Turkey baster
• Hang-on or floating thermometer

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Step 1

• Fill a clean, small tank or container with six
  quarts of water from the spawning tank.

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Step 2

• Remove the hatch from the spawning tank the day
  after spawning.
• Avoid exposing the eggs to air.
• Invert the spawning surface (rock, etc.) inside a
  cup or container.

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Step 3

• Place the spawning surface (rock, etc.) inside
  the hatching tank.

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Step 4

• Aerate the water.
• Take care not to blast
• the eggs with air. It could
• damage them.

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Step 5

• If your room temperature is below 78F, place a
  7.5 watt aquarium heater in the tank.
• Maintain the temperature at 7881F.
• A lid may help in cold rooms.

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Step 6

• Add 2 drops of Methylene Blue per each quart of
  water (any brand will do nicely).
• Methylene Blue kills fungus, which would prevent
  oxygen exhange across the eggs outer membrane
  and ultimatley destroy the eggs.
• NOTE Methylene Blue stains clothes permanently!

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Step 7

• Methylene Blue stains the water a deep blue.
• Eggs are light sensitive do not put a light over
  the tank.Your water should be darker than the
  picture at right.

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Step 8

• Use a strong flashlight and check the hatch
  daily.
• Most eggs hatch within 48-72 hours.
• At 6 to 9 days post-spawn, the fry should be free
  of the spawning surface at the "belly whomper"
  stage not quite able to swim, but hopping on the
  bottom.
• Remove the spawning surface (rock, etc.).

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Step 9

• As soon as the fry are belly whompers, start
  small, daily water changes.
• Remove a quart of water from the tank. Replace it
  with fresh, dechlorinated water.
• As you do more water changes, the water will get
  lighter and lighter.

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Step 10

• Carefully remove the debris using a turkey baster
  or small siphon.

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Fry care

• When the fry are free-swimming, add a small,
  seasoned sponge filter to replace the airstone.
• At this point, start feeding freshly hatched baby
  brine shrimp. Feed until the tummies are nice and
  round!
• Prepare a ten-gallon, grow-out tank. Use a sand
  or bare bottom, heater and sponge filter.

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• Continue feeding baby brine shrimp.
• -21 days post hatch
• Begin feeding finely crushed flake food
• -30 days fry should be off brine shrimp.
• -Weekly, 50 water changes are critical for fry
  growth.

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Spawning Substrate
Aquarium plants Breeding Fish by Robert Paul H
Plants play an important role in breeding many
types of fish and protecting fry. Choosing the
right plants for your fish depends on the growing
habits and leaf structure of the plant, and the
breeding habits of the fish.   Here are some
examples (Click on the images for a larger view)
                  Cabomba caroliniana
Spawning plant for many barbs and characins.
Suitable for cold water fish. Needs bright
light.                            
Hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum Rootless,
floating stem plant. This hardy, easy to grow
plant can be anchored to the substrate, (but it
will never grow roots), or allowed to float.
Great spawning plant for all fish and gives
hiding places for females and fry.        
                Water sprite, Ceratopteris
Planted or floating, suitable for larger fish
and bubble-nest builders. Easy to care for
plant.          

• What if you want a natural set up??
• Depending on the fish species, you may choose to
  utilize aquatic vegetation to complete your
  fishs life cycle with.

                                       Marble
Queen Sword, Radican Sword Large broad leaf
plant suitable for large fish who like to lay
eggs on large flat surfaces, such as Angelfish  
                             Egeria
najans Stem plant with small leaf whorls,
moderate light, grows planted or floating and
suitable for free-spawning fish in cooler water
                     Hygrophila difformis,
Water Wisteria Stem plant with thick lacey
growth that needs bright light. Suitable for
larger free spawning fish.        
               Ambulia, Limnophila Tall growing
stem plant with thick, feathery leaf clusters.
Requires bright light. Spawning plant for all
free-spawning characins and barbs.      
               Ludwigia repens Stem plant that
needs moderate to bright light, planted or
floating, can be used in cool water, suitable for
fish that like to spawn on smaller leaf surfaces
such as Chessboard cichlids      
               Foxtail, Myriophyllum Stem plant
with soft, fine-plumed leaves. Needs moderate to
bright light and suitable for small free spawning
fish.               Floating plants for
bubble-nest builders and Killifish Water
lettuce Duckweed Riccia Water hyancinth    
Java moss Provides a thick mossy cushion on the
tank bottom or attached to wood or rock. Free
spawning fish such as barbs, characins, and
rainbow fish respond well to it. Requires only
low to moderate light.
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Spawning Substrate Plants
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Plants, Plants, Plants
Aquarium plants Breeding Fish by Robert Paul H
Plants play an important role in breeding many
types of fish and protecting fry. Choosing the
right plants for your fish depends on the growing
habits and leaf structure of the plant, and the
breeding habits of the fish.   Here are some
examples (Click on the images for a larger view)
                  Cabomba caroliniana
Spawning plant for many barbs and characins.
Suitable for cold water fish. Needs bright
light.                            
Hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum Rootless,
floating stem plant. This hardy, easy to grow
plant can be anchored to the substrate, (but it
will never grow roots), or allowed to float.
Great spawning plant for all fish and gives
hiding places for females and fry.        
                Water sprite, Ceratopteris
Planted or floating, suitable for larger fish
and bubble-nest builders. Easy to care for
plant.          

• Plants play an important role in breeding many
  types of fish and protecting fry.
• Choosing the right plants for your fish depends
  on the growing habits and leaf structure of the
  plant, and the breeding habits of the fish.

                                       Marble
Queen Sword, Radican Sword Large broad leaf
plant suitable for large fish who like to lay
eggs on large flat surfaces, such as Angelfish  
                             Egeria
najans Stem plant with small leaf whorls,
moderate light, grows planted or floating and
suitable for free-spawning fish in cooler water
                     Hygrophila difformis,
Water Wisteria Stem plant with thick lacey
growth that needs bright light. Suitable for
larger free spawning fish.        
               Ambulia, Limnophila Tall growing
stem plant with thick, feathery leaf clusters.
Requires bright light. Spawning plant for all
free-spawning characins and barbs.      
               Ludwigia repens Stem plant that
needs moderate to bright light, planted or
floating, can be used in cool water, suitable for
fish that like to spawn on smaller leaf surfaces
such as Chessboard cichlids      
               Foxtail, Myriophyllum Stem plant
with soft, fine-plumed leaves. Needs moderate to
bright light and suitable for small free spawning
fish.               Floating plants for
bubble-nest builders and Killifish Water
lettuce Duckweed Riccia Water hyancinth    
Java moss Provides a thick mossy cushion on the
tank bottom or attached to wood or rock. Free
spawning fish such as barbs, characins, and
rainbow fish respond well to it. Requires only
low to moderate light.
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Cabomba caroliniana

• Spawning plant for many barbs and characins.
• Suitable for cold water fish.
• Needs bright light.

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Hornwort, Ceratophyllum demersum

• Rootless, floating stem plant.
• This hardy, easy to grow plant can be anchored to
  the substrate, (but it will never grow roots), or
  allowed to float.
• Great spawning plant for all fish and gives
  hiding places for females and fry.

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Water sprite, Ceratopteris

• Planted or floating, suitable for larger fish and
  bubble-nest builders.
• Easy to care for plant.

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Cryptocoryne blassi

• Broad leaf plant, moderate light, grows fairly
  tall, suitable for fish that like to spawn on
  large flat surfaces, such as Angelfish

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Marble Queen Sword, Radican Sword

• Large broad leaf plant
• Suitable for large fish who like to lay eggs on
  large flat surfaces, such as Angelfish

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Foxtail, Myriophyllum

• Stem plant with soft, fine-plumed leaves. Needs
  moderate to bright light and suitable for small
  free spawning fish.

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Water Wisteria, Hygrophila difformis

• Stem plant with thick lacey growth that needs
  bright light.
• Suitable for larger free spawning fish.

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Floating plants for bubble-nest builders and
Killifish

• Water lettuce
• Duckweed
• Riccia
• Water hyancinth

water hyacinth