Feeding Stations

[malulu]

George,

yes, i was trying to get the window mesh one, but thinking i need to cut something to seal both side, BUT i don't have anything like that handy... hence getting the popup area on a container may be easier...

I am also thinking i can just flip it over and it would flow on top of the water for my copperband Butterfly fish.

Paul,
wow, selling 6000+ units! you must be rich!!

 

[Paul B]

Oh yeah. I got it coming out of my ears. Don't forget, I also patented that one and I just about broke even.

 

[Paul B]

I just added another pair of bluestripes. Here is the old, larger female with a new small male. There is also another small female.

 

[Paul B]

It's been a little over a month since I installed this thing and I love it. My tank has 3 bluestrip pipefish, and two mandarins along with some small clown gobies and shrimp. They all hang around this thing for a few hours that it has shrimp in it. In this tank I really don't have to supliment their diet because there are plenty of pods but I like everything to spawn and the only way fish will spawn is by eating more food then they normally can and food with a high oil content such as new born brine shrimp are even better than pods.
Two of the pipefish are to young to spawn but I feel that in a couple of weeks they will be ready. Also my female mandarin is to young so this will fatten her up.
My copperband is a regular visitor here although he gets live worms every day.
It is just another thing for me to get facinated about.

 

[malulu]

Paul,
Can you help to share some tips how to make live brine shrimp ? I tries twice before and failed...
Thx

 

[Paul B]

Malulu, they are simple to hatch, if you just add the eggs to salt water such as you throw out for water changes they will hatch. But then it is a little of a pain to seperate the egg shells. They make devices that do this and they are cheap. Luckily for us the shrimp are attracted to light. So I built this thing which is really just two boxes. One white or clear and one black. I put the eggs and water on the black side and cover it with a black cover and add an airstone. In about 16 hours the shrimp hatch and I slide open the door between the two sides. Take out the airstone and leave the dark side covered. I put a light source near the clear side and in 15 minutes, all the shrimp swim through the hole to the light. Then I clide closed the door and open the valve or suck them out. The shells stay on the dark side and I throw them out.
I start the eggs a day before in a jar so that when I put them in the hatchery, they hatch in a few hours. I get a nice hatch every day and with some of the small fish I have I need this.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Where do you get the eggs Paul?

 

[panmanmatt]

Or you can just use decapsulated eggs in a 2l soda bottle hatchery and still not have the mess.

 

[MadReefer]

You can use a 1 gallon fishbowl. The egg shells shoud float and be scooped out. A flashlight shined will attrack all the shrimp to one spot.

 

[Paul B]

Where do you get the eggs Paul?

Any pet shop, aquarium store, online.

You can use a 1 gallon fishbowl. The egg shells shoud float and be scooped out

Yes but if you sneeze near them, they will all mix with the shrimp and you will have to wait an hour to seperate them.
If you are going to do this all the time, just build a seperator. Find a couple of square containers, paint one black, drill a hole in each and glue them together, make some type of door, or at least stick a cork in the hole.

 

[malulu]

what about the temperature?
put them in room temperature is fine? would it be too cold in a unfurnished basement?
thank you for all the great advises!

 

[panmanmatt]

what about the temperature?
put them in room temperature is fine? would it be too cold in a unfurnished basement?
thank you for all the great advises!

Room temperature or even warmer. A small desk lamp shining on them works fine. Brine shrimp hatching is temperature dependent, the colder it is the longer it takes them to hatch. Ideal temp is 78-82F.

 

[malulu]

ok.. thx

 

[Paul B]

That skinny little female mandarin at the beginning of this thread is now all filled out and bordering on a little chubby. I am hopeful that soon she will grow enough to mate with the large male who so far ignores her. I don't know why, she is cute.

 

[Paul B]

I am happy to say that in the 5 or 6 weeks since I installed this baby brine shrimp feeding station my skinny little female mandarin fattened up nicely and is now bordering on plump.
The first picture is when I got her, you can see her sides pinched in, especially under her dorsal fin and she resembled Twiggy.
The second picture is today.