Comment by Robert Jango on October 9, 2013 at 8:09pm

The pond sounds like a great idea. Hole + EPDM liner = Pond. I kept Discus alive in a very large (20,000 gallon)  pond that went as low as 59F and had a PH that fluctuated between 6.4 - 9.0. Something about the sun, algae, live food, and large (almost wild) conditions allow you to do things that you could never get away with in a tank. 

Comment by Robert Jango on October 9, 2013 at 8:38pm

Doesn't Ramsey raise his Brine Shrimp outside in the summertime? I'd try it myself but adult brine shrimp are just not that nutritious. (Baby brine shrimp are very nutritious) I focus my efforts on things that fish eat in their natural habitat and stuff that's easier and cheaper to raise - stuff like other smaller fish, rotifiers, insect larvae, shrimp etc. Supplies can get a little low in the winter but so far I've never had to resort to artificial food.

Yeah, with the worms, "just drop a whole one in and let them do the work".  But it won't be work;  it'll be play. All Tetras have teeth. Its a family trait. Think Neons as cute Pirahnas. It's possible that they won't be able to tear apart the larger worms. Maybe the outer skin will be too tough or maybe it will scare them. Give it a try. See what happens. Worms can absorb oxygen through their skin underwater and will stay alive for several hours or more. Leave the worm in but take it out if you think it will die and cloud the water. You could cut the worms but I don't. It can kill them and, like I said before dead "live" foods are dangerous.

This is why I love things like insect larvae, small fish, daphnia and blackworms. You can't overfeed them. They stay alive in the water until they're eaten.

Yeah, algae is also a great human food. Not sure where I bought mine. Google "Spirulina".

Dustin gives great advice when it comes to plants. Plants LOVE dirt. Co2 is a fish (and human) waste product. In large quantities it will kill us and our fish. I avoid Co2 dosing. I say If you really want to grow your plants large why not expose them to radiation instead? You could grow a Water Chesnut to about the size of a Buick.  All kidding aside, plants also love sunlight.

Comment by TeamKRF on October 10, 2013 at 7:56am

"Yeah, algae is also a great human food. Not sure where I bought mine. Google "Spirulina"."

Health stores have like "GNC" has crushed spirulina, that you'd otherwise use in a shake drink.

Spirulina = Most protien packed thing on the planet.

Ps. Robert, my endler breeding is doing awesome even created a japan blue crossed with my black bars, end result was the front half colors of black bar and back half japan blue.  Amano Shrimp breeding project went very well too.  Just been haven't been able to update blogs with good pics yet.  How is you pond?

Comment by Robert Jango on October 10, 2013 at 8:39am

Your neighbor is right. They don't have a yellow tail. I think I used the term "yellowish tip on the tail" which serves to identify them by way of contrast with Nightcrawlers. 

Anyway, I would definitely give it a try. You don't have to cut or wash them, Although a quick rinse might help. Remember that when confronted with a new food, fish won't always go for it right away. It took a day for my baby Discus to identify blackworms as food and then start eating them. Now they practically jump out of the tank for them.

Start with the smallest worms possible. If they eat one and never come back for more that means they don't like it. Red worms are the only worms I know of that fish don't especially like. But I had an Oscar that loved them.

See what happens. It may be a smashing success. In the meantime, see if you can dig up some nightcrawlers. They typically live above the ground underneath the leaf litter. But, this time of year they begin their migration deep into the earth - as much as six feet. So you may not find any. Whiteworms are still out because they like cold weather but they are small and hard to find. Dustin's friend Steve breeds whiteworms in a small box and feeds them to his Discus twice a week.

Comment by Robert Jango on October 10, 2013 at 8:39am

Your neighbor is right. They don't have a yellow tail. I think I used the term "yellowish tip on the tail" which serves to identify them by way of contrast with Nightcrawlers. 

Anyway, I would definitely give it a try. You don't have to cut or wash them, Although a quick rinse might help. Remember that when confronted with a new food, fish won't always go for it right away. It took a day for my baby Discus to identify blackworms as food and then start eating them. Now they practically jump out of the tank for them.

Start with the smallest worms possible. If they eat one and never come back for more that means they don't like it. Red worms are the only worms I know of that fish don't especially like. But I had an Oscar that loved them.

See what happens. It may be a smashing success. In the meantime, see if you can dig up some nightcrawlers. They typically live above the ground underneath the leaf litter. But, this time of year they begin their migration deep into the earth - as much as six feet. So you may not find any. Whiteworms are still out because they like cold weather but they are small and hard to find. Dustin's friend Steve breeds whiteworms in a small box and feeds them to his Discus twice a week.

Comment by Benny on October 10, 2013 at 8:45am

Awesome thanks. Ill let y'all kno how it goes

Comment by Robert Jango on October 10, 2013 at 8:52am

Sounds great RFK. Everybody laughs at people who breed Guppies and Endlers. But the science behind it mind-boggling. I'd try it myself but I'm not sure I have the patience or discipline to follow through. I did throw some Endlers in my pond and I'm starting to harvest them now. There's about a million of them - all very colorful but nothing ground-breaking.

I had no luck breeding shrimp in a little vat outside but i did find a huge monster red shrimp in my pond early this year. I should have brought it into the Boston Aquarium Society for identification but I guess I was afraid I'd kill it.

Keep up the good work.

Comment by Benny on October 10, 2013 at 10:21pm

Well I dropped a small worm in and he didnt make to the tank bottom. I saw some serious agility and speed from all my tetras taking turns running with and chasing after the little worm! My 3" bleeding heart ate it whole. Glad to see him eat he turns down a lot of stuff.
I also started some brine last night in a 2 liter with heat and air. looks like a had a decent hatch percentage. A lot of the egg debri settled to the bottom. Was hoping eggs and shells would float and shrimp would go down for siphoning. Practice makes perfect I guess

Comment by Robert Jango on October 11, 2013 at 12:25am

That's great news on the worms. Now your only problem will be getting the fish to eat anything else!

If the eggs sink to the bottom that means they didn't hatch. It could be the eggs or the water. Get a hydrometer. It costs almost nothing at Petco. It looks like a thermometer but measures salinity instead. Just drop it in and add/dilute salt until the hydrometer floats at the 1.8 mark. It takes time for the salt to dissolve and evaporation will make the water saltier. So if it reads 1.8, it will be up to 2- 2.4 (saltier) in a couple hours. I settle for a reading of about 1.6, wait awhile, and add the eggs when the reading hits 1.8.

If you're going to make a mistake its better for the water to be too salty rather than not salty enough. And don't worry about treating the tap water. Chlorine and chloramines don't harm brine shrimp. Table salt works fine but I prefer to use aquarium salt. Kosher salt and sea salt are very close to aquarium salt. If you live by the ocean you just have to fetch the water outside.

If you do all this and there are still eggs at the bottom, the eggs are bad. At 75F they should all be hatched in 36 hours (eggs floating at the top and shrimp at the bottom or around a light. Don't feed the shrimp. It will pollute the water and kill them. The shrimp absorb their yolk sac the first 2-3 and then die. So don't make more than a 2 day supply. 

I almost forgot. Did you know the eggs need light? Get a cheapo clip-on lamp and screw in an incandescent bulb. This way you also get heat!  Once they're hatched you can take the light away.

Comment by TeamKRF on October 11, 2013 at 7:47am

I use 3 mason jars as hatching vessels, as to be able to have a fresh batch each day.  i also have used all three salts; table, sea salt, and of course "Instant ocean" salt.  It is important that it is NON Iodized salt.  Have had the most success with the instant ocean salt, highest yield.  

I have same issue with neon tetras.  Ive watched them scatter eggs plenty of times, but have never come up with neon fry.

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