yay, i have 2 hongie females and an electric blue female with mouthfulls<
><
>not big news to much, but just got into cichlids and it''s encouraging. Steven & Amy<
>Ipswich<
>Email: nemo19_81@hotmail.com<
>Our Photos<
>
congrats mate <
>
Good work Steve.<
>Keep it up.<
> <
> Phil<
><
>Beaudesert<
>debphil@ozemail.com.au<
><
>"I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers."<
>
thanks guys.<
><
>just a question.<
>do the fry prefer water of a lower ph? or the same conditions as the adults?<
>the
eeder tanks are at 8ph, i''ve been told that baby hongi at least, prefer ph to be lower, maybe around 6?<
><
>any tips on ways to get the best growth/survival rates for the fry? Steven & Amy<
>Ipswich<
>Email: nemo19_81@hotmail.com<
>Our Photos<
>
Steve,<
><
>I get my best results using the fry powder I sell.<
>Not pushing it, just telling it how it is.<
>Fry growth dropped by 1/2 when I ran out.<
>I also use half new water and half water from the parents tank.<
>Hope it helps and good luck.<
> Phil<
><
>Beaudesert<
>debphil@ozemail.com.au<
><
>"I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers."<
>
booyah, another hongi with a mouthful.<
>phil, you don''t come by ippy often do ya?<
>need some fry powder.. Steven & Amy<
>Ipswich<
>Email: nemo19_81@hotmail.com<
>Our Photos<
>
I put mine in same Ph and takes about 3 months to 5cm.
Steve,<
>I will be shortly.<
>I have to play Indoor Cricket at Ipswich Centre.<
>Send me your phone number by PM and I will call you when I find out what weekend the game is on.<
> Phil<
><
>Beaudesert<
>debphil@ozemail.com.au<
><
>"I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers."<
>
Fry Powder = Crushed flakes<
><
>Cheers Dave "I believe that sex is a beautiful thing between two people. Between five, it''s fantastic."
Exactly what Dave said.
Not likely.<
> <
>As I said. <
>When I ran out of my Fry Powder I had to use crushed flake all the time and my growth rates dropped by half.<
>Just facts from my own experiences.<
> Phil<
><
>Beaudesert<
>debphil@ozemail.com.au<
><
>"I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers."<
>
well, at the moment i only have flake.<
>i remember when i had peacocks, i used to feed them fry powder and they grew fantastically.<
>i''m easy.<
>phil pm sent<
> Steven & Amy<
>Ipswich<
>Email: nemo19_81@hotmail.com<
>Our Photos<
>
ok got a question regarding the hongi.<
>One of my females has been holding since the 31st of may.<
>she''s still got the gobfull and is starting to look a bit thin.<
>i don''t want her getting worse, so what''s the situation?<
>would the fry be developed yet?<
>and if it was safe to strip, how?<
>hold her underwater and use a cotton tip to open her mouth i''ve been told (i think by cobaltblue).<
>need any advice soon, as i don''t want her getting worse.<
>also, if i do strip what''s the procedure with the fry, to ensure a good survival rate?<
>Cheers Steven & Amy<
>Ipswich<
>Email: nemo19_81@hotmail.com<
>Our Photos<
>Edited by: nemo1981 at: 16/6/05 15:42<
>
I always strip (milk whatever) my hongi female after 13-15 days, that way they are fully developed fry, some may still have egg sacks but thats cool, i have a fry basket in a different tank but the same water conditions as they
eed in, My theory is why would they have little one''s if they couldnt survived best in that water.<
><
>and i put an air stone under the basket, not so the air is going through the mesh but just so it builds up a bubble and then goes "blonk" so that the fry are always bouncing, just alittle bit.<
><
>and I feed them crushed flake.<
><
>Very rarely have any losses. If you do notice one of the fry being very weak or look sick, get rid of it.<
><
>As far as getting the fry out, 9/10 they will spit when you catch them, if she doesnt get an earbud, put her in the water and just open her mouth and move her back and forth. If that still doesnt work, I have one of those water tube things that you use to put water into a test tube, fill that with water and put it in her mouth to flush them out.<
><
>HTH,<
><
>Glen<
><
> Edited by: someone at: 16/6/05 16:42<
>
ok, so i tried stripping her, damn it was hard coz she''s in a separater.<
>i managed to get about 4 out and they had eggsacks still.<
>she didn''t want to let them go, and i didn''t want to stress her too much so i just left it for now.<
>the fry that did get out are in the separater still, and have moved an airstone near it so it just makes a bubble beneath it.<
><
>thanks for the help, and i''ll just let her go another day or 2 if she doesn''t spit before then.<
><
>the cotton tip got soggy and became useless pretty quick.. Steven & Amy<
>Ipswich<
>Email: nemo19_81@hotmail.com<
>Our Photos<
>
in regards to the cotton tip i think its a good idea but personally i''d take the cotton off the end you are putting in her mouth so its just plastic. I use the plastic thing you suck water into for the test tube myself... it seemed to work fine.<
> Another idea is if you have a spare tank just pop her in there and she should spit by herself without the stress of other tank mates. Plus then she has a good recovery time and time to fatten herself back up before you put her back in the main tank. Just a suggestion.<
>Good luck
I dunno if this sounds "crue"l but I found the easiest way to milk was to get a firm grasp of the fish, hold it nearly verticle, head down near water, use your fingernail to open the mouth and kind of hod the fish so its helping keep the mouth open and dip the fishs mouth in the water as well as pushing on the throat pushing the fry/eggs out, thats the easiest way to get them all out. And the quickest meaning you can get her back in the water and you don''t need to do it all again if she still has a few fry in there.<
><
>I''ve found my cichlid fry pretty tough, hongi''s especially. Got them in a little tank which I need to swap for a bigger tank soon.<
><
>You''ll soon find you''ll have more mouthfuls then space! fish fish fish fish turkey fish fish gobble
Those small plastic bottles with the squirter tube seems to wash out those last persistant lil babies out.<
><
>Cheers Dave "I believe that sex is a beautiful thing between two people. Between five, it''s fantastic."