Life is a mix of bad and good:
On the positive side, more spawns keep coming on a 4-5 day schedule.
On the negative side, this week I've been finding 3-4 dead fry, some of the largest fry, every day. Is it a food thing? Water quality? Don't know. But as long as the eggs keep coming, I can keep working on the rearing.
2020-07-22: First egg found, over next two days, sloppy and then careful sand vacuuming recovered a total of 5 eggs.
2020-07-27: 17 eggs found
(5 day interval)
2020-07-29 or 30: "few more" eggs found. (apparently I didn't count those or note date carefully)
(2-3 day interval, or could these have been from prior spawn, meaning no interval here?)
2020-07-31: 12 eggs found
(2 or 4 day interval, depending on whether the 7/29 eggs were a new spawn or they were from the 7/27 spawn)
2020-08-06: "about 10" eggs found (I was out of town from 8/2 to 8/6, but eggs looked fresh, so I think they were laid between 8/4 and 8/6, rather than near 8/2.
(4-6 day interval, depending on when spawn occurred)
2020-08-09: 19 eggs found
(3-5 day interval, depending on when previous spawn occurred)
2020-08-10: 25 eggs found
(1 day interval)
2020-08-11: 3 eggs found
(1 day interval)
2020-08-14 or 15 (I can't recall): 10 eggs found
(4-5 day interval since last big spawn)
2020-08-17: 3 eggs found (maybe from the 8/15 spawn?)
(2-3 day interval)
2020-08-18: 27 eggs found
(3-4 day interval since last big spawn)
2020-08-20: 10 eggs found
(2 day interval)
2020-08-23: 36 eggs found
(5 day interval from last big spawn)
2020-08-28: 16 eggs found
(5 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 31 Aug 2020, 05:54
by bekateen
2020-08-30: 25 eggs found.
(2 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 31 Aug 2020, 20:46
by bekateen
2020-08-31: 40 eggs found.
(1 day interval)
This was my biggest egg collection yet. That said, I found 8 of these eggs actually clinging to the bottom and sides of the fry basket. Those are not surfaces I've checked really closely in the past, which means both that I may have missed a number of eggs on previous days, and also that some or all of these 8 eggs might have been from yesterday.
To date, I've collected at least 261 eggs. I'm sure I have nowhere close to that many fry - maybe 50 to 100? No idea really... I've made no attempt to count the fry recently. There have been no more deaths for a couple of days now, but there were at least 20 deaths last week.
When I look at the fry individually, it doesn't seem like they've grown at all (in part I expect because some of the largest have been dying). But when I compare the fry swimming in the basket to each other, it is clear that some are larger than others. Let's keep feeding them and hoping for the best.
Cheers, Eric
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 04 Sep 2020, 20:01
by bekateen
2020-09-04: 21 eggs found.
(4 day interval)
On a sad note, the deaths have picked back up. Four yesterday and four today. They all are dark, not pale white, so I think they are older. I gotta figure out what I'm missing here.
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 05 Sep 2020, 10:01
by Jools
What are they eating Eric? From memory, even adults have relatively small mouths, might be one for NHBS?
Jools
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 05 Sep 2020, 16:55
by bekateen
I'm feeding them three foods: pulverized Repashy powder (a fine dust, wetted), live microworms, and for the bigger individuals, frozen Cyclops, which are slightly larger than baby brine shrimp.
Cheers, Eric
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 05 Sep 2020, 17:27
by Jools
That seems to be a fine mix, not much else I could add except perhaps ensuring you're feeding in the dark or "dusk"?
Jools
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 07 Sep 2020, 23:48
by bekateen
2020-09-06: 34 eggs found.
(2 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 09 Sep 2020, 20:05
by bekateen
2020-09-09: 42 eggs found.
(3 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 11 Sep 2020, 19:44
by bekateen
2020-09-11: 43 eggs found.
(2 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 15 Sep 2020, 01:31
by bekateen
2020-09-14: 39 eggs found.
(3 day interval)
Update on largest fry, now over 12 mm SL. They might be as old as 6 weeks, but are probably younger.
For the last 3-4 days, I've been feeding them daily with frozen "mini bloodworms" (aSan Francisco Bay Brand product). I guess the woodcats like it.
The number is a range because I was distracted near the end and lost count. It's a shame too, since this is their biggest one-night egg production yet.
Cheers, Eric
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 20 Sep 2020, 00:06
by bekateen
Found more eggs on 2020-09-17, but no time to collect them. Had time to collect eggs today (Sept 19), but no eggs to be found. Other eggs eaten by adults?
On better side, got some nice views of the growing fry.
Cheers, Eric
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 21 Sep 2020, 21:57
by bekateen
2020-09-21: 53 eggs found.
(I didn't check on 9/20, so 3-4 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 27 Sep 2020, 01:36
by bekateen
2020-09-26: 36 eggs found.
(5 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 28 Sep 2020, 04:49
by bekateen
My largest fry. Starting to get the parental color pattern. And a parent who doesn't know how to hide.
Cheers, Eric
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 04 Oct 2020, 08:04
by bekateen
2020-09-29: 30 eggs found.
(3 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 04 Oct 2020, 08:07
by bekateen
2020-10-02: more eggs found, but I wasn't able to collect and count them today.
(3 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 05 Oct 2020, 00:12
by bekateen
2020-10-04: 52 eggs found.
(2 day interval)
These eggs looked to be not new. "New eggs," meaning eggs laid overnight, are large and have a swollen and smooth jelly coat. By contrast, eggs a couple of days old are smaller and have a contracted, wrinkled appearance... or at least, that's what I think explains the difference. So I suspect most of these eggs (and by most, I mean over 40) are from the spawn on Oct 2. But there are some new looking eggs, so I will count this as another spawn, although I can't reliably separate how many eggs belong to this spawn vs. the spawn I observed but didn't harvest on Oct 2.
Update of calendar since first spawn: (combining all spawns from page 1 & 2 of this thread):
2020-07-22: First egg found, over next two days, sloppy and then careful sand vacuuming recovered a total of 5 eggs.
2020-07-27: 17 eggs found
(5 day interval)
2020-07-29 or 30: "few more" eggs found. (apparently I didn't count those or note date carefully)
(2-3 day interval, or could these have been from prior spawn, meaning no interval here?)
2020-07-31: 12 eggs found
(2 or 4 day interval, depending on whether the 7/29 eggs were a new spawn or they were from the 7/27 spawn)
2020-08-06: "about 10" eggs found (I was out of town from 8/2 to 8/6, but eggs looked fresh, so I think they were laid between 8/4 and 8/6, rather than near 8/2.
(4-6 day interval, depending on when spawn occurred)
2020-08-09: 19 eggs found
(3-5 day interval, depending on when previous spawn occurred)
2020-08-10: 25 eggs found
(1 day interval)
2020-08-11: 3 eggs found
(1 day interval)
2020-08-14 or 15 (I can't recall): 10 eggs found
(4-5 day interval since last big spawn)
2020-08-17: 3 eggs found (maybe from the 8/15 spawn?)
(2-3 day interval)
2020-08-18: 27 eggs found
(3-4 day interval since last big spawn)
2020-08-20: 10 eggs found
(2 day interval)
2020-08-23: 36 eggs found
(5 day interval from last big spawn)
2020-08-28: 16 eggs found
(5 day interval)
2020-08-30: 25 eggs found
(2 day interval)
2020-08-31: 40 eggs found
(1 day interval)
2020-09-04: 21 eggs found
(4 day interval)
2020-09-06: 34 eggs found
(2 day interval)
2020-09-09: 42 eggs found
(3 day interval)
2020-09-11: 43 eggs found
(2 day interval)
2020-09-14: 39 eggs found
(3 day interval)
2020-09-15: somewhere between 47-52 eggs found
(1 day interval)
2020-09-17: eggs found but not collected; all eggs gone 2 days later
(2 day interval)
2020-09-21: 53 eggs found
(I didn't check on 9/20, so 3-4 day interval)
2020-09-26: 36 eggs found
(5 day interval)
2020-09-29: 30 eggs found
(3 day interval)
2020-10-02: more eggs found, but I wasn't able to collect and count them today.
(3 day interval)
2020-10-04: 52 eggs found
(2 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 09 Oct 2020, 01:30
by bekateen
2020-10-06: 2 eggs found
(2 day interval)
2020-10-08: 25 eggs found
(4 day interval since last big spawn)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 10 Oct 2020, 23:27
by bekateen
2020-10-10: 34 eggs found
(2 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 13 Oct 2020, 01:17
by bekateen
Fry updates: My largest fry, now about 2 months old and 23 mm SL, and a smaller fry about 1.5 month old and 18 mm SL. I don't know the exact age of my oldest fry, but it should be between 7-9 weeks.
I finally started a new fry basket a few weeks ago, so I have another group growing up, away from the mouths of these hungry beasts.
Cheers, Eric
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 14 Oct 2020, 00:02
by bekateen
2020-10-13: 33 eggs found
(3 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 16 Oct 2020, 05:07
by bekateen
2020-10-15: 25 eggs found
(2 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 19 Oct 2020, 21:10
by bekateen
2020-10-19: 34 eggs found
(4 day interval)
I had checked the parents' tank for eggs on both the 16th and 17th, with no eggs found either day. I didn't inspect this tank yesterday, so the eggs could have been laid yesterday. But the eggs look fresh though, so I suspect they were laid last night, giving me the 4 day interval.
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 21 Oct 2020, 23:10
by bekateen
2020-10-21: 43 eggs found
(2 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 25 Oct 2020, 17:15
by bekateen
2020-10-24: 24 eggs found
(3 day interval)
Re: Trachelyichthys exilis spawn :-)
Posted: 27 Oct 2020, 21:33
by bekateen
2020-10-27: 20 eggs found
(2 day interval)
These eggs were found today and should be a 3 day interval, but all of the eggs are uniformly small and bumpy, which is what I see with eggs that I think are a day old. So I suspect these were actually laid yesterday or the night before, so I'm reporting as a 2 day interval.
A bit surprisingly, I found my first fry loose in the tank today, and it was a decent size (about 8mm). Up till now, I've never found any fry in the parents' tank; I assume the parents will eat any fry they find.
