Hello

[BallAquatics]

I wouldn’t risk feeding them anything until you see fry actively swimming around. Until then, they are not looking for food, and you run the risk of fouling the water quality.

Dennis

[Pushkatu]

Thanks a lot! I’ll keep this thread updated.

[Pushkatu]

No fry yet, I’m running in circles over here… :shock:

[Pushkatu]

I bought 14 more CPDs today. They are so small, around 5-6 weeks I guess. I can sex them, but they need a couple more weeks until they are fully grown.
Anyway, how long do CPDs live in captivity? I don’t believe I’ve found this information elsewhere…

[BallAquatics]

I should know the answer to this and if my record keeping was a little better I could give you an exact figure. That said, small fish generally have shorter lifespans than larger fish. I’d put the average for CPD’s at around 3 years.

Dennis

[Pushkatu]

Thank you Dennis, 3 years is good as long as I can breed them. Tomorrow I’ll set up the 200 liters tank just for them. Unfortunately one of the 14 I bought is in poor shape. He can barely swim and it looks as if his entire back side is paralyzed. I moved him into another 15 liters tank, but I’m afraid he won’t make it until the morning. They where shipped here from Singapore a couple of weeks ago. The other 13(lucky number ) are in good shape and they already school with the adults. Once the tank is cycled I plan to buy 10-15 more and have a total of 35-40 CPDs. They behave and look so much more natural when they are many.

Once again, many thanks for your help. I’ll post some pictures with my new setup tomorrow.

Cheers and beers,
Pushkatu

[Pushkatu]

Great news, today I spotted one tiny CPD fry in my breeding tank. There might be more, but I cannot see them at the moment. Should I start feeding the little one with green water? He is still sticked to the glass right now. Any advice concerning a feeding program? I don’t want to starve them(if they are more) or make some mistake and kill them.

My little breeding tank:

[BallAquatics]

Congratulations Marius!

Don’t start with your green water until they are swimming about. With your moss, I wouldn’t worry about them starving. They will find much to eat from the micro-fauna that is growing in the moss.

Dennis

[Pushkatu]

Thanks. There are at least two fry that I can see now in the tank. They barely move at all. I’m glad it’s more than one, I would not want them to feel lonely.

[BallAquatics]

Once your fish became comfortable in the breeder set-up, they may have spawned on several different days so you will probably see more fish every day for the next week or so.

Dennis

[Pushkatu]

Sweet! Even two is more than amazing for me. If there are more, well…. let’s just say I’m a very happy person. :mrgreen:

[Pushkatu]

Good news again. I now see 3 little swimming fry. They are so cute. Please excuse me for asking once again, but I seem to forget everything with every new stage they reach and I’ve red many topics here and on the internet about them. At this point it’s ok to feed them right? :mrgreen:

EDIT: there’s 4 of them :mrgreen:

[BallAquatics]

@Pushkatu wrote:

At this point it’s ok to feed them right?

Yes, once they are free swimming they will accept food. Your green water or other tiny, (5-50 micro sized), food will work well at this stage. In about a week they will be big enough to eat walter worms and then at 10 to 14 days baby brine shrimp.

Dennis

[Pushkatu]

Thank you for you patience Dennis. Last I checked there where at least 6 of them in there and only one was still sticked to the glass. You where right the adults spawned each of the 4 days or so I kept them in there. You can’t imagine how happy I am. Once my 200 tank is ready, I will set the 25 liters tank and two other 15 liters tank and try and get as many fry as I can.

[BallAquatics]

You are very welcome Marius. It sounds as though you are having lots of fun, and your enthusiasm for spawning this little fish is infectious. In other words, I’m having fun just by following your posts!

Dennis

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