Another couple of 100

Was catching some fish the other day, and the male bn kicked out the eggs he was fanning. Decided for the first time to see if they would hatch in a breeding net, and what do you know there is another couple of hundred now in a net well supposed they are easier to catch now

Did you take the whole brood into the net ?

It would be interesting to see would there be a difference in growth rates of the two.

Great news Kelly.

upthedeise wrote:Did you take the whole brood into the net ?

It would be interesting to see would there be a difference in growth rates of the two.

Yes he kicked out the whole nest, I've still got them in the net at the minute so I'll see what the difference in the rate of growth is.

nice one any pics kelly

To hard to gt pics of them they are in a tank with no light and in a net so you wouldn't really see them. I'll get a pick when move them. One advantage of this happening is I can move them to another tank a lot handier without having to catch them one by one

overbreeding any fish species is never a good idea. when people get free fish they rarely value them and often fail to look after them properly. it is far harder to grow out big numbers to a good quality and they have little comercial value.
i would advise seperating males from females to control unwanted breeding and/or heavy culling to keep quality higher.
the same applies to all fish and esp. mouthbrooders. we need to control breeding and only grow on what we can comfortably handle with available tank space. otherwise the hobby becomes a burden and we are awash with unwanted poor quality fish.
just my thoughts based on hard and bitter experience.

These have have far from been overbred, they have all kicked of breeding round the same time. They are not free and have only been given to a select couple of friends for free. These wee guys are actually pretty hard to get your hands on up here and I paid £25 for an excellent quality male. I also have had a lot of interest in them from over the pond as they can only readily get the black eyed bn's. I'm growing them on for my own tanks at the minute, I've only ever advertised these guys a couple of times over the years. I try to keep them in all the tanks. There is plenty of space here to grow on what I need for my tanks and some for selling, then they will be seperated. I never cull any fish unless it's deformed or ill past helping.

Made that mistake a few years ago of having to many species here and to many tanks and the hobby turned into very hard work not a hobby anymore and learn't a big lesson from it, needless to say I now have what I enjoy myself and just breeding a few of the harder to get species now and the rest are now left to there own devises. I take great trouble to source the best quality fish I can source no matter the expense, and have paid well over the odds on some ocassions

Did'nt intend to touch a nerve and my comments were not directed at you as I know you are a responsible breeder.

just making general comments about overbreeding with any species, as i have seen it happen so many times when fry are overproduced and the producer is stuck with lots of stunted/unwanted fish.
I should have started a seperate thread to make the point.

Had a bad day No I understand where you are coming from, I've seen all sorts up here and it's ridiculous. Hate to see the hobby being abused for people just to make a few quid that was one reason I started giving a lot of young away to put a stop to it, I actually have a big loss here every month keeping up my tanks but that's what happens when you love your hobby and not in it for the cash.

This was another reason why I started the forum to be able to get guys great quality fish at good prices. It has just proved a point on the great species we have travelling back and forward for very little cash and free this is they way it should be done.