Rearing Methods
Log Sheets
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In order to keep track of fish care and water quality, daily logs and water quality logs were designed and implemented for data collection. Samples of the logs can be downloaded to the right. The full datasets from the project may be available for download in the future.
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Feeding
Dry Food
The adult fish are fed Skretting Starter Crumble twice daily. A decent sized pinch of the crumble is given twice daily to the adult tanks. This food requires no special preparation or feeding procedure and is easily purchased at most aquarium stores. The amount of food given can be adjusted based upon feeding activity, number of fish, and cleanliness of the tank.
Live Food
The recently hatched fry are incapable of consuming large food flakes from the adult food supply. They will feed off of their yolks for approximately 5 days after hatching, but then they require an immediate source of food. Brine shrimp, also known as sea monkeys, are kept prepared in the shrimp towers as readily available live food. Twice daily all of the fry tanks are given brine shrimp, unless the fry are freshly hatches and still feeding on their yolks. A small amount of water from one of the shrimp towers is drained into a small container, the shrimp are then pipetted through a small measuring cup (1-2 ml) with a fine mesh bottom. Once an observable orange layer of brine shrimp forms across the mesh sieve, the measuring cup is dunked into the fry tank, putting the live food directly in front of the hungry fry. The amount of shrimp given is approximated based on the number of fry in the tank, the level of feeding activity, and the amount of leftover food present in the tank. As a general rule, a single thin but noticeable orange layer of shrimp across the mesh sieve measure cup is adequate for approximately 50-200 fry per tank. In favor of over-feeding rather than under-feeding, extra shrimp was usually given to the fry at the expense of water quality.
The adult fish are fed Skretting Starter Crumble twice daily. A decent sized pinch of the crumble is given twice daily to the adult tanks. This food requires no special preparation or feeding procedure and is easily purchased at most aquarium stores. The amount of food given can be adjusted based upon feeding activity, number of fish, and cleanliness of the tank.
Live Food
The recently hatched fry are incapable of consuming large food flakes from the adult food supply. They will feed off of their yolks for approximately 5 days after hatching, but then they require an immediate source of food. Brine shrimp, also known as sea monkeys, are kept prepared in the shrimp towers as readily available live food. Twice daily all of the fry tanks are given brine shrimp, unless the fry are freshly hatches and still feeding on their yolks. A small amount of water from one of the shrimp towers is drained into a small container, the shrimp are then pipetted through a small measuring cup (1-2 ml) with a fine mesh bottom. Once an observable orange layer of brine shrimp forms across the mesh sieve, the measuring cup is dunked into the fry tank, putting the live food directly in front of the hungry fry. The amount of shrimp given is approximated based on the number of fry in the tank, the level of feeding activity, and the amount of leftover food present in the tank. As a general rule, a single thin but noticeable orange layer of shrimp across the mesh sieve measure cup is adequate for approximately 50-200 fry per tank. In favor of over-feeding rather than under-feeding, extra shrimp was usually given to the fry at the expense of water quality.
Spawning
During spawning, the adult fish will exhibit breeding behavior like shuttering and chasing. Once this behavior begins, the horse hair mats are added to the tanks supported by legs made of PVC piping T-joints. Occasionally, the mats require a counter weight to keep them from floating to the surface. The mats are left in the tanks for up to 48 hours but ideally no longer as fungus can begin to form on the eggs. During this time, the spawning adult fish may drop eggs in the mats. Once eggs are seen on the mats, or after the 48 hour period is up, the mats are moved to an empty tank where the fry can hatch. This is also when formalin treatments are performed twice daily on the mats to prevent fungus growth, which can make the eggs inviable.
Formalin Treatments
The fish eggs are susceptible to growing fungus while in the horsehair mats, so they need to be treated twice a day with formalin. First, shallow plastic bins are filled with water from the tap and treated with a dechlorinator. Next the formalin is added. Only 1 mL of formalin is needed for each liter of water used. The formalin and dechlorinating treatment are ready immediately, so the next step is placing the horsehair mats into the treatment containers. They are soaked for 15 minutes, giving the formalin adequate time to treat the eggs for any fungus. After 15 minutes, the mats are placed back into the fry tanks and monitored for the presence of hatchlings.
Cleaning and Water Quality
The build up of uneaten food, waste, and algae is common in any aquarium. However, with several hundred growing fry producing waste and contributing to degradation of the water quality, constant management of tank cleaning is required to maintain suitable water quality. Harmful ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are produced when bacteria breaks down organic waste in the tanks. As the levels of those toxic chemicals rise, the water quality is managed by performing water changes and cleaning waste from the tanks. For daily cleaning of tanks, small diameter plastic tubing can be used as a makeshift vacuum cleaner to suck up uneaten food and waste into an empty bucket. Typically, once a week the water levels are changed in addition to suction cleaning the bottom of the tanks. Anywhere from 25-50% of the tank water is drained into buckets and then replaced with dechlorinated tap water. To determine if cleaning is adequate, the tanks are tested weekly for their levels of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. If chemical levels are too high, more frequent water changes can be performed.
Northern Redbelly Dace Recovery Project
A collaborative species conservation partnership
Email: redbellydacerecovery@outlook.com