Rosy red minnows-discussion thread

[msjinkzd]

Please put all comments or discussion here regarding the article found at this link: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=162857

[piggy67]

WOW...I never thought much about the feeders i buy for my flower horn,and jack dempsey.Great article........

[gardentoad]

They will survive lower temps than 55. I have kept them in my small garden pond for several years now. It freeze over the top but not solid.

I do not use koi because the pond is too small. I don't use goldfish either because I want amphibians to breed there too and gold will eat the eggs.
The rosies are easy to see in a dark pond and take care of mosquito larva. They breed and I do have lots of normal colored ones, a higher percentage than I started with, but after 8 years I still have plenty of rosy ones. I added a separate stream/pond and I only added the rose colored ones to it. I'm hoping they will not revert without a normal color to breed.

[arapaimag]

I keep rosy yellows.

They breed in my outdoor ponds and are good at eating mosquito larva. They live under ice when the temperature gets to -35 and still come back each spring.

I have then gather in shoals of 1,000 or more but have never seen them school (yet anyway)

The one pic is while building a pond.

[jaysen]

wow that is an impressive series of ponds. i can only hope for something like that.
i have used about 15 rosy minnows to cycle my 75 gallon tank a few years back. they were hardy and eventually kept with large pool commets. at one point a large male chased everyone away from a large cave in the right corner but i never saw any eggs or fry. the males definitely have some attitude and are a very underrated aquarium fish. i plan to use them for a nice shoal when i build the pond of my dreams.

[GuppyMan]

I am really curious about raising these. What kind o filtration do tey generally required? I was thinking box/sponge for breeding? i was going to use the really large 106qt rubbermaid containers. would this work? will they breed at room temp?? or will i need a heater?
Thanks,
Trevor

[laudy000]

Mine spawned in a 150 Gal Rubbermaid tub outside last summer. I dont think you need a heater as they are a cold water species siminlar to white clouds.

[GuppyMan]

Ok, that you Laudy!

[SubRosa]

I used to breed them for use in aquatic bioassays. We kept pairs in 15 gal tanks with a 4" section of 1.5" pvc cut in half lengthwise. They spawn on the roof of the created cave.

[GuppyMan]

So, the male takes care of the eggs right???? Could i have a large tub and let nature takes its course???

[Seamonkey84]

they only protect the eggs till hatch. once they are free swimming, they're on their own and are likely to be eaten by the adults.

[fishmen]

Wow what a great article, thank you so much! I just received 14 rosy reds and added them to my 55 gallon, I had thought that I would need to throw them out but this gives me hope that I can keep them with my other fish.

[Robert H]

I just picked some up from Petsmart for 17 cents each! I was hoping they would cut down on the population of SCUDS I have in a plant tank with no fish.

[toddnbecka]

they only protect the eggs till hatch. once they are free swimming, they're on their own and are likely to be eaten by the adults.
I never noticed any lack of fry in my backyard pond. There would be hundreds of them for a while until they grew too large for the small pond to support them, then the young ones would start dying off. The adults never did though, they just spawned again in the spring. Really would have been better if the adults had eaten some/most of the fry.