My Beautiful Baby Boes Bows!!!

[TDWagner]

Great big thanks to everyone here who helped me out over the past two months. :clap:

I received 9 Boeseman's Rainbowfish on Tuesday morning at about 9:30 AM. :dance: They were purchased from Tanner (Rarefishatlax on aquabid.com or http://www.thatfishshop.com/ ). This breeder was chosen based on the recommendation of Roan Art (special thanks for all the help I received from her!) Tanner did an excellent job with shipping and overshipped (ordered 6, shipped 9) in case of losses during travel. Fortunately, he did such a good job shipping that so far (after over 72 hours) all 9 are alive and look healthy in spite of the 20F temperature outside here when they arrived!!! (keeping my fingers crossed that all will stay healthy).

They are a joy to watch. They'll get scared and all go into hiding amoung the fake plants, then as I sit and watch TV, they'll come out one or two at a time and start a school in the swimming space. They like to stick together and explore the tank together. The more comfortable they get, the more they spread out and explore alone. Oh and they go crazy for freshly hatched baby brine shrimp.

My cat finally realized that there was something alive in there about two days later. I think she was so used to the tank being empty during the 8 week fishless cycle! :joke:

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for the help and information. I'll be posting some pics after they grow a bit and start to color.

[hurricanejedi]

Yay thats exciting! I ordered 12 cherry shrimp and 14 came and all were alive too. I love it :D . My cats looove watching the tank. Though their favorite was the gourami who is no longer living :( . But they like the little oto's when they stick to the glass adn the guppies who like to tease them (and hence the kitties have torn down my background thinking they could get to them.

[Roan Art]

Congratulations!

If they are faring so well this many days later, then they shipped absolutely fine.

Just wait until they start to color. You'll love them!

Did you get that food I mentioned to you?

Roan

[TDWagner]

Did you get that food I mentioned to you?
Yup, I ordered:

2 27758 Earthworm Plus EWF2Z 2 oz.
1 27833 Freeze-Dried Brine Shrimp BS.4Z 0.4 oz.
1 27823 Freeze-dried Bloodworms BW.4Z 0.4 oz.

They're being delivered tonight. Luckily, I'm near the end of my UPS guy's route, so he comes after 5:00 PM and I'm home from work to sign for packages. :thm:

In the meantime, I went to the LFS and got some baby brine shrimp eggs and hatched a batch of those. Wow did those Boes go nuts when I put the BBS in the tank!!! They loved it!

The Earthworm Plus will be their staple diet. I got small containers of the freeze-dried Brine Shrimp and Bloodworms so I can make sure they like those before ordering a bigger container. Those will be a special treat 2 or 3 times a week.

Does that sound like a varied enough diet, or should I think about feeding them veggies sometimes too?

[TDWagner]

Just wait until they start to color.
Yeah, but how long do I have to wait?!? (taps fingers impatiently) :mad2:

Just kidding, I waited out a 2 month fishless cycle and it was worth it...I can be patient for the color as well. I have a friend that said I should have gone saltwater because "all the colorful fish are saltwater". I'm looking forward to showing off my fully-colored Boes and proving that freshwater can be spectacularly colored as well!!! :D

[Leopardess]

In the future, I would suggest using frozen bloodworms and frozen brineshrimp. They are more nutritious (have a higher protein content and a lot of the "goodies" are still in the juices) and do not pose the risk of intestinal bloat/blockage from the freeze-dried things expanding with water. IME, all frozen foods are relished over freeze-dried. :)

I suggest the Hikari frozen bloodworms. They generally seem a higher quality than the other brands.

[Roan Art]

Yeah, but how long do I have to wait?!? (taps fingers impatiently) :mad2:

Just kidding, I waited out a 2 month fishless cycle and it was worth it...I can be patient for the color as well. I have a friend that said I should have gone saltwater because "all the colorful fish are saltwater". I'm looking forward to showing off my fully-colored Boes and proving that freshwater can be spectacularly colored as well!!! :D
Heh :)

Lemme see, I got my juvie Boesemani from Tanner -- end of December. Now, I specifically asked Tanner to send me as many females as possible, so I only have two males, but the biggest male has been displaying a nice color for well over a month now. AND he's trying to breed with one of the females he shipped with. Rainbows are VERY randy, as you'll see :D

Give it about a month with the Earthworm Plus and your boys should start showing some red/orange. BTW, my jar is well over half gone already! The only fish that don't get this stuff regularily are my herbivore fish. I don't like feeding the same thing all the time and I try not to, but they just love it!

They are all still babies, but these definitely look different than the ones I got from the LFS. They're slimmer, more streamlined, more active and the color is more red than my LFS reds. It's also deeper and richer in tone.

I'm going to cross the Kent Webster (that's who breeds these boesemani you and I have) boes with my LFS ones and see if I can improve my stock. I've got a few locals interested in buying some as well.

Roan

[TDWagner]

In the future, I would suggest using frozen bloodworms and frozen brineshrimp. They are more nutritious (have a higher protein content and a lot of the "goodies" are still in the juices) and do not pose the risk of intestinal bloat/blockage from the freeze-dried things expanding with water. IME, all frozen foods are relished over freeze-dried. :)

I suggest the Hikari frozen bloodworms. They generally seem a higher quality than the other brands.
Oh really?!?! Nobody ever said anything to me about freeze-dried foods having risks. I just got the smallest containers of those to try them out. I'll go for the frozen ones instead next order...can never be TOO safe!

THANKS!!!

[TDWagner]

AND he's trying to breed with one of the females he shipped with. Rainbows are VERY randy, as you'll see :D
Lol, that's cool. I wasn't really planning on delibrately breeding them, but if nature runs it's course I could probably sell some locally as well. I haven't seen Boes in the tanks at my LFS yet.

....the biggest male has been displaying a nice color for well over a month now....
Give it about a month with the Earthworm Plus and your boys should start showing some red/orange.
Awesome...I was thinking it'd take longer then that. I'm not sure about the ratio of M/F yet, but I'm guessing it'll be easier to tell as they grow, right?

[Roan Art]

Oh really?!?! Nobody ever said anything to me about freeze-dried foods having risks. I just got the smallest containers of those to try them out. I'll go for the frozen ones instead next order...can never be TOO safe!

THANKS!!!You can still feed them. Just soak them in water for 10-15 mins so that they absorb a good amount of moisture. I do feed them dry occasionally, but I prefer the frozen ones.

I think Kent raises all his boes on baby brines, 'cause they show no interest in any other food for the first few days I have them. They just want brine.

Roan

[Roan Art]

Lol, that's cool. I wasn't really planning on delibrately breeding them, but if nature runs it's course I could probably sell some locally as well. I haven't seen Boes in the tanks at my LFS yet.Make sure you play up where they came from. These aren't crappy Asian bred Boesemani. They are quality A-1 Boes from the guy who actually flies to New Guinea and brings home the fishes. Don't sell for less than top dollar! :D


Awesome...I was thinking it'd take longer then that. I'm not sure about the ratio of M/F yet, but I'm guessing it'll be easier to tell as they grow, right?Yes and you'll get the "knack" for telling male from female soon enough and be able to sex babies at any store you walk into :)

Roan

[TDWagner]

You can still feed them. Just soak them in water for 10-15 mins so that they absorb a good amount of moisture. I do feed them dry occasionally, but I prefer the frozen ones.
Ok, I'll do that for these small freeze-dried packs I got, then go with the frozen ones next order.

I think Kent raises all his boes on baby brines, 'cause they show no interest in any other food for the first few days I have them. They just want brine.
That would make sense...that's exactly how mine are. Plus, that's what Tanner told me to feed them when they arrive. They won't come to the surface for the flakes right now. The BBS sink down to the Boes and they eat them there. How do you get them to start surface feeding, just wait till they're hungry enough?

All 9 still look healthy and are swimming around (4.5 days so far...doing good). :dance: There's one in particular that's fairly shy...hides more then the others and is smaller and less colorful. I was a little worried about her (guessing it's a her based on size and color) at first, but she seems to be ok and comes out to play with the others from time to time. There's also one that's the biggest and most colorful...I guess that would be the dominant male. It's cool watching their little culture in there...sometimes the two biggest ones will bump each other a little bit like they're fighting...never any damage, looks like it's just competition for the head role.

[TDWagner]

Make sure you play up where they came from. These aren't crappy Asian bred Boesemani. They are quality A-1 Boes from the guy who actually flies to New Guinea and brings home the fishes. Don't sell for less than top dollar! :D
So you think they're worth $4 or $5 a fry? Or less then that? Will a LFS pay that kind of money? How old do they need to be before you sell them?

[Roan Art]

So you think they're worth $4 or $5 a fry? Or less then that? Will a LFS pay that kind of money? How old do they need to be before you sell them?
You should be able to sell them for at least half what the LFS sells them for, depending on local demand.

The problem with rainbows is that they grow so slowly. I'd say they'd have to be at least 2-2½" to sell, but if they are showing some color when they are smaller, they might take them earlier.

Once I'm ready to sell, I intend to take some pics and possibly a couple of "samples" down to the LFS and show them. Then wrangle a deal. Seeing is believing :)

I'm going to have to do that with most of my other bows if I sell to the LFS cause they've never seen these kinds of fish before and don't know what they look like.

Roan