Down on the (Amano) farm...

[Timmain42]

Well, I've decided to attempt to breed Amanos. Since they screwed me on having an Eclipse6 at work (even tho most of the women in HR have nasty betta bowls that they expect to clean themselves and never have to feed :soda: ), I've brought a tiny setup to my desk:

1-2 liter, water-tight polycarbonate cylinder (holding 1.5 liters of water)
1-male Amano
3-female Amanos
2-fist-sized clumps of Java moss
3/16 teaspoon of salt
1-35W halogen light fixture w/ bulb

At water changes, I'll take out 1 liter of water and any refuse/detrius that has settled, add back in 1/8 tsp of salt, 1 drop of Kent Reef Iodine, 1 drop of Plantex CSM+B, and 5 drops of Amquel (and a liter of water, o'course).

I'm a little leery of the salt concentration tho. I did the math and came out to 1/8 tsp per liter of water (or 1/2 tsp per gallon, if you like). That seems like a lot, but I'm reassured that's a common density for "brackish" water.

When/If I get babies, I'm going to transfer them to a 2-gallon polycarb container at home, complete with JMoss and 1/16 tsp salt per liter (to get them acclimatized to lesser salt densities).

Any comments/suggestions/ideas? I don't have pix yet, but it affords me something interesting to look at during the workday.

 

[RTR]

One-half teaspoon per gallon of "salt" (what kind? Marine mix? NaCl?) is undetactable to hobby specific gravity measures, therefore isn't brackish.

That said, I hear conflicting stories on what Amano fry require in salinity.

 

[Timmain42]

I used Epsom Salt (easiest to find, considering I use it on all my plant tanks). Would a different type work better?

And I based my salt density on this article. Sounded good at the time...

 

[Timmain42]

Urk. I just read this:

http://mikes-machine.mine.nu/breeding_yamato.htm

I copied it for posterity, but I'm thinking I don't have the room to do that. Poop.

Well, I'll add a couple more Amanos to the cylinder and call it a tank. Screw 'em if they can't take a joke.

 

[RTR]

Now you see the discrepancy - I wish Wilma were more specific (I like and respect her work- she is also breeding Olive Nerites), or that we knew in fact what shrimp each is working on.