F1 CTPK Spawn #1 has just passed the 10 week mark and, sometime this week, will be going into the grow out tank I have prepared for them. I have also started them on pellets during the last week. Greedy little blighters can barely get their mouth around them but they quickly tear them apart.
They've also seriously begun to grow, both in girth and length (not to self: must get some more photos!)
F1 CTPK Spawn #2 has just passed the one week mark, and I saw one fry with a caudal already visible! Every spawn I've had, they still look like tadpoles at this point, but there is definitely one fella who is ahead of the curve. Lots of fry still in there, although I did suck out seven dead ones tonight. I'm hoping it's because tonight was the first really good clean I've given the tank since they hatched.
I've been doing water changes since day two, and feeding VE and BBS, but I've only given a quick clean around the bottom to get the majority of the gunk mum and dad left behind. In that time, I found only three dead fry. I have a piece of drift wood in the tank with a small Anubias attached, which I got under to give a half decent clean tonight - maybe the dead were hiding under there (it is very close to where the nest site was so it's possible). Hopefully these are just the weakest of the spawn who never stood a chance. One or two a week I can handle...if I start siphoning out a half dozen every day, this spawn wont last long...
The one week olds have now been fully transitioned onto BBS. The ten weeks are now fully on pellets, but I'm going to introduce blood worm treats soon.
Sold my giant pair of HMPK's. I've thought about it for a while now and decided I will need the room for the CTPK project. No point keeping a perfectly good breeding pair when someone else could get more enjoyment from them...so they are off to NSW. Now I can spend the next few days worrying sick over whether they make the trip alright...
Still conditioning Ghost and a turquoise CT for the spawn tank. He, Ghost, the white dragon marble HMPK, just doesn't seem interested. He was quite down last week, so I increased the water in his spawn tank and turned the temp up a little more. He perked up almost straight away, but still doesn't seem keen on getting it together with any of the females I choose.
I shall persevere...and so to, hopefully, will Ghost!
On Wednesday, the father of my one week old spawn shall return to his home. Thank you again, Amanda and Brendan, for having enough trust in me to care for your boy for the past couple of weeks. With him will go the last two girls I got to fill up my sorority tank.
I'm switching from a sorority to a female barracks. I have my male barracks:
This pic is a little old, but you get the idea
That will give me space for 9 males and 9 females. I have the current Aqua One Trio tank for three extras of either sex. I'll have two spawn tanks, one hospital tank, and two grow out tanks. I need to get some more containers of a decent size to house individuals when necessary, and I want a photo tank and a decent introductory vessel for the females.
That will be it for now. I'm concentrating solely on the CTPK project. Within the year, I suspect I'll have very few fish in my Fishroom that I haven't hatched and grown myself. By then, I'll be looking for either fresh fish from fellow team members of the CTPK project, or maybe even an import or two...
And of course, I shall be sending some to interstate shows and then putting them up for auction to spread the love for CTPK :)
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