Super White 236 spawn

[TwoTankAmin]

I have wigglers in a cave. It is possible there is another dad on eggs but I could not see clearly into his cave. I got my group about 18 months ago.

As far as I know, my fish are from the Budrovcan line of super whites.

At this time all 7 of my hypancistrus groups are actively spawning- 2 each of 173, 236 and zebras plus the super white 236.

[Jools]

Happy days. That'll keep you busy for a while!

Cheers,

Jools

[koolrambo]

good luck

[bekateen]

Congratulations!

[TwoTankAmin]

TY gents.

This was the last new "species" I could acquire. I have neither the space, the energy or the time to maintain my current level of tanks. But I wanted to do these guys because they look so nice even if they may not ever be a described species. Also, 236 spawn the soonest, size and age wise, relative to when they are considered adults fish. I had hoped to have the first spawn by the end of 2020 or by the end of Feb. this year, but I forgot to show the fish my timetable.....

My first and best 236 line came from Eric B. and were traced back to Robert Budrovcan. Now I have (as far as I know) his super white line as well.

[Mexnotex]

Congratulations, I am waiting eagerly on mine to do same. Zebras are active as well.
It's spring in the northern hemisphere and New York.

[TwoTankAmin]

I did not feed tanks on Sunday except for fry. Yesterday evening I was feeding Repashy to all tanks with bottom dwellers. When I do this I cut smaller pieces and spread them around the tank using a long tweezers. I am trying to spread the food around and put it where current won't move it. This means I put my hands/arm into the water in most tanks.

When I got to the super white 236 tank and put in the first piece, I immediately noticed the water was too cold. When I checked the controller it read 24C (75.2F). I normally keep most of my Hypan. tanks in the low to mid 80s. This 33 long tank had two heaters of 150w in it. My first instinct since the controller indicated it had the heaters going was to touch the heater where the element was. Both were cool to the touch. So I wrapped my hand around the lower part and no heat. How can two separate heaters both fail at the same time? The reasons for using two heaters is to avoid single point failure and to disperse heating better.

My heater box had one unused 150 and anything else that was safe to use was 250 to 300w. It also had a 50w. So I swapped out both failed heaters for a 150 and a 50 watt. Today the tank was back up into the low 80sF. I do not think I lost any of the wigglers. I have been feeding this tank with lots of frozen food and Repashy (especially the Spawn & Grow). In addition to the dad on wigglers, there are 3 other males caved. One has had an unsuccessful trapping already.

The moral of the story, it pays to check up on every tank one has every day. Now matter how much we try to remove potential equipment failure, nothing replaces daily inspections. If for no other reason, do it to discover any equipment failure. My controller told me two things when I looked at it, one was that the heaters were being supplied current and the other was the tank was at 24C and not near the 28C the controller was set to produce.

[bekateen]

Wow, what a close call! Glad you caught it.

Cheers, Eric

[TwoTankAmin]

I cannot stress enough the importance of visiting every tank every day. Even if all one does is stick a hand into the water and look into the tank for anything not quite right, that is often enough to head off or catch problems before they do damage.

Air hoses become detached from sponges etc. Things can start to leak. Fish can be sick, injured or even dead. A good friend who is an invert pro taught me that when my amano shrimp are very active and darting all over a tank it means they are looking for food and I need to feed them. The more familiar we become with any given tank and it's inhabitants, the easier it is to spot when things are not quite right.

The r were still wiggling today

[daveupl8]

I hear comments about Repashy all the time but don't know much about it. Can you please tell me what you use and where to find it?

[bekateen]

I hear comments about Repashy all the time but don't know much about it. Can you please tell me what you use and where to find it?

This can be purchased online from many sources, but the main source is https://www.store.repashy.com/by-produc ... food-gels/

I use the unprepared powder to feed newly hatched fry (I mix a little powder with some tank water to make a suspension, then feed that to the fry). For the adults I follow the instructions on the jar to prepare the gel: I usually boil the water in a pan and put the powder in a stainless steel mixing bowl (not a cheap plastic bowl). Then I pour the boiling water over the powder and mix with a whisk. Sometimes I add freeze-dried tubifex or blood worms or brine shrimp to the powder before adding the boiling water, just to mix some extra food together.

I pour the liquid on a dinner plate to create a pancake-like effect, and let it set. Then I cut it into 1cm squares and freeze them to serve later (the end result is shown here: A morning of fish food prep. Nom nom nom. .

Cheers,
Eric

[daveupl8]

I hear comments about Repashy all the time but don't know much about it. Can you please tell me what you use and where to find it?

This can be purchased online from many sources, but the main source is https://www.store.repashy.com/by-produc ... food-gels/

I use the unprepared powder to feed newly hatched fry (I mix a little powder with some tank water to make a suspension, then feed that to the fry). For the adults I follow the instructions on the jar to prepare the gel: I usually boil the water in a pan and put the powder in a stainless steel mixing bowl (not a cheap plastic bowl). Then I pour the boiling water over the powder and mix with a whisk. Sometimes I add freeze-dried tubifex or blood worms or brine shrimp to the powder before adding the boiling water, just to mix some extra food together.

I pour the liquid on a dinner plate to create a pancake-like effect, and let it set. Then I cut it into 1cm squares and freeze them to serve later (the end result is shown here: A morning of fish food prep. Nom nom nom. .

Cheers,
Eric

Thanks so much for the reply. Time to order some Repashy!

[Captainandy]

Which type of Repashy do you recommend for omnivores like your L236s?

[TwoTankAmin]

I basically work with the B&W Hypans from the Rio Xingu. I have also worked with L450, H. contradens an P. compta. I basically fed them all the same diet.

My foods fall into three groups: Frozen, Repashy and Commercial (sinking sticks). I try to feed the least Commercial.

For Repashy I mostly use Bottom Scratcher, Spawn & Grow and Soilent Green (a veggie type food). I mix it all and do not feed the powder (it is a good idea I have never tried). There are many advantages to Repashy. Firstly, you can mix different foods to make your own custom blends. I do this. I mix about 20% Soilent Green with about 80% of either of the other foods.

I mix it in baking dishware. I have various size square containers an different depths. Definitely have a wire whisk for mixing the food. When mine cools I get a large thick slab. I cut this into smaller hunks, wrap them in wax paper and freeze most of them. I defrost as needed. To feed I make slices of various sizes and use a long tweezer to place them around the tank. I do this to minimize competition for food. And this is he second benefit of Repashy, you can make servings all sizes and shapes and even paint it on rocks. Plus you can add other food to it as

Finally, because it is basically a soft food, fry can eat it. This is why I mix in the Soilent Green. I want to know the younger smaller plecos are getting veggies. One food feeds all. Finally, one can use more or less water and get softer or harder food as a result.

I should really say I also feed the Igapo Explorer. This food was devised by Dr. Stephan Tanner to be made by Repashy. It "Contains Invertebrates, Nuts, Fruits, Seeds, Legumes, Herbs and Greens." I mostly feed this to my clown loach tank, but I will occasionally drop some into pleco tanks. I make this food without mixing it with anything else. My clowns shred the stuff, it rarely makes it to the substrate when I drop it in.

If you go to the Repashy site, check into the ingredients in his foods. They are pretty impressive. Of course the best food for ones plecos, especially if one want to try to have them spawn, is live. I do not do live. So I am needed to find the next best options. For me this is Repashy and Frozen. I use a mix of frozen cyclops, rotifers, daphnia as a fry food. I also use frozen BBS in a pinch. But these are pretty pricey compared to the other things.

[Captainandy]

making a batch soon. Need to get the soilent grren first.