# Breeding bucket



## Superfly724

I've recently had a friend tell me about raising fry in buckets outside, and letting mosquitoes lay eggs in the bucket so the fry can feed on the larvae. I'm contemplating setting up something like this, since my Brevis pair seem to have killed off their entire brood of fry. Are there any tricks to setting it up? Any advice from people that have tried it? Anything other than a bucket, some water, maybe a java fern, and a sponge filter/air stone?


----------



## lohachata

find a tractor supply or farm and fleet store near you....tuff stuff make several sizes of stock tanks at very reasonable prices...i have 5 of their 110 gallon tanks..i think the current price is about $69.00...
i have had great success with them..all kinds of plants thrive in them..i like to set them out in the spring and put the plants in..put them in and area where they get a good amount of shade...when temps are stable enough i put the fish out....after a season out in the tubs the colors of the fish you put out will be dazzling....
since you plan to do rift lake fish i would suggest getting the 40 gallon tank and adding some crushed limestone and piles of rocks and shells for shelter...micro organisms will grow and mosquitoes will lay their eggs and the fish will devour the larvae....you will only have to feed for the first few weeks...
since you are in Ga. you will have a much longer season for tubbing...
here are a few old pics of my tubs...


Aponogeton Boivianus at approx. 3-4 weeks growth...


----------



## lohachata

here is a link to tractor supply.....stock tank section...a 40 gallon tub will cost you about $40.00...and they are almost indestructible...i leave min out all year..

https://www.tractorsupply.com/webap...0001_CatalogEntry_en_US&searchTerm=stock+tank


----------



## emc7

I've heard bigger is better, less temp variation. hornwort worked for me last time i tried a small tub. We do have a long season, but not year round. My old profile pic was a 10 gallon ice cube. Though I'm told daphnia can be harvested from under the ice here in a big enough tub.


----------



## Superfly724

So is an air stone still necessary for a tub like that? I've got an old shed behind my house that is being used for absolutely nothing right now. It's got no windows, and a garage door on it that doesn't close, so it's well ventilated. Only problem is there's no power. I'm assuming the plants are used for oxygen. I just found out tonight that my 2 remaining Leleupi have paired up and are breeding as well, so I may need to get on this project pretty quick or I'll run out of good weather.

Also, would a Rubbermaid container work? I'm on a reaaaaally tight budget, so I'm not exactly able to spend $40 on a tank at the current moment, but I have an abundance of Rubbermaid containers that are about 25 gallons or so.


----------



## ZebraDanio12

Rubbermaids work. As long as they arent too cheap, the cheaper ones tend to bow and crack...

This is a project Im working on too.


----------



## Superfly724

Should I bother with a substrate on the bottom, or just tie the plants to stones or something? I've got some surplus jungle val, and access to a wide variety of aquarium plants. I've seen a lot of people recommend pond plants, but will java ferns, anubias, anacharis, and things like that do alright as well?


----------



## P.senegalus

Anacharis will do great outdoors, it does better that the plant I have inside. I don't have the others you listed, but a few more plants that will work good outside are water nymph and dwarf sag and bacopa.


----------



## TheOldSalt

You'll want some sunlight for the plants. The best part of summer tubbin' is that tiny fish fry devour the stuff growing ON the plants, and they grow like crazy from it.


----------



## ZebraDanio12

Any plant really grows well outside. I've always done well at growing ludwigia,until I put some that was covered in BBA outside, my view of "well" has changed. Stuff grows so fast in the sunlight! 

I wouldn't worry about a substrate. Bare bottom is just fine.


----------



## lohachata

a couple of inches of fine gravel is needed if you are putting rooted plants in such as vals and crypts..or you can use some plastic trays and fill with the gravel for plants.that way when the cold weather comes you can just lift it out and take it inside..
plants like hornwort , cabomba and anacharis i just let float..plants like water lettuce and water hyacinth have very long feathery roots and are perfect hideouts and feeding stations for fry...
tubs are really fun to do as well as easy..no need forfiltration , aeration or heaters..just add a bunch of plants ; wait a few weeks and add fish....
fly.....you can do this to your tubs to make them stronger...i bought a few of these tubs from walmart for about 8 bucks each...


i think my projects for next year will include some gold sailfin mollies and maybe some hi fin lyretail swords...my odessa barbs of course and maybe some celestial pearl danios...not sure what else yet...except for the mosquito larvae hatchery...i will also put out a bunch of german blue rams for grow out..when they are ready to sell in the fall their colors will be astounding which will bring a lot more money for them..


----------



## ZebraDanio12

Nice Loha, Does your water turn green in those?
How many hours of sun do you get on them?

I'm working on a tub for some guppies, not sure what they are...but beautiful.
And I have cichlid fry, and just got a piar of apisto agazzi...


----------



## lohachata

a few are pretty well shaded and a couple of my tubs get a lot of sun..one of them gets it all day..that one has lots of algae so i am going to have to treat it with algae fix..the less sun , the less algae..and the plants still do great.
if you want to grow some low light plants like java ferns and anubias put them in a tub with lots of floating plants like hornwort and such...


----------



## Superfly724

Anyone know whether or not a clear container will work just as well as a solid color? I don't know if there's a heat difference or anything like that. I found 2 clear Rubbermaid containers in my parents basement, so it looks like that's what I'm going to have to use for now.


----------



## ZebraDanio12

I have a clear one on the front deck,it gets a few hours of sun in the morning and thats it. Works just fine.


----------



## emc7

clear plastics are usually less uv-resistant than opaque ones, so they may have a shorter-time-to-brittleness. Go ahead and use what you have, but if you are buying, choose opaque.


----------



## lohachata

i have a couple of 55 gallon tanks outside in a shaded area...one is for mosquito larvae and the other is for fish breeding..


----------



## P.senegalus

I've found the clear containers to last only one year outside for me if left in full sun, a little longer in the shade. I've also found out the thicker clear containers last a bit longer than the thinner ones, but the containers that are not clear last better. 
If you have clear containers you can make a simple frame around it to help keep the sun off the sides.


----------



## Superfly724

Thanks again to everyone. You've all been so helpful. I got 2 tubs set up today in the garage opening of my shed. They'll get a few hours of direct sunlight every day, but not the whole day. I placed a couple pieces of lace rock in the bottoms and tied a cluster of Jungle Val to a rock in each one of the bins. I'll get more plants soon with some leftover store credit I have. Here's to hoping for some usable grow-out tubs in a few weeks. I just hope my Leleupi are still breeding then, or my Brevis don't have another batch before the tubs are ready.


----------



## Superfly724

Sorry to drag this on, but I just didn't want to find out I was wasting my time. Just to make sure, will Vallisneria refuse to grow unless it is planted in some sort of a substrate? I've got some tied down to the top of a rock, and it's getting direct sunlight, but I'm seeing no growth at all. I know Val is prone to melting when introduced to new environments, so maybe it's just going to melt away and re-grow, but if it's not going to grow at all without a substrate it'd be better to know now and plant it properly than waste my time with it sitting on this rock.


----------



## lohachata

vals are a rooted plant..get a couple of the 8" shallow clay pots..put a piece of screen over the drain hole and fill it with a fine gravel...plant the vals an inch or 2 apart so they can spread....they should do very nicely for you.


----------



## Superfly724

I finally got a full load of plants today. I ended up with a couple clusters of Java Fern, some Anacharis, a couple different types of Anubias, 2 moss balls, and some "blue" Hygrophila. A nerite snail hitchhiked as well. Most of them sunk on their own with the exception of the Hygro and the Anacharis. I'm assuming I'll need some substrate for all of the sinking, rooted plants. Trying to find a long, shallow bin to put in the bottom now. Thanks again for all your help, everyone. This is getting fun.


----------



## ZebraDanio12

Awesome, pics? Ill share my setup aswell. I may be imagining things, but i swear my guppie juveniles have doubled in size since putting them out there. And the colors are just outstanding. my cichlid fry have done great too!
Def a good idea and good for fish!


----------



## Superfly724

I'll get some pictures soon. Feel free to share yours in this thread if you'd like. I haven't put any fish out yet, so I can't vouch for how quick they grow, but I had an old tub on my back porch that filled with rain water and has a bunch of mosquito larvae in it, so I keep scooping them out and feeding my fish with them. My Brichardi ravenously hunts every last one, and his colors have noticably popped since I started feeding him the larvae every couple days as a treat.

I would use that tub as my planted fry tub, but the reason there's so much larva is because (I know, it's horrible) a bat fell in the water and drowned, and the sour water seems to attract them by the hordes, while my clean water buckets don't have nearly as much.


----------



## Superfly724

Here are a couple shots of my tubs as of today.


----------



## ZebraDanio12

How many gallons? Nice setup


----------



## Superfly724

If I'm not mistaken, one of them is 16 gallons and the other one is 18. Not huge, but I'm hoping it'll do the trick.


----------



## TheOldSalt

As for algae, eventually your plants will grow enough that they outcompete the algae for nutrients. The water clears up nicely then.


----------



## lohachata

speaking of tubbing and such..TOS ; when should i send the odessas


----------



## ZebraDanio12

When do you plan to add fish? 

I just had another female drop some fry...Theres about 50 fish in there now. Really need to buy some more plants.


----------



## Superfly724

Currently I'm waiting until my fish hatch another batch of fry. I'm also contemplating just placing the parents outside in the tub, but I don't know if I'm willing to risk that as a lot of people have said moving these specific fish can break up the pair. It's also been reported that removing the fry can break up the pair as well, but I'm more willing to try that. I also don't see any mosquito larva or anything like that in my tubs yet, so I don't know if they're ready for fish.


----------



## Superfly724

Well, today was the day. My Brevis fry braved their way out of their parents shell and out into the tank. I didn't count the exact number, but I think I siphoned out about 12 or so. Unfortunately I think some of the fry had already been eaten, but there may also still be some in the shell. The tubs had a good bit of mosquito larva in them, and a couple nice patches of algae growing for them to munch on. Most all of my plants have done some substantial growing. Now I wait.


----------



## emc7

Let us know how it goes. Tangs would be my last choice to put outside (they like things stable), but if you pull it off I may try it.


----------



## Superfly724

So the Brevis have been in their tub since the 8th of August, and have about quadrupled in size (granted they were almost microscopic when they were first put outside). I don't have an accurate count, but I think there are 6 or so in the tub. I had to move my tank on August 19th and caught all of the Leleupi fry that I could and put them in a tub. They haven't grown nearly as much as the Brevis, but are still alive, have all of their fins and are free-swimming up to the surface. Though I'm now running out of warm weather and don't have the space to set up any grow-out tanks inside, so it looks like I'm going to have to find a home to donate them to.

On a different note, this project went completely opposite of how I expected it. Most all the fish are still alive, but I managed to melt pretty much every single plant I put out there. At first I was worried they weren't getting enough light, but I guess I ended up giving them too much light and they all turned to mush. I had to leave the tubs at my old place after I moved on the 19th, so I didn't have nearly as much time to pay attention to them and give the plants the care they needed. But the fish seem to be doing well, so I guess all's well that ends well.


----------



## emc7

Post on the local AAAA board and fish-takers will descend on you. Or bring to the next meeting Oct 5 or big auction Oct 13 or try Premiere aquatics. Tanganyikans are rare enough in atlanta you won't have any trouble rehoming them.

Honestly I wouldn't mind having brevis.


----------



## Superfly724

I would bring them to Premier (I work there), but they're still too small to put in with other fish, and too small to sell at a retail level. I'm going to figure out the best and safest way to pull them out and hold them and/or transport them, and then I'll probably take your suggestion and make a post on the AAAA forums. If you're sincerely interested I could let you have the Brevis. Again, they're still tiny. Maybe a 1/4 - 1/2 inch. And I don't know if I can guarantee their survival in the stress of the transport, but they're doomed to die in the cold if I don't move them so they have to go either way.


----------



## ZebraDanio12

I would take thos brevis too if I was a bit closer. im in sc. congrats on your success!


----------



## emc7

I have exactly one 5 empty and a dozen shells. Marietta is about 45 minutes from me. If you don't make other arrangements, I can take a ride. I have too many fish and am trying to "downsize," but shell dwellers qualify as smaller, right? My microworms are going good (for the angel fry) and so are my multies so I'd have a chance at saving some.


----------



## Superfly724

We can work something out. I would prefer they go to someone who knows what they're doing, and I trust you to take care of them. Though, from my experience, Brevis are monogamous, so once they're older and start pairing you may need to sell some off or set up a couple more tanks. If it means anything to you, I believe their collection point is "Ikola", so they're the Sunspot variety. They came from Reserve Stock Cichlids back before he dissolved the company.


----------



## emc7

I'll have more space once I move out some of the larger Malawi fish @ the Oct.13 auction. Raleigh's auction is Sunday, but I'm not going.


----------

