# Breeding fish in kiddie pools and stock tanks-II



## henningc (May 20, 2013)

Last summer I recreated a project I did from over 20 years ago. Just for fun I set up a few cheap kiddie pools and filled two stock tanks and moved some of my livebearers outdoors. I started with around 50 breeders, Endlers and Least Killies, and hoped to get a couple of hundred fish if I was lucky. I made a number of mistakes along the way, was invaded by tadpoles, managed through a couple of back to back to back... 100 drgree days yet the project was a success. I decided from the beginning to leave all the fry in the pools and count my total at the end of the summer. That proved not only a mistake, but caught me off gaurd with the number of fish produced. When it was all said and done, I had over 1,200 and that created an issue indoors during the fall.

This year, I am going to chronical the entire project so that others can follow along and repeat it if they like. This year I am going with higher end fish. First during December, I obtained 10 pumpkin orange and black Painted Sword females. These were pre-hit so I split them between 2- 20L tanks and loaded them with plants to preserve fry. At this point I have approximately 8 more females and anticipate having at least 20-25 by the time they go outside in May. I also have 8 female RREA Swords and aound 10 female KOI Swords-all will be ready to throw fry by May. I am also planning on purchasing 40 female platys, 10 of four different colors. I will also be stocking Endlers, but this time I will stock an entire pool with the Blond Endler line I've developed. I should have 20-25 Blond Endler females to start with. Additionally, I'll be stocking regular Endlers and Least Killies. As far as regular Endlers, I should have 50 breeder feamle and Least Killies 20-25 females. 

This year instead of simply pond breeding the swords and platys, I'll be using large breeding traps to max the number of fry that avoid being eaten. All of the swords and platys will go into breeding traps made of large Rubber Made containers with rows of holes drilled in the bottom and sides. I'll stock in some java moss and plastic plants to help the fry hide until they swim out. I also plan to siphon and pour 5gal of pond water through the traps every evening to flush out any remaining fry. Endlers and Least Killies will be stocked in the pools with the breeding traps and act as the clean up crew along with some cory cats. 

Unlike last year, I plan to pull fry out of the pools and place them in growout pools. The growout pools will be easier to control and will speed the growth rate significantly. I plan to begin pulling fry weekly after the first 3-4 weeks. All fry will be counted and graded for color and finage. Most fry will go directly to growout pools dedicated to either Painted or REEA and Koi swords or platys. Each week, I'll pull 20-30 of the nicest looking fish and move them indoors to quick start on live baby brine shrimp for two weeks, then it is back outside into segragated smaller growout pools. I plan to have fish ready to sell by week 6. Additionally, I 'll be selling off the majority of the males as only a few will be needed once all females are hit. 

Last year I used 1 -10' x 10' x 14" pool, 1 - 110" x 72" x 18" pool and the two stock tanks listed below. This year I plan to have the following pools: 2- 10' x 10' x 14" deep kiddie pools, 1 - 110" x 72" x 18" deep kiddie pool (might get another if needed), 3 - 6' around by 10" deep hard plastic kiddie pools, 1 - 125 gal stock tank and 1- 175 gal stock tank. Seeing that I have 2 pools and the stock tanks from last year, my total cost for pools should be around $100 max. I'm also setting up 2 temporary 55gal tanks just incase they are needed. I plan to set up the pools and stock tanks in early March and let them cycle just like a tank. I did manage to save around 200 Oak leaves this fall and will add some to each container to help with micro organism growth. The Least Killies will be first into the pools as they can handle a wide range of temps. Next Endlers then in very late May very early June swords and platys. 

More to come in the next week or two. Later I will go into filtration, water changes, food sources and locations of pools. If you have any ideas, suggestions or breeder trap ideas please let me know.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Sounds like this will be a great thread. I'm putting a 8' round pool into my garden as a pond when spring comes so I'll be following your posts hoping to learn as much as possible before May. I look forward to growing aquatic plants outdoors in the sun instead of under a lightbulb so if you have any experience with that...
Thanks!
.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

Keep your organic materials down and don't fertalize. Your worst issue will be a green algea bloom. I had one vat that did that. Just keep in mind you will need several hours of shade daily.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Thanks, I'm worried about too much sun. Maybe an awning or screenhouse? Or would that be too much shade? 
.


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## Assault0137 (May 2, 2012)

rsskylight04 said:


> Thanks, I'm worried about too much sun. Maybe an awning or screenhouse? Or would that be too much shade?
> .


just place them in places where trees will shade them for 1/4-1/2 the day, or you could get some floating plants from home depot. the water lettuce and water hyacinth grow like crazy, and are great for the filtration.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Assault0137 said:


> just place them in places where trees will shade them for 1/4-1/2 the day, or you could get some floating plants from home depot. the water lettuce and water hyacinth grow like crazy, and are great for the filtration.


Love the idea of lots of floating plants. Thanks.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

I place mine near the house so it shades the pools part of the day.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

i have a few trees in my garden i could use for shade, also access to lots of hornwort. 
do you know... can you "cycle" a kiddie pool or small round pool. Or what are the water change procedures?
How many hours of direct sun should i have?
We have to talk about filtration/aeration...


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

You can and should cycle your pool or vats and the procedure is like large tanks, except outdoors they seem to be worse in the initial stage but clear up faster. I will be using 1 - 125gal rated sponge filter in each vessle. These filters have been running for 2-3 months in my 40 brooders, 20Ls. I also have 15-20 6" sections of 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe in a cycled tank for 2-3 months for each pool. Here is how I do the entire shabang:

Place the pool so that it gets at least 4 hours of shade daily. If you can find a location that gets shade in the mid-morning and late afternoon that works best but is not a game changer. 

I fill the pools all the way up and add a good handful, 15-20 dried Oak leaves and let it sit a day or two. I'll then toss in an airline with a regular size air stone and let it run another 5-7 days. At that point, I take a very long piece of airline to use as a siphon and cloths pin it to the side of the pool and lace it through a section of the PVC to weight it down. You need an emergency siphone in case of heavy rain. I crank the air and leave it run for a day. Two days later, I start the airline siphone and allow about 10%-15% of the water to drain. Repeat two days later. Wait another two days and place the rest of the PVC pipe sections along the walls of the pool and stack 4-6 next to the air stone. This starts the process of spreading the bacteria and the Oak leaves make a good accelerator. After another 4-6 days do another water change same size as before and add the sponge filter. I'll give it a week, do a 10% water change and add a small box filter filled with carbon and enough gravel to sink it-replacing the airstone. After that runs 2-3 days, pull it put the airstne back out there and you wil be ready for fish in a week or so. The test numbers seem to sit tight at first then fall into line with in a few days. 

If you're going to plant plants, do that as soon as you put in the sponge filter. They will speed up the cycling process and there is nothing better than real sun light. If you think you will ever want to use a heater, make a gravel patch 2"-3" deep to place the heater on. If you just need a night time heat bump, turn on the heater for an hour or two then move the airstone next to it. I discovered the fish will find the heater no problem. You can use a canister filter or make an L shape out of 1"x1" place one end under the pool floor and you can use an HOB for water quality. The advantage is you can move it from pool to pool. 

I do add solar salt to all my pools as livebearers don't mind. I also use pond and ramshorn snails to help clean up. Last year I had some corys in one pool and they got huge and I had more than I started with at the end of summer-Don't get excited it was just a few! I used crayfish in other pools and they did an OK job, but not that great.

This weekend I'll post up some photos of the fish I intend to spawn. I'll post the breeder traps and how to make them in two weeks.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE

Good news, I secured the rest of the brooder stock for the pools. When it is all said and done, I should have Showa, koi, blk& white, marigold, painted marigold,pineapple, pineapple tux and painted pineapple, RREA and albino blood red swords. Most of the last groups will only be 6-10 females, but they should throw enough to make them worth it. I will also have marigold and red Mickey Mouse platys and possibly red paints as well. I have secured 15-20 albino corys for cleaning and hopefully a little reproduction. The Endlers and Least Killies are all ready to roll. The rest of the swords and platys will be coming the third week in April and will spend about two weeks indoors if all goes as planned. I will post photos of all the stock when it gets here.

I plan to start building the breeder traps this weekend and if the weather cooperates the pools will go up. I'll photo the process.

I wanted to pass along some information from another pool breeder in the mid-west. He tells me that the cory fry will survive in semi-significant numbers if there is plenty of bottom cover and micro organisms. Last year I was trying to get rid of Oak leaves that fell into the pools on a daily basis. Then I find out they are fine and will not hurt the fish and act as substrate for bacteria. This fall I collected a couple of sacks full of dried Oak leaves to help launch the pools quickly. The other breeder said that is exactly what he uses. Now my only decision is do I go for long and put my pepper, Julii, pandas and green lightening corys in pools as well. Any thoughts would be appreciated.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Sounds fantastic , id love to have a breeder setup like that . I do have a 5' round kiddie pool, and id like to get a 8' pond installed . I want to try the kiddie pool as a breeder. I.have a good location, now its just waiting for snow to melt and ground to thaw. Also have last years dry leaves to start it. I'll be following for tips and tricks, thanks.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE:

I'm currently constructing the breeding traps I'll be usung with the swords and platys. These are made from 4'x18"x24" clear storage containers - totes. I drill rows of holes 1/8" around. The bottom and sides have six rows 3'x8"x12". One the bottom, the holes are drilled to one side leaving a good size area of floor space on the other side or the bottom. This will allow prepared foods to be fed and sink without immediately passing through to the bottom. The width walls will have rows rilled 6"x6" x 10". Each outside end of the breeder trap will have a legnth of PVC pipe zipped to the bottom causing the trap to sit up off the bottom approximately 
1 1/2". This clearance will allow waste and food to pass through and will allow for a daily flush with five gallons of pool water for clean up and fry removal. Once food and fry are washed from the pool, they will join the coloy of Least Killies, Endlers and Corys in the growout area. 

Fry management: After the first few weeks, some fry will be removed from the growout area in the breeding pool and move to specific growout pools. This should keep any unauthorized breeding between swords/swords and platys/platys to a minimum. After the first month, small groups of fry will be brought indoors and pumped with live baby brine shrimp, microworms, mosquito larva, beefheart and flake food. Those fry will likely be offered for sale as large sub-adults Fish still in growout will be size graded and once they hit a certain size moved to a vat for finishing. The vats offer a more constrained area that is much easier to keep clean. In addition to my sponge filters, I'll be using a small canister filter to polish the water every 2-3 days. 

Pool #P-2 110"X72"X18" will be up and running before weeks end. I'll have some photos of the breeder traps and pool by the weekend. If all goes well, I plan to get P-1 and P-II up and running next weekend.


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## Assault0137 (May 2, 2012)

Sounds like you are going to have one monster of a setup... But what are you going to do with all the fish?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE

First replies to posts. Yes a monstor set up for sure and I will be selling the fish on-line. If you have never shipped fish it is not rocket science and you can somewhat pay for your hobby that way. I produced over 800 Endlers last summer so no wonder I am still marketing them in the classifieds here and a few choice other places.

Well after 4 weeks of various health issues-I'm fine-I forced myself to set up the pools today and up they went. I'll have photos later in the week as a typhon hit just as I finished. Anyway, both the P-1 -8'X 14" pools are up and filled. The P-2 - 110"X72"X18" is set up and filled as well. 

I took the remains of last years P-1 and grabbed items such as PVC, a breeder net, and the feeder rings out. All of the Oak leaves from fall were still in the pool. Some leaves fell in when there was water most did not. I took three heaping handfuls of leaves and placed one in each pool. I learned last summer that leaf litter within reason helps to stabilize the water chemestry and speeds up the cycling time due to rapid decay. It also provides a huge foraging grounds for small fish, shrimp and crayfish. I am adding a number of corys to each pool and the leaf litter should provide cover and food for the fry. Each pool will have 8-12 corys in it and the chances of them finding their own eggs are approximately zip. My hope is to produce maybe 100 corys this year. 

I still have to set the stock tanks, 125gal and 175gal. While I'm waiting for the stock tanks to cycle I'll be curing a few chuncks of drift wood that will not fit in a sink. A little tannis in the water won't hurt anything and the stock tanks are black so chances are I won't notice. I did inspect the P-1 pool from last year and it appears to be messy but otherwise usable. I'll set that up with the tanks this week once the weather cooperates. I have yet to purchase the 2 hard plastic kiddie pools, they will be used for overflow growout so there is no rush. I also have all the temporary airline and valves run along with siphons. I'm using a small pump for air right now and will upgrade to a Pond Master 40 in 4-5 wks. I've been seasoning my 125gal capacity sponge filtrs in eastablished tanks for the last 3 weeks and those will not go in the pools for 3-4 more weeks. Until the sponges go in, I'll control water quality with partical water changes and after 2 1/2 weeks a few large box filters filled with high grade carbon. Being outdoors and the Oak leaves will cause the pools to cycle rapidly and drastically along the way. 

That is it for now. I'll keep you posted.


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## Assault0137 (May 2, 2012)

nice. if you can afford, get one of those UV pumps. 50 bucks at petco, and i have the big 1200 gallon version for my pond. they are AWESOME.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

QUICK PHOTOS

Not much to look at right now, pools, water, Oak leaves and airline, but here goes.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

I put my 5' kiddie pool into the ground today and added oak leaves from last fall. Its 22° though so I doubt theres much cycling going on under the ice.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

As long as there is water, nutrients and sunlight there will be cycling, just slow. Those leaves should be thick with bacterial once it warms up and it may cycle out before you get to working on it much. 

As for the weather, it was 79 here last Sunday and 48 on Monday. St. Louis is the weather armpit of the world, so if I can do this anyone should be able to. 

Last year I just kind of tossed the project together as I went, this year I've planned it out. I figure, based on last year, this should pay for my fishroom operations and the project itself for the year. I also have room and air capacity to add more pools so if things take off I'm ready. Just so folks know here is a list of mistakes from last year:

No emergency siphons installed until there was an emergency -Thunder storm
All fry left in pool - In late August the population exploded-slows growth and requires more air, lots of air
Not consistent on water changes - the higher the population the more critical it becomes
No bottom cover first half of summer - The leaves help a lot so they are in there already
Not feeding in designated area - This year will use three plastic coffee can lids middles removed and anchord.
Did not remove tadpole in a timely manner - They suck up air and poop a lot!
Used a cheaper brand of fish food - Not this year
No plan for too hot of weather - I have froozen milk jugs to switch out that can be connected to airlines


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE:

As of today the three pools and one Vat, 125gal, are filled, seeded with Oak leaves and the temp air system is aggitating the surface water of all four. I put down gravel patches in two of the pools that will be used for submersable heaters and tossed in the plastic coffee can lids that act as fake lilly pads. I also did a 10% water change on the pools, refilled them and added approximately 10gal of water change water from several long-term established tanks in my fishroom. The good bacteria count in the water is low, but it should help to seed the Oak leaves and speed up cycling. I place several pond snails in one pool and several ramshorn snails in another. I don't know if the rams horns can take the low temps, but we are about to find out. 

In the next four days, I plan to do a 20% water change, add 3-4 sections of PVC Pipe that has been resting at the bottom of my established tanks. I realize the pipe has a limited number of bacteria on it, but here again it helps to speed up the process. I'm also planning to toss in a teaspoon of duckweed to see if the water can support plants yet. If the duckweed goes ok then I'll add the java moss I have coming in to each of the pools. I should have two baseball size portions and if it thrives should have buckets full by the end of summer. I'm also looking for water sprite or westeria-Spelling- to put in the pools.

The rest of my brooder swords are coming in a week later than planed during the first week of May. That means I'll have a week to hold them indoors and observe. I trust my source and therefore I'm not worried. I'll try to time the platys the same. Some good news, one of my REEA Sword females is ready to burst. That proves that not all the males are sterile after all. I'm thinking that the other females are likely hit as well as they are all in the same tank. More good news, the Blond Endlers have multipled quicker than anticipated so I should have 12-16 females and 6 -8 males. Unlike regular Endlers you get significantly less males than females. I also noted that the Showa, Koi and Black and White swords are sexing out so the females should be ready. The only fish that I don't have the numbers I want are Least Killies, but I'll keep adding females from inside once fish move outside.

So what is the rest of the plan?? For now just getting pool water stabalized in the next week and one half, installing and testing heaters and getting the real air system up and running. I also need to finish the breeding traps, rough on the arms and hands for me seeing I have R.A. The sponge filters are ready any time the water temp remains stable enough-Thinking two weeks. Once adding stock, I will also run a small airdriven corner filter with research grade carbon the first two weeks until water chemistry stabalized. During the next week I'll be adding more snails and likely more Oak leaves.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE:

The first three pools and vat are coming along nicely. Each pool has about 20% of the bottom covered with dried Oak leaves, the air is cranking up and the pond and ramshorn snails are doing well. I've done three water changes and changed about 50% of the water now. I am going to have to open up the siphons in the morning as we are going to get sever storms and in Missouri that means a ton of rain. I added carbon filled corner filters to help stabilize the water chemistry. They are calling for a little cold snap next week, so I'll be working on water quality for the next few days.

I did have a self-cloning crayfish and some least killies conditioning outside, but the daughter in law decided to use the 5gal bucket and tossed them. I'm a little pissy as I have told everyone don't touch my stuff.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Now there's an interesting idea. I'm also shocked you ended up with so many kids. =o Our summers are really hot sometimes though, and we like to go right from winter to summer and so forth. But this is interesting. I wonder if I can pull it off in the garage, which stays a bit cooler in summer, but warmer in winter, with a nice heater.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

I think you could pull it off either way. Our summers get around 100 degrees for several weeks straight. I put mike jugs filled with water in the freezer and toss one-two in each morning and rotate them when I get home from work. You can use 2 liter bottles as well.

I also put in a gravel strip about 18"w x 15" long and place 2 submersable heaters on the gravel. The fish all congragate around the heater when the nights or days are cold. I don't run the heaters in summer, just spring and fall. A large heated dog mat, say 36" x 48" under a pool with a plastic lining works as well. Also, your fish become much more tolerant of the temp changes.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

I've been given permission by my grandparents to give it a shot in the house, keep it in the basement. Means I'll be able to keep babies in there longer to grow and sell. :3 Unfortunately I can't get anything too big, about 60 inches and a foot-foot and a half deep. I got a bunch of stuff to set it up last night, unfortunately the pool we chose had a hole, so we're going to day to get a proper make. =)


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Just got my first nitrate reading in my 5' kiddie pool! Ammonia still present and some nitrite, but I see progress. Cold, cold rain today but better weather should be comming in May. Will the water stay warm overnight from daytime warmth? Water temp is 39° so a few more weeks before fish or inverts. 

Would you reccommend a heater? If so, what type is suitable for a 200 gallon pool? Nightime temps get down into the 40's into june, then fall temps come down starting in early september. Doesn't leave much time for breeding, but id like to try it anyway.

Thanks for the great thread!


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

rsskylight04 said:


> Just got my first nitrate reading in my 5' kiddie pool!
> Thanks for the great thread!


Just curious, five foot deep pool, or five feet around? I have one that's around five feet around and about a foot or so deep, give or take a few inches I didn't measure that, just going by my height for it's width. It doesn't have a gallon thing on it so I have no idea how many it actually holds. I'm currently filling mine up, have mature filter media to add in too. I'm about half way done, unfortunately I couldn't get a hose to work, so I'm filling it manually. x.x I would like to know how many gallons exactly a pool of that size and round, would hold. lol


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## Assault0137 (May 2, 2012)

Yes, I would reccomend one heater, as large as you can find. I have this awesome heater I got off eBay for 7 bucks. Thy have up to 300 watt and they are all the same price, so you can really just get one big one for your pool for the nights.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Well, got my little pool set up. Wont be fish until I'm sure it's stable and cycled though, but it looks ok for -just- being set up, eh? Got some of my crystalwort in there, hope to have other types soon, that should make a nice mat when I turn down the streams from the filters. =)

I'm only sharing one photo, I have my own thread for mine. But I want to see yours, henningc, if you have any?


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Sylverclaws said:


> Just curious, five foot deep pool, or five feet around? I have one that's around five feet around and about a foot or so deep, give or take a few inches I didn't measure that, just going by my height for it's width. It doesn't have a gallon thing on it so I have no idea how many it actually holds. I'm currently filling mine up, have mature filter media to add in too. I'm about half way done, unfortunately I couldn't get a hose to work, so I'm filling it manually. x.x I would like to know how many gallons exactly a pool of that size and round, would hold. lol


My pool is 5' round and 30" deep. I measured the volume by filling 5 gallon buckets with a hose and keeping a tally as I dumped them in. 
Currently searching online for a large submersible heater!


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

I wish I could have found one that deep. lol Mine holds somewhere between 75 and 80 gallons I think, according to this if that's even the right one to use: Pool Volume Calculator | Swimmingpool.com
I would have liked one as big as yours. ;D


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

Very usefull calculator! 
Yeah, when I saw the dimensions of this pool I had to have it. It has steps and a mini slide that takes away some volume, but also adds a bit of variation. 
Good luck henning and sylver!


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

rsskylight04 said:


> Very usefull calculator!
> Yeah, when I saw the dimensions of this pool I had to have it. It has steps and a mini slide that takes away some volume, but also adds a bit of variation.
> Good luck henning and sylver!


Ouh, ouh, I saw one like that...but it was like $700. >< And wont fit in the basement, I intend to have it like another tank and not a temporary outdoor thing. lol 

And thanks, good luck to you as well. Even this one that is smaller than I wanted is going to be so unbelievably helpful to raising my fry in. :3


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

The best pools are Intex Snap Set 6" x 12" deep. 

I'll update the thread tomorrow.


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## Assault0137 (May 2, 2012)

300W Aquarium Heater Anti Explosion Submersible Fish Tank Water Adjustable | eBay
you are welcome 
i have the 50w version in my 4 gallon and it works great.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE:

Well last week we had several days with high temps in the low 50s, today it was 91 degrees! That is MO for you. According to the weather people the temps should be staying in te mid-low 80s all this week and next. I have decided to call it a spring and get the show on the road. If the water temps hold tonight and into the morning I'll be adding the first wave of fish tomorrow and the next day. Here is the game plan:

P1-1 Pool- I have 6 pre-hit female and 10 male Least Killies (LKs) ready to dive right in. They will be joined by 6 Paleatus Corys. If all goes well, I'll add another 4-6 Paleatus Corys and 6 pre-hit female Black Bar Endlers and zero males for now. If all goes well and the night temps remain stabilized then this weekend I'll add 2 pre-hit female swords 1 Pineapple and 1 Marigold. I'll wait until next Tuesday before adding the rest of the brooder Pineapples and Marigolds. When I add the remaining swords, I'll add my best 4-6 Black Bar males and 10-12 females.

P1-2 Pool. I'll start the same process with the same number of LKs and Albino Anues Corys. If all goes well, next I'll add 6 pre-hit Orchard Endler females. Same timetable as above, I'll add 1 each pre-hit Showa, Koi and RREA female swords. On Tuesday, I'll add 12-16 Showa, 8-10 Koi and my entire 4 RREAs and 15-18 Orchard Endler females and 8-10 males including two blond males. I'll likely add another 6-8 female & 6-8 male LKs along with 10 more corys.

P2. I'll start with the same count of LKs and add 2 Marble Crayfish. I've constructed two nice areas with 8 PVC sections, two 4" flower pots and some flat garden stone arranged to make good hiding spots for the Crayfish. These areas will be at opposite ends of the pool and in corners to help keep the Crayfish out of everyone else's scales-no hair cos their fish. If all goes well, 6 Blond Endler females will be added along with several LK males and females. Tuesday, I'll add 15 Red MM & 15 Marigld MM Platys and another 10-12 Blond and 8-10 Het for Blond Endler female and 4-6 Blond Endlers males.

Vat-1. In this vat I'll be going strat to Endlers, Chilli Endlers to be exact. I'll start with 6-8 pre-hit females, 6 nice males and 1 Marble Crayfish who will have 6-8 sections of PVC and tons of Oak leaves. On Tuesday, I'll add 6-8 more Chillie females. If I have enough, I'll also add some LK pre-hit females.

Next Thursday, provided things are going great, I'll be adding anywhere from 20-75 Endlers fry to the pools with that color variety. My goal is to thin down the live stock indoors to do a little addition to all gene pools over the summer.

That leaves me 1 each yet to be established P1 Pool, 175gal Vat and a hard plastic kiddie pool. The P1-3 will be used as a grow out pool for what ever swords start dropping a ton of young and an additional group of adult Paleatus Cory Cats. That will likely result in a lot of food waste so I'll add more corys if need be. The 175gal Vat will be growout for Platys. The hard plastic pool, well that is another story. First, it will be my grandson's pool as he just turned 1yr and as my wife would say it is high time he learn how to lose his shirt raising fish. I plan to add 20-30 pre-hit mixed Endlers and let them grow for 6-8 weeks. Once they are dropping fry, or I have at least 125-150 2 week or older fry 20-25 of the next batch of Belonasox fry will go in the pool. You may be asking why so many fry, the Belonasox fry are pigs. In nature the game is eat everything you can and then the big guys eat the siblings. I'm thinking the Endlers brooder stock should be able to keep pace long enough to get 3 1/2"-4" Belonasox. Once that size I'll put half of them up for sale and hang on to the rest until they are sexable. Once sexable, they get a much higher price.

On a side note, the frogs already spawned in the pools, didn't even let me get fish in the darn things this year before doing the frog thing.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

Update:

First off Sylverclaws, great video.

Ok, the St. Louis weather has finally decided to cooperate, well maybe. The next 10 days should be anywhere from 80-90 degrees with night lows in the 60s at worst. So the long awaited time is here to start the process of stocking pools. All of the fish are conditioned, they have been for weeks, and now make their final prep prior to freedom.

Tonight I pulled the first breeding groups of Orchard and Black Bar Endlers. I'm starting with 8 healthy sized pre-hit females and 3-4 excellent quality males. The first step was to sort fish to pick out the top of the line. All of the females, both types, are as large as large female show guppys and capable of dropping 30-40 fry per drop. The Orchard males all looked nice, I took the few that had more blue, green and yellow on them. All have double red sword tails. The Black Bars were nice as well. I worked on refining the Balck Bat trait and the males are really nice demonstrations of art in motion. Both lines, more so the Orchards, throw an occasional Blond so each group of males contained one Blond.

The process? First fish have to be sorted out and then the choosen few isolated. Each group is enjoying a clean 5gal container with 2gal of water and 1tbs of solar salt. Tomorrow moring, each group will get half a dose of Quick Cure and by later afternoon say 5:00ish will be bagged, acclimated and released into their own pools. Each group will be joined by 6 females and 6 male Least Killies. These fish will have the run of the place for the next 4-6 days. On Thursday, my large group of Blond Orchards will be placed in their own pool. Thursday will also be the day of the Cory Cat. 12 Paleatus with the regular Orchards and 12-Aneus with the Black Bars. The Blonds will be sharing their pool with 2 marble crayfish and a test group of RCS. All pools now contain tree frog tadpoles. The first group of fish will have a distinct advatage, hundreds of mosquito larva to eat. I've keep them down by netting and feeding, but once the fish are out no larva is safe. 

What next? If all goes well and it should, over the weekend another 8-12 female Endlers and 4 additional Least Killies will join the schools. If you do the math a min. of 16 female Endlers multipled by say a very conservative estimate, likely triple or more, of 10 fry comes to 160 fry in the first month. Keep in mind by July these fry will be producing fry. I'll likely add another 6-8 female Endlers and 10 or so Least Killies within the next two weeks.

Again if all goes well, I'll add the breeder traps and the first sword and platy brooders. I'll introduce each group 6-8 females at a time and add more every 4-5 days if things remain stable. I'll be maintaining all the males indoors as they already did their job. In late July, I'll rotate groups of females back inside for 5-7 days to allow for more mating. I estimate that I have 14-18 Showa, 8 Koi and 12 Black and White females. I have 3 Marigold, 5 Pineapple / Pineapple Tux females and 5 very nice size-4 1/2" RREA females. In the platy department, I have 12 huge Marigold MM and 8 nice Red MM female platys. I'll also be getting 3 Blue Platy females being re-homed to me. 

So how to manage this stuff? Well daily partcials will be a must, I'll be taking approximately 1/16th-1/8th inch of water our per day. I'll add water with 5gal buckets poured through teh breeder traps to flush any fry that don't escape on their own. I will also be removing, culling, grading sword and platy fry from the get go starting in late June, followe dby Endlers in the beginning of July. Some of the highest quality fish will be reared for several weeks indoors before returning to grow out pools for the females. The Endlers will be culled every week with 100 or some females and how ever many not show quality males being placed in a special pool until late July early August. 

Those cull fish being held for late July early August will be allowed to grow, reproduce and will be joined by some older breeders or cull females from the indoor tanks. The entire idea will be to get as many females throwing fry and extra males as possible. Once the cull pool fish start the reproduction process the first batch of Belonasox fry dropped indoors will be placed into the pool. The Belonasox fry are eating machines. Each Belonasox will eat 4-5 new born Endler fry or 2-3 2 week old fry daily. If all goes as planned I should be able to raise about 35-40 Belonasox. I will market these fish and hopefully a few people will keep the line going and pass them along.

Ok, time to get farming fish.


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## Assault0137 (May 2, 2012)

Niiiice. Do you ship the fish or sell them to LFS's?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE
;

The Black Bar produced at least 20 fry in the pool on Tuesday and the Orchards started populating their pool with fry yesterday. Swords. platys and Least Killies move in tomorrow and this weekend.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

I had to abort my project. Temperature variations day/night are just too extreme even with two 300 watt heaters. Frost Monday morning then 85° Tuesday afternoon. 

Thanks for posting your project though, very interesting. I'm following and wishing you the best of luck!

Have you ever bred cichlids this way? Or if not, do you think it would work?


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

That sucks. Mine is going well, though my grandma doesn't care much for any of it and often complains... Fish are growing like weeds(including my pleco), I've made a ton of room in my tanks with the pool and selling some fish, and found that just keeping the A/C fan on keeps the humidity gone in there and doesn't mess with the tanks temp. lol 

I'm currently trying to get some N-Class black bar endlers to breed. The pool will be most useful for it and I may actually use it FOR them and breeding if I can clear our a few more of the bigger fish. :3 Costly little things, eh. Anyone know where I can buy some nice males and unrelated females for less than an arm and leg? lol


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

I should take your experience as a lesson and move my pool.to the basement.
Thanks and best wishes for continued good luck!


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

UPDATE:

First things first, rsskylight04, sorry to hear about your weather issues. I found that Least Killies can take the wild temp swings and I've never had one get ich or anythin else. If you have a small heater they will find it if they need it. They can handle water temps in the 60s. I have also found that Endlers will stay right next to a submersable heater all night and morning until things warm up. My Endlers have toughed out some nights in the low 40s when the high temp in the day was the low 70s. Just saying that is my experience. You may want to try Goodieds as they like cold.

P-1 Pools 
P-1-1 Contains Orchard Endlers, a few Blond Endler females from the Orchard line, paleatus cats, 2 trios Least Killies and now up to 8 female plays in the trap. I'll add more Platys and Least Killies this week. There appears to be two large batches of Endlers fry already and they grow like crazy in the pools.

P-1-2 Contains Black Bar Endlers, a few Blond Endler females from the Black Bar line, anues cats, 2 trios Least Killies and 12 female Swords in the trap. I'll add 3 more Least Killie females, 4 more female Swords to the trap, another trap with 14 female Swords. I've spotted 3-4 batches of Endlers fry so far and like the Orchards they are forming schools that hang together in various places. 

P-2 Contains 10 female / 6 male Least Killies, 8 female / 4 male Orchard Endlers plus fry and 2 marbled crayfish. Before I added the rest of the Least Killies and Endlers over the weekend I noticed several Least Killie fry in the pool. I'm planning to set up a trap in this pool later for swords. 

Vat-1 now have 1 trio of Least Killies and 12 female / 5-6 male Chilli Endlers. I was going to add a crayfish, but I think I'll go with paleatus cats instead. 

Vat-2 I just put some odds and ends Endlers in there for now and will increase their numbers to produce live food for the Belonasox. 

My plan is by the end of next weekend to have all the Plays and Swords out in traps. I'm looking for fry from either of the two. Keep your fingers crossed.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Ah. I want to breed in pools too with Endlers. I'm thinking I will. My grandma said I can have the ENTIRE basement for my fish keeping when my uncle moves out, and that's a lot of space. :3 But, well a lot of it may be in tanks instead, but I'd like one more pool. 


Speaking of pool fun, we're going out today to get another pool, but this time it'll outdoor for the summer and for plants. I ordered in a bunch of duckweed, Amazon Frogbit and water lettuce. Some will go into my fry pool and maybe in the nets in my tanks, the rest I intend to breed in an outdoor pool. I am thinking of getting some mosquito fish for it though, otherwise we'll be over-run with bugs! With nothing but masses of plants, will I still need a filter, you think? I know the likely answer(yes as all fish need it!). Otherwise I can't get any, it'll be out and rain+electrical wires+extension cords and stuff=bad. LOL


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## dancelady (Apr 24, 2014)

*All of you with kiddie pools for fish...*

I took my kiddie pool back, because I looked at it and thought about keeping it on the floor with the work involved and all that bending over... so back it went. I was cleaning my garage and found 8 15-30 gallon totes that are clear, so they are a better choice for fishkeeping. Yes, it might mean more filters, and I have plenty of sand, rocks, and doodads. But I won't be using most of them any time soon. This is mainly for babies that occur, to give them enough space to grow and for their lyretails or sailfins. They will all be for Mollies, which in all the endless colors and styles is quite enough. When they get old enough, I will sell some. Sorry folks, totes are SO much easier for me, so that is the way I am going... pools be gone! 
:BIGcool:


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

DanceLady, just make sure to use some sort of support on the sides of the totes so they don't bow. I admit it, if it holds water I likely tried it already . 

Here is an idea for the future, if you go to the farm supply / feed store they can get you a 125gal-300gal Rubber Made livestock tank. If you set it up on 3 rows of vertical cinder blocks with 3 landscaping rails threaded through it will be easy to access and work like a charm. The entire set up between $125-$375 depending on size of tank. These are what I call vats. You can use a small canister filter, and a sponge with a 250wt heater and you are in business to raise fry.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

Sylverclaws,

Actually you don't really need a filter unless you're goingto heavy stock fish. If it were me, I'd use a small in-tank HOB and at least 1, but no more than two air driven sponge filters rated for 125gal-Ken's has them for $13.

As for Gambusia, don't know if you have worked with these guys but they are meaner than sin. I have several adult females living with my 8" Jack Dempseys if that tells you anything. These guys are fry eating machines as well. I'd suggest a group of Least Killies and maybe some Endlers. These fish will take care of mosquitos no problem and they unlike Gambusia like messing around in thick plant cover. A few pigmy gouramis would be an option and they will spawn and rear fry if you give them a month or two. If you would do the pigmy gouramis and Least Killies, they would be fine and both reproduce nicely without issues. I'm just saying.

I have a good contact for Least Killies, low price, nice fish good service.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Hahaha, meaner than sin. I love that. Actually that's perfect, believe it or not. I hope they can hold their own and are smart enough to stay away from predators. When I was at the garden shop the other day I heard a lady telling a worker that her friend had a koi pond. It had BIIIG, gorgeous, very expensive koi...and the raccoons got them all. I've known many with raccoon issues. We have a lot of critters that'd just as soon eat the fish out of the pond as drink from it. I love koi too. c.c I don't think my pool would even be big enough for one though, maybe a pair of normal goldfish. I had leaned on the wall near a pond there, didn't know they had koi since I thought it was a big decorative pond/fountain. Suddenly about thirty koi were sucking on my hands. xD Scared me so bad, they have better suckers than puppies. Anyways, hoping the smaller mosquitofish(and yes, the gambusia type) will have an easier time fleeing and hiding from danger. I assume I'll lose some, I just hope nothing trashes the whole pool. Worst fear, I'd go out one morning to see all my plants on the ground and spread about and no fish. x.x The raccoons around here are monsters. They are big, the larger being not afraid of people...not much, and they know it. Crafty and smart. They're always catching crayfish at the creek.

They're not going to be with any other fish...and most livebearers not endlers are fry eating machines. I'd looove to put gouramis in there, or even killies...but this is likely going to be on the cooler end of temps when it rains and stuff. Otherwise they may be fine, but yeah...I'd rather not do that. Sounds like a ton of fun though, love dwarf gouramis. T_T Love them a lot. Temp will likely be in the lower to mid sixties and seventies most of the time(the sixties are most likely), but when it rains it'll probably have a couple days of forties and fifties. x.x I think that'd be sucky for dwarf gouramis. But hey, I don't really know what the temp will be like yet.


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## dancelady (Apr 24, 2014)

*henningc, great idea on the "vats"*

Being in a farm-a-lot state, we have plenty of farm supplies stores here, so I will visit my local one and see what they charge for the livestock tanks. I know about those, never thought of it until you mentioned them. Have seen some being used as cub wash&sit-in tanks for young bearlings, and eagle bathing tanks... haha... a good size, and can be lifted up as you describe. They have them in a wildlife hospital, where young eaglets are growing into a releasable age. They actually once put some live fish in one for the eaglets to learn how to catch them, and one smart eaglet did just that. Was so funny, and she got her other siblings to come over and try it. If it works for them, it will work for raising fish too!

My young Mollies are 4 months old and slowly developing their gender & sailfins, and the balloon bellies... The original mother was a balloon belly Sailfin Harlequin, and I have taken pix of the "Molliettes," some with the forming balloon belly shape. They looked normal until a little while ago, and then I saw the much larger belly, and the swipe to their heads as the whole body sort of squished together with the large wider balloon body. Not all of them... when a few turn male, I bet the sailfin will begin to show up too. I think their father's sailfin is still growing, it looks larger all the time. Watching them grow is a great lesson on parents/babies, seeing what comes out is most interesting.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

Update: The weather! Two weeks ago it was cool and rained a lot. The lows were very low 50s-highs just hitting 70-72. This week, all upper 90s and lows in the high 70s. I told you St. Louis is the weather armpit of the world!

To combate the extreme heat I started opening up 2 siphones in oe pool and one siphone in anotherin the morning before work and closing them at lunch. I use airline as a siphone hose so it is slow. When I get home at lunch, I place the hose running on a dribble in the pool with only had one siphone running. When I'm ready to leave I move the hose to the pool that had two siphones running. I them open the siphones on one vat and the other pool and repeat the process when I get home from work. It actually holds the temps in the low to mid 80s and the fish are fine. 

Pool -I-1 This pool has Orchard Endlers and their population is beginning to explode. I quick counted and there are between 200-225 fry as of yesterday. The large females appear ready to burst again any day. The platys appear to have dropped fry, but I have not positively identified and yet. The paleatus cats are really active and growing quickly. I suspect I'll have to pull fry in two-three weeks. I am going to install a much larger breeding trap and put the rest of the platys out early next week.

Pool-I-2 This pool has Black Bar Endlers and I quick counted between 175-200 fry and there is likely a lot more. The anues cats seem fine but I don't see them much. The swords have produced fry and I have only seen a handful. I'm sure there are a lot more sword fry than I could see but only time will tell. Next week I am installing the second large breeding trap and the rest of the swords will go out side.

Vat-1 This Vat has 9 female and 6 male Least Killies (LKs). I have seen several LK fry but keep in mind the vat is very large and in a shaded area. The chilli Endlers are reproducing as I counted 50-75 fry. Many of the fry are the blond version. 


Pool-2 I have well over a dozen female and 4-6 male LKs. I have found a number of fry and don't expect to see any eye popping numbers for another 60 days at least. The pool is very large, over 500gal, and shaded enough to make it hard to see fry. At least 1 if not 2 of the female Orchard Endlers have dropped fry as I counted about 35.. The marble crayfish are still active as I can see their trails but not them. I did introduce about 30 scuds and 6 RCS. Due to the substrate, Oak leaves, PVC and flower pots I'm thinking they may be able to reproduce enough and have enough fry survive to sustain the population while supplying food.

Vat-2 This vat is where I put a group of oddball Endlerl males and female and approximately 15 size culled Endler females. My hope is for this vat to produce enough Endlers to feed 30-40 Belonasox fry in late July or early August. In order to achieve this I'll need 500-600 fish of various size in there and frmales continuing to drop fy during the growing period My goal is to get them to 3"-4" size before the end of October when they have to come inside.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

*Photos*

UPDATE:

It has been in the 90s the last two weeks and the fish have been up for the challenge. Endlers and LKs just keep breeding. Swords and Platys, stopped breeding. I have lost 1-Swrod and 1-Platy out of a total of 40 brooders.

Drum roll please--------Here are some photos. The first one is frog eggs


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

*UPDATE*

Sorry for being such a slacker, I've had my hands full with work and all that non-fish stuff.

Pool1-1 The Orchard Endlers are producing quickly and there are well over 300 of them now. I'm getting about 5% blond and should have some really nice Orchard Blond males in September. The Platys are starting to crank out the fry and there are at least 25 fry swiming around. The Corys are growing, no spawning to report.

P1-2 The Black Bar Endlers are breeding quicly and producing 10% blond. There are at least 300 Black Bars now and they are just a step behind the Orchards. The Swords finally have begun to drop fry and there are maybe 15. I think the crazy weather 100 degree days then days in the low 70s with nights in the 50s has screwed up their breeding cycle. Hope thy catch up soon. The Corys are growing but no spawing to report.

P2 The Least Killies are reproducing and there are at least 50 in the pool. There were more prior to my daughter in-laws damaging the pool causing water to leak with LK fry as well. The entire incident is one of those, Don't Ask, things! The Orchards are dropping fry and there are 50 or more still in the pool. Marble Crayfish, discovered a ton of babies. I'd estimate 60-70 of them. I moved 4 of them to P1-1 and Vat1. FINALLY!

Vat-1 The Chilli Endlers are dropping fry and there are at least 65-75 of them. I have noticed a few LK fry, around 20 of them. I cured an excellent piece of driftwood and it should be ready to sell soon. It is 55gal to 125gal tank size. In a 55gal it will go end to end. This will make a great center piece.

Vat-2 The Oddball Endlers are dropping fry, estimate, 45 fry so far. I'm still dealing with a lot of tadpoles in this vat. Hundreds have morphed into frogletts, but I still have at least 100.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

*UPDATE-DRUM ROLL PLEASE!*

*P-1-1 The orchard Endlers are breeding quickly now and number 350-375 more likely there are over 400. There are a few Blond fry maybe 15. The Least Killies (LK) have at least 20-25 fry and should start picking up as the oldest fry begin to breed. They Platys got tired of watching all the reproduction and have kicked in at least 30 fry. The Ramshorn Snails likely number in the 100s-Crayfish Chow!*

*P-1-2 The Black Bar Endlers are reproducing quickly and number 400 (+). There are 15-20 Blond fry as well. The LKs are poking along with maybe 20-25. The Swords have been disappointing with only one fry drop so far-They have 70-80 days left! I did observe the Corys spawning 1 time but have no idea if the eggs or any fry survived. There are several hundred Pond Snails at this time.*

*P-2 The LKs* *are starting to pick up speed after the accident-see last update*. *The oldest LK fry should be breeding by mid-August and I hope to get 150 (+) from this pool. The Orchards are dropping fry there are at least 50. The Crayfish really outdid themselves and there are at least 100 small Crayfish in the pool. I moved 16 Crayfish to the other pools, vats and in each breeder trap. I have also relocated approximately 100 snails from the other pools to provide a self-sustaining live food source for the Crayfish. The pool is 24" deep and filled to 14" effectively giving the snails enough safety to breed.*

*Vat-1 The Chilli Endlers are starting to put up some numbers with no less than 200. LKs number at least 25-30.*

*Vat-2 The Oddball Endlers are reproducing and there is somewhere between 50-125. The fish stay deep and out wait me to get at food. The last of the tadpoles are growing legs and should leave in the next 7-10 days. The frogs produced over 100 frogletts already this year.*


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

*UPDATE:*

Well it has been a while, not to worry the fish are still going strong. Mother nature has provided the worst weather she could throw at us and it has slowed things down but that is about it.

P-1-1 The Orchards are multiplying fast. There are at least 450 and the first fry are getting ready to drop. The LKs are still about 30-40 the best I can tell but in this pool any LKs is a bonus. The Platys have approximately 60-70 fry with some over 1/2". The Corys are in there, no spawning that I can tell in this pool. I did add 6 Crayfish to grow out.

P-1-2 The Black Bars are blowing past the Orchards as far as numbers. There are approximately 550-600 and the first fry are only a week away from dropping. Once the first fry start, those numbers will double in no time. I did pull 60 males out and tanked them up to sell at the end of the month. There are a lot of Blond Black Bars with some amazing colored males. The LKs number 35-40 and the first fry are dropping. Here again in a another 2-3 weeks the number will explode. The Swords are a major disappointment, still only one drop! The Corys continue to spawn, but I have yet to run into fry. I added 6 Crayfish for growout.

P-2 This pool is still leaking due to the accident in the last update. I have managed to keep things moving forward regardless. It appaers there are close to 100 LKs and the first fry are dropping. These should effectively double in number by the mid-September mark. The Orchards are dropping fry with 100-125. The Crayfish number in the 150 plus range. Hint, Hint any buyers?????????? Make me an offer I can't refuse!

Vat-1 Vat-1 has sprung a leak, lord only knows how. I have maintained it with about 14" of water and have at least 250 Chilli Endlers and 40-45 Lks. I added 6 crayfish for growout.

Vat-2 The Odd Balls are making their move and reproducing well. Sadly, during a recent storm that dumped 4" of rain the vat did over flow. There are still 125-150 Endlers-another 50-75 before the rain. 

My goals for the summer were as flollows:
-2,000 Endlers - I'll way pass that -Likely 3,000-3,500
-150 Lks - I'll way pass that as well - 225-275
-400 Platys - Doubtful, more like 100-150
-400 Swrods - Not going to happen and if this continues unchanged maybe 50 :-(
-At least 1 Crayfish - I now beleive I should come up with 250-300

Good news for anyone wanting to pool breed next summer, I'm negotiating with a company to make a very improved breeder trap. It will be larger and consist of 1/4" square ridget plastic sheeting made to use in industrial fish farms. I just made everything smaller. I'll let you know if the price is right.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

*UPDATE*

*I've been slacking so sorry!*

*P1-1 Orchard Endlers and Platys*
I have removed / culled out approximately 125 males and they are up for sale. The Orchards just keep replacing anything I take and number close to if not 500. The Platys breeding took off while I was on vacation and there are approximately 70-80 fry. The Platy fry are between 1/2" 4 weeks - 2/3" 5 weeks and growing rapidly for Platys. I spotted about 40 Lks and the corys have spawned I just don't know if any fry survived.

*P1-2 Black Bars, Swords.*
I've removed approximately 80 males and they are up for sale. Odd thing they all are showing a significant amount of green! I checke dthe brooder stock outside and the back up brooders inside and there is no green in them to speak of. Got me on this one! The Black Bars still number soewhere around 650-700. The Swords have been a MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT! With over 30 brooders I have just 15-20 fry to show for it. The LKs seem stable at around 45-50 and the corys have spawned but I have not observed fry. 

*P-2 Least Killies (LKs), Orchards and Crayfish*
The Least Killies are coming along and number about 125. The Orchard Endlers took off and there are close to 150-175. The Crayfish just keep going and I'm sure there are at least 200 in there. Odd thing is the Crayfish are turning red from eating freeze dried cyclops.

*Vat-1*
The Chilli Endlers have finally taken off with around 250-300. The LKs number at least 75.

*Vat-2*
The Oddball Endlers are poking along at a snails pace. Due to a rain induced overflow there are approximate 125-150.

All the Pools and Vats contain Crayfish now and they are cleaning things up nicely. All of the fish above are officially for sale, so P.M. if you want a great deal. I will cut you a huge break simply becouse you've read this far!! As fate would have it my large female Belonasox (Pikelivebearer) dropped about 100 fry. I kept 25 to rear. The fry are eating 1-2 Endler fry daily and are eating 2 week old fry at this point. I'm guessing they will eat the majority of the last months production.


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## platyplus (May 24, 2014)

ready for some babies?


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Yeah, swordtails can be a pain. lol

Here's some of my black bars(the black babies and smallest fish are mollies). This what they're supposed to look like?


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## Knuggs (Dec 4, 2011)

Now that you have all these fish. What are you going to do with all them?


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Knuggs said:


> Now that you have all these fish. What are you going to do with all them?


We sell them. =) Knowing where they come from is the best part.


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## Embouck7 (Jan 11, 2015)

Ok what ever happened to the indoor kiddie pool in grandmas basement? Haha I simply must know


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Embouck7 said:


> Ok what ever happened to the indoor kiddie pool in grandmas basement? Haha I simply must know


It's still there. lol That was me, by the way, not the OP, though I took the ideas for it from him.
I'll go update it, haven't in a long time. x.x


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## Embouck7 (Jan 11, 2015)

Haha I like the ideas guys but I think you gave my girlfriend nightmares as to what I might do next


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

This is a pretty cool idea. I know I can't do it this summer but maybe next summer. 

[email protected] do you have your system up with photos too?


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Warhawk said:


> This is a pretty cool idea. I know I can't do it this summer but maybe next summer.
> 
> [email protected] do you have your system up with photos too?


My thread is titled "Kiddie pool to....fish pool" and there are photos and videos. I haven't updated in a while. :3 Probably wont until later on this year.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

I'm starting a new thread soon to mark the beginning of Breeding Fish in Kiddie Pools and Vats Part III. This year we are expanding the number of pools and vats while also adding some 40 brooders. We will expand our fish / stock list with some new Endlers, mollys, barbs and gourami. My target date is April 1st or around there.


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## Warhawk (Feb 23, 2014)

henningc said:


> I'm starting a new thread soon to mark the beginning of Breeding Fish in Kiddie Pools and Vats Part III. This year we are expanding the number of pools and vats while also adding some 40 brooders. We will expand our fish / stock list with some new Endlers, mollys, barbs and gourami. My target date is April 1st or around there.



Looking forward to the new thread.


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## henningc (May 20, 2013)

Quick Update:

Well when we get back from spending Easter with the kids, I'm going to put up the last two pools. That will give me 4 pools and 1 vat so far. The P-2 Crayfish pool is completely cycled and ready to stock as soon as air / water temps go up a bit more. I'd say 1 1/2-2 weeks the first test group of Least Killies and crayfish will go out. Both are very temp tolerant. If all goes as planned 3 weeksfrom now the first test group of Endler's will follow.

I have a good number 15-20 female and double that male Least Killies. I have approximately 15 female Chilli Endlers and the same on Black Bars. Once the Endlers hit the pools 4-6 weeks they should number close to 100. Within another 3 weeks the first fry will be dropping fry.

I have some really nice Tux Swords and Paints from last year and they will get out there quickly 1-2 weeks after the Endlers. The rest of my brood stock will be ordered next week and shipped the week after. It will include 3 types of Platys, 2 additional types of Swords, Sunset and Gold Dust mollies, Cherry Barbs-normal and albino, Pearl and Dwarf Gouramis. 

Almost forgot, I have a bunch of RCS I'll place outside to see what happens.


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