So I'm going to be an uncle!!!

[davidstcldfl]

Sorry changed them from private to unlisted. Now you can view them.

How do I embed the videos here?

I'm no expert, but I tried to embed your videos too...no luck...
Maybe Urban Farmer can get it to work..

Do you have a link to the 'build video' you used ?

[bcotton]

hah, that's very similar to the materials i use... fiberglass screen and a florecent light bulb tube.. 1 1/4 inch pvc fittings... It is manadatory to be able to manage your air bubbler flow to get a little agitation but not so violent that eggs get swooped out of the tumbler before the fry are ready to swim out. your fry already have tails so they will move a little but they cant breathe on their own yet.

I started with the air stone coming in the top like you. But i found keeping the height to be unreliable.

In version two i stuck the air stone through the light bulb tube and got better results but the side pressure off the rigid tubing on my weak base caused the tumbler to try to fall over... I still had good success.. I will try to redisign it to stand up on it's own next summer when i start up again.


brian

[bcotton]

oops.. i hit submit instead of add file.. meant to show you the progression of my egg tumbler design... again... same as you and not too bad in cost.. you end up with a lot of leftover materials which lets you build more and experiment with different designs.

brian

[David - WI]

On youtube, try clicking "share" and then "options" below that... and check the "long link" box. Then copy that link into the [youtube] [\youtube] space on here.


[youtube:14a6ven7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZOYK-qRpGw[/youtube:14a6ven7]

[youtube:14a6ven7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80TvH2lfU0k[/youtube:14a6ven7]

[NeverResting]

Sweet thank you David!

The incubator has two sections. The one that the air stone is in and the one below it separated by a screen. Problem is the screen in the middle is getting a little clogged by particles in the water and I had to adjust the air stone lower today to make it tumble well again. I don't like the design much.

I think I'm going to do more something like a Mcdonald Jar style incubator now that I did my research more thoroughly. Pump filtered clean water from the tank into 2L bottle or similar with the top overflowing. The 2L has the water flowing into the bottom via a rigid tube that is centered so all the eggs should tumble all around it. The overflow should be able to allow fry that are free swimming to swim up to the top and go to the next container when ready. I figured I'd have the overflow falling into a fry mesh that's placed in the main tank. That way the fry are contained and later transported to 10 gallon tanks for easy feeding.

My eggs that I got yesterday have tails today so it's a good sign that they're alive. I was worried about the ones with tails from yesterday this morning as the flow was so gentle I think so died. But hey if I get over 50% survival rate on my first attempt I consider that a succcess.

Here's a great video that everyone should watch!

[youtube:1tqn83hk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a13dNHcNqaw[/youtube:1tqn83hk]

[bcotton]

your flow looked good in the videos.. It's also possible some were killed when handling. In my small sample size i feel like the eggs are more durable than the fish that are starting to develop.

brian

[NeverResting]

I did a lot of work on the system today. Added a 100 gallon rubber maid stock tank to replace the 30-40galln pond insert. I raised the grow bed a good foot to change the overflow from siphon to an actual bulkhead. So no more chance of it overflowing.

I also got another batch of eggs from the big mama. More than before.. Is it possible that it's a fresh batch? It was more than the batch 2 days ago and that one was 480 eggs that now have tails. These didn't have tails. I added 3 corner filters to help filtration and a linear air pump with 12 valve manifold. Got a deal on it used. It blows more air than I thought. It has 12 hooked up and valued down cuz the bubbling was insane. It's a 77 watt version or something like that.

I think I will get the 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank to put my breeders in. The big male is chasing everyone all day it seems in the 90 gallon. I figure I can just pull all out weekly to check for eggs. Any thoughts on that idea? It's only 8 fish so should be not to long of a process. The tank would give more water quality stability and allow for room to incorporate the overflow 2l bottle McDonald jar style hatchery idea.

[bcotton]

From the picture your momma looks about maybe half a lb.. based on my experience i would expect her to top out at 500-600 eggs right now. So it would have to be a new batch. Are you certain it's the same female? Usually they need to feed for a bit to store up enough energy to brood for a week.

Something on the topic.. The earlier you harvest the eggs to quicker they will start again. typically there's still a week between broods. If you let the mom care for the broodlings full term it's usually a monthish before she goes again.


brian

[NeverResting]

Well there's only 1 bigger mama the rest are smaller so she's easy to spot.. I'm almost certain it was her but hey I thought the first batch of eggs were around 150-200.. So your mind and eyes can perceive things differently.. Tuesday I harvested 480 from her and I swear this has to be a good 600+ since its more than before. I took the photo of the eggs in the container opened it on my computer and used paint program to mark them as it got counted. I didn't do that with yesterday's batch.

Any feedback on Using the 300 gallon stock tank as a breeding tank?

I hope these fry turn to some marketable fingerlings so I can help fund my project. I need thousands of dollars in lights and there's electricty which this can help offset.

[bcotton]

I am having a thought collision cause your question kind of spawns a few directions of thinking so bear with me here...

When i think of a breeding tank i think of 1 male and 3-6 females only.

the 300 gallon stock tank is fine.. I dont think 90 is too small, either... especially for fish of your size. Over the years they may outgrow the 90 gallons but we are talking 2-3 years down the line.... the aggressive behavior of the male is all part of the natural course of things.... With that said... The fish *WILL* kill each other if there's not enough room for the females to get away and hide... so it's up to you and your observations. Adding parts of PVC and or clay pots helps with line of site and helps break up your tank to allow for "safe" areas

I had a 300 gallon system with 30 tilapia, 20 catfish and a couple dozen perch... i experimented with a separate breeding tank but since my tank was not densely stocked there was lots of breeding in my system tank. So i ended up just watching the tank for brooding mothers when i wanted more fry.. otherwise the fry population was regulated by the perch.

The 300 gallon tank did not stop the aggressive behavior because there was room for 3-4 males to stake out nests... they would turn red faced and chase off any fish that hovered near their area.. and sometimes silly little standoffs would happen between two nesting males.

Like most things theres no tried and true right or wrong.. just different...

you should check your local regulations before selling tilapia. In Texas i would need a aquaculture permit to sell Mozambique and an exotic species permit for the other non-banned types. by the letter of the law its probably not ok for me to give them away.

brian