Show off your live food breeding set ups

[ReefQueen]

I’m thinking of setting up a tank to breed converted mollies for my in progress predator build. I have not decided how fancy I want to go with it so I’d like to see some of your setups. I also have a question that was bouncing around in my head before falling asleep last night. Has anyone ever bred cherry shrimp for feeders? Since they pop out as miniature shrimp with no larval stage, and frequently breed, I thought they would be an easy option to vary the diet in place of fw ghost shrimp. Opinions?

 

[lion king]

So your plans are for saltwater mollies. Whether you breed them in salt vs fresh it's the same, other than it costing more time and money to do salt. Check out some freshwater forums for specifics on breeding mollies, it's actually pretty easy, but there are some options to consider. I no longer breed any of my feeders, the time involved wasn't for me. Growing them up to the size I needed is what stopped me years ago, most of my guys are pretty beefy now.

I would check the freshwater forum on the cherry shrimp question as well. Size and acclimation would be the reason I would opt no for the cherry shrimp. While you may feed one or two babies, one of my beast would put down at least 50 in a weeks time, that's alot of breeding. You can drop some ghosties in a sw tank with no acclimation and they will live for days or even weeks, at least long enough for whatever is in the tank to hunt them down. Ghosties are actually a variety of shrimp that lives in fresh, brackish, and marine.

I have an lfs 2 miles away that carries ghosties and have a 2 for 1 sale on freshwater on Tuesdays. So I get mollies and fancy guppies on Tuesday. They also get alot customers bringing in babies so I can baby mollies 10/$1 sometimes and smaller sized ones 4 or 5/$1. So that became more attractive to me than breeding my own. Here's a pic of my feeder tank, ghosties and feeder guppies aren't picky; but the fancy guppies and mollies need a more stable temp and cleaner water.

 

[ReefQueen]

So your plans are for saltwater mollies. Whether you breed them in salt vs fresh it's the same, other than it costing more time and money to do salt. Check out some freshwater forums for specifics on breeding mollies, it's actually pretty easy, but there are some options to consider. I no longer breed any of my feeders, the time involved wasn't for me. Growing them up to the size I needed is what stopped me years ago, most of my guys are pretty beefy now.

I would check the freshwater forum on the cherry shrimp question as well. Size and acclimation would be the reason I would opt no for the cherry shrimp. While you may feed one or two babies, one of my beast would put down at least 50 in a weeks time, that's alot of breeding. You can drop some ghosties in a sw tank with no acclimation and they will live for days or even weeks, at least long enough for whatever is in the tank to hunt them down. Ghosties are actually a variety of shrimp that lives in fresh, brackish, and marine.

I have an lfs 2 miles away that carries ghosties and have a 2 for 1 sale on freshwater on Tuesdays. So I get mollies and fancy guppies on Tuesday. They also get alot customers bringing in babies so I can baby mollies 10/$1 sometimes and smaller sized ones 4 or 5/$1. So that became more attractive to me than breeding my own. Here's a pic of my feeder tank, ghosties and feeder guppies aren't picky; but the fancy guppies and mollies need a more stable temp and cleaner water.

Thank you, this is what I was looking for. We just moved and there is not an LFS nearby anymore and we do not stock them at the LFS I work at, this is why I wanted to try and breed my own. I wasn’t expecting this to be the bulk of their diet, more like for feeding in between trips to the LFS. When I worked at a pet store that did sell freshwater we did often have more cherry shrimp then we knew what to do with, they were very prolific. I actually wouldn’t mind that they don’t last long in saltwater because I would prefer to monitor their eating instead of leaving some in the tank to be eaten by possibly one of the lions. I’d rather drop a couple in at a time and avoid death by overeating. Or am I overthinking this? I tend to do that lol.

 

[lion king]

It depends, at 1st I target feed, to make sure they are eating and manage their amount. But let's say I have only one in a tank and his serving is 5 ghosties, I'll just throw 5-7 ghosties in, and make him work for it, it's probably good for them. It;s keeps their hunting skills sharp, and maybe, that's why my critters are always cruising. Once I learn their habits and realize everyone is eating and thriving, I just throw them in. I'm going to try and get a vid later tonight feeding my blackfoot/fu/yellow spot tank. I'll just throw a bunch of guppies and ghosties in, and they just have it.

In my lion's reef, old fu has a challenging time finding food sometimes, so I will target her a fancy guppy, then just dump a bunch of ghosties in. the zebra and antennata are equally competitive. You just have learn about each individual over time. But yes in the beginning, it's best to drop in one at a time, watch and make sure they bare getting enough.

In my scorp reef , the rhino eats a large molly, and the reef scorp eats ghosties; so i just toss in a molly and 5 or so ghosties.

I always target feed my dead food, as to manage what everyone gets, and it takes a stick or a dangle to get them to take it. I'll try and get a vid of my zebra and antennata just waiting at the top for me to drop some krill, they'll eat that stuff all day right as I drop it in.

I've found the death by overeating usually comes from feeding large prey. I watch all of my lions/scorps turn away when they get full. Once I had a fuzzy die of bloat because I had to feed rosies, the size of the additional rosie is what put him over the edge. I'll watch them chow in a frenzy then just lounge and watch a ghosties or guppy just cruise by once they are full. A few small items is better than one huge one. If your are feeding large ones definitely pay attention to over feeding.

 

[Goodair]

Is there any real benefit to breeding mollies in salt? They really shouldn't be living in the dp tank for long after you transfer them for food.

 

[ReefQueen]

It depends, at 1st I target feed, to make sure they are eating and manage their amount. But let's say I have only one in a tank and his serving is 5 ghosties, I'll just throw 5-7 ghosties in, and make him work for it, it's probably good for them. It;s keeps their hunting skills sharp, and maybe, that's why my critters are always cruising. Once I learn their habits and realize everyone is eating and thriving, I just throw them in. I'm going to try and get a vid later tonight feeding my blackfoot/fu/yellow spot tank. I'll just throw a bunch of guppies and ghosties in, and they just have it.

In my lion's reef, old fu has a challenging time finding food sometimes, so I will target her a fancy guppy, then just dump a bunch of ghosties in. the zebra and antennata are equally competitive. You just have learn about each individual over time. But yes in the beginning, it's best to drop in one at a time, watch and make sure they bare getting enough.

In my scorp reef , the rhino eats a large molly, and the reef scorp eats ghosties; so i just toss in a molly and 5 or so ghosties.

I always target feed my dead food, as to manage what everyone gets, and it takes a stick or a dangle to get them to take it. I'll try and get a vid of my zebra and antennata just waiting at the top for me to drop some krill, they'll eat that stuff all day right as I drop it in.

I've found the death by overeating usually comes from feeding large prey. I watch all of my lions/scorps turn away when they get full. Once I had a fuzzy die of bloat because I had to feed rosies, the size of the additional rosie is what put him over the edge. I'll watch them chow in a frenzy then just lounge and watch a ghosties or guppy just cruise by once they are full. A few small items is better than one huge one. If your are feeding large ones definitely pay attention to over feeding.

Thank you, so do you think trying to breed would be a waste of time? Keeping in mind I will only have one tank with a few dwarf lions. I would love to see that video. I am more nervous about setting this tank up then I was when I started my first reef a decade ago, but definitely more excited too. Preds are all new territory for me and I feel like no matter how much I read it isn’t enough. While I have your attention can I ask your opinion on a rhino in with dwarfs? I have seen it done, but have no idea how it worked out long term. I would love one but do not want to put the lions at risk in any way.

 

[ReefQueen]

Is there any real benefit to breeding mollies in salt? They really shouldn't be living in the dp tank for long after you transfer them for food.

I may be way off on this, but freshwater fish do not have the right type of fat needed. So I’m thinking, and again I could be super wrong here, that converting them and feeding them food for marine fish would essentially make them have the good fatty acids the lions need? @lion king what is your take on this?

 

[lion king]

Is there any real benefit to breeding mollies in salt? They really shouldn't be living in the dp tank for long after you transfer them for food.

I have found no benefit from keeping and/or breeding mollies in salt. My lions eat everything as soon as it hits the water, occasionally something will initially escape, and will still live in salt without acclimation long enough to fulfill their destiny. My rhino on the other hand can be temperamental on occasion, yet mollies have lived a couple of days in salt without acclimation, until he decides to eat them.

Thank you, so do you think trying to breed would be a waste of time? Keeping in mind I will only have one tank with a few dwarf lions. I would love to see that video. I am more nervous about setting this tank up then I was when I started my first reef a decade ago, but definitely more excited too. Preds are all new territory for me and I feel like no matter how much I read it isn’t enough. While I have your attention can I ask your opinion on a rhino in with dwarfs? I have seen it done, but have no idea how it worked out long term. I would love one but do not want to put the lions at risk in any way.

Sorry I cant get vids to load, I have way low tech equipment

Sized appropriately of coarse, lions could live with a rhino, no problem.

 

[ReefQueen]

I have found no benefit from keeping and/or breeding mollies in salt. My lions eat everything as soon as it hits the water, occasionally something will initially escape, and will still live in salt without acclimation long enough to fulfill their destiny. My rhino on the other hand can be tempermental on occasion, yet mollies have lived acouple of days in walt without acclimation, until he decides to eat them.



Sorry I cant get vids to load, I have way low tech equipment

Sized appropriately of coarse, lions could live with a rhino, no problem.

I have always had better luck dropping mollies right in saltwater with no acclimation, they always died after a few days for me if slowly acclimated. I’ve only really kept them for algae control or QT guinea pigs before. So I wasn’t thinking in terms of the molly surviving until eaten, but more so how healthy of a feeder I could make them for the lions. I guess I can live without the video lol. You also may have made me squeal a little, so a full grown adult rhinopias eschmeyeri could live with adult dwarf lions, any dwarf? I just want to clarify appropriate size.

 

[lion king]

The breeding thing almost has to be a fun project for you, because in reality it's alot of work. Maintaining another tank, even 2 if you decide to separate the fry to keep from being eaten. Keeping a supply line going to get them grown up enough to feed, all this can be challenging. Everyone doesn't need to feed the amount of live food I maintain for them to get a benefit from the hunting enrichment and nutritional benefit live food can provide. I am heavy on the live side, I also have a good source for varied foods.

 

[ReefQueen]

The breeding thing almost has to be a fun project for you, because in reality it's alot of work. Maintaining another tank, even 2 if you decide to separate the fry to keep from being eaten. Keeping a supply line going to get them grown up enough to feed, all this can be challenging. Everyone doesn't need to feed the amount of live food I maintain for them to get a benefit from the hunting enrichment and nutritional benefit live food can provide. I am heavy on the live side, I also have a good source for varied foods.

I do like a challenge, and not having to drive 30 minutes one way to the closest LFS constantly does appeal to me lol. I think I’ll give it a try. The worst that could happen is it’s a giant pain and I break the feeder tank down and just stock up on ghosties every other week or so.

 

[lion king]

I have always had better luck dropping mollies right in saltwater with no acclimation, they always died after a few days for me if slowly acclimated. I’ve only really kept them for algae control or QT guinea pigs before. So I wasn’t thinking in terms of the molly surviving until eaten, but more so how healthy of a feeder I could make them for the lions. I guess I can live without the video lol. You also may have made me squeal a little, so a full grown adult rhinopias eschmeyeri could live with adult dwarf lions, any dwarf? I just want to clarify appropriate size.

Yes a rhino could live with any dwarf lion, even a fu. Figure dont put a 6" rhino in with a 2" fu and you'll be fine, that's how people usually spin those tales. My 5-6" rhino is currently living with a pretty stocky 3" reef scorp, I'd ike to stubble across an ambon to round out a trio of scorps. The rhino does have a big mouth but they are not like anglers, they eat more or less what can fit in their mouth, like a thick sixline wrasse size at most. With the lions pectoral fin width and mostly stocky appearance. 99.99% not going to happen.

 

[Garia666]

Are black Molly’s a good feeding fish? I know gold fish are not. Something to do with build up of vitamins

 

[ReefQueen]

Yes a rhino could live with any dwarf lion, even a fu. Figure dont put a 6" rhino in with a 2" fu and you'll be fine, that's how people usually spin those tales. My 5-6" rhino is currently living with a pretty stocky 3" reef scorp, I'd ike to stubble across an ambon to round out a trio of scorps. The rhino does have a big mouth but they are not like anglers, they eat more or less what can fit in their mouth, like a thick sixline wrasse size at most. With the lions pectoral fin width and mostly stocky appearance. 99.99% not going to happen.

Thank you, you just made my day! I had crossed an eschmeyeri off of my stocking list, but now it is back on!

 

[lion king]

Are black Molly’s a good feeding fish? I know gold fish are not. Something to do with build up of vitamins

Mollies can be a good addition to a live diet, the color doesn't matter. All my preds have lived for several years and as long as a decade with mollies included in their diet.

 

[coryjac0b]

I don't have a predator tank or anything, but I have bred some freshwater fish. I'm not sure what kind of turnover you're looking for but Jewel Cichlids lay a lot of eggs and once establish have a plentiful amount of offspring. That may be something to consider. They are very low maintenance and can have large spawns, 200-300 eggs once the parents are mature.