Hey guys,
I wanted to start a thread , giving you updates about my fish breeding process. This sure is going to be an adventure.
First of all for those who might be interested, i want to share a little part of my correspondence with a professional hatchery manager from Kansas , Meade hatchery, Jason. These guys have to breed LMB under artificial conditions before spring, so the LMB aren't eaten by other early spawning fish.
Unlike some hatchery owners, this guy was able to answer my questions because they breed these fish , just like i am trying to do.
1- I don't want them to breed in a specific season or period. I need them to breed as soon and as frequent as possible. So what to do? Block all the sunlight and give them 14 hours of artificial lighting every day a set temperature to 75-80 F degrees. Is this gonna do it?
1) Largemouth bass (LMB) will only spawn in my understanding of them once a year. First thing that needs to happen is to "start the clock", that is they have to go through a winter period. They have to be held in water for a time where they would experience a winter event. Short days and cool temperatures. Mine go through that period in Kansas through the months of December-January in outdoor ponds. The ponds may even freeze over. I would think that they would have to be held in 40-45 degrees F. for a minimum of 30 day maybe more. They also have to be subjected to short days. When I bring them into my building they are in ambient water temperature at this time roughly 50F and the lights are controlled where they are experiencing 14 hours of darkness and 10 hours of light. When I want to start them spawning which is mid-March the water is warmed up to 70-71F and the lights are switched to 14 hours of light and 10 hours of dark. This is the mechanism to get them to spawn. 2- In ideal conditions how many times can i expect northern LMB to breed a year?
2) I would expect spawning one period of the year. A female may give you multiple spawns in a 10-14 day period but that would be it. If theydon't spawn they will reabsorb the eggs. Just as soon as they are through spawning the females start developing gametes for the next year's production. It takes quite a while for them to develop eggs and for the ovaries to enlarge with large amounts of ripe eggs for the next spawning event. In Kansas, in the wild it would be every late April through may event. Depending on when water temperatures would get to a constant 70F. 3- Is 700-800 hundred gals tank enough to get them to breed? I got 10 fishes(each 6-7 inch yet)
3) Your tanks would be big enough for spawning to take place. I would sex the fish so you only have one male in each tank. You cold put up to 2 females in each tank with the male. More than one male in that amount of space and all they would do is fight.
I truly believe you will not have any luck with spawning a 6"-7" fish. I only use fish that are at least 3 years old. That would put them in the 12"-16" range weighing around 1 to 1 1/4 pounds. I like them to be 5 years of age and weighing in the 2 1/2 to 3 pound range. Egg production is a function of the female size. I want to maximize my output by using as big of a female as I am comfortable holding in one of my raceways. I have 4 raceways and I have 25 females and 10 males in each one. 4- Is removing the eggs and hatching them myself a risky procedure? Maybe i should let them hatch in the main tank and then remove them. Good idea?
4) You want to move the eggs after seeing a spawn. This will induce the male to make another spawn. Your goal is to get as many spawns as you can. Also, by moving them you can treat them with H2O2 to kill all fungus that will develop on the eggs. You can incubate them at a constant water temperature of 70-72F and the eggs should hatch in 24 hours. In a pond situation in Kansas it might take 10 days. So keeping the temperature constant at 70-72F is in your best interest while eggs are incubating.
5- Should i order a spawning mat? Is it very crucial? What about using a clay surface?
5) You want to use a spawning mat. I would suggest making them out of Spawn-tex. Mine are 18" X 18" with a wire frame on the bottom where the Spawn-tex is stapled to the wire frame that is 1"X1" welded and coated wire. This helps the mats stay on the bottom and in place. Do not use a clay surface as that will impair the functioning of the micropyle of the eggs. 1st step was to get a tank(pool). At first i was planning to buy an inflatable tank. Then it turned out they weren't very durable. So, i decided to use constructional brick. I would make a frame with bricks and put nylon sheet in the middle of it to have a pool. Our bricks are very large and heavy.
But then i decided bricks would be hard to move, when i am done with them and i bought this steel frame pool. It is awesome !
1000 Gal water capacity ! You can see the obstacle on the middle part. I put it , so if one side of the pool is punctured, fish will survive on the other side.
Now , i need to make a filter , which irritates me... Let's see how it goes.
