A Request: re the Myriad of influences on (et al.) breeding, hatching, rearing of FW fishes   7/18/06
Sir,
I am a research fellow working in  induced breading of some freshwater fishes.  I have found your article in the internet-"Captive Production of Ornamental Marine Fishes: An Overview". The work, It seems necessarily a nice one. But sir, I doubt if there are so many physical and chemical parameters determining the spawning and later the survival of the hatch out larvae.
<Indeed, there are several... as in the Middle English meaning of the word: "many"... some demonstrably more important than others...>
My doubt is Sir, if this is the case, whether there is a chance to have any significant relation between the photoperiod and the hatching success of eggs?
<Yes... a matter of science...>
I mean Sir, after spawning and before hatching whether there is any effect of the photoperiodism on the development of the eggs
Sir, your answer to this question will be very beneficial to me and I request you Sir to  have a serious look upon this and reply me as soon as possible
             Thanking you Sir,
                          Binesh. CP
<Time to have a visit at the college library... Search BIOSIS, the Zoological Records... with the terms "Photoperiod", "Breeding", "Freshwater fishes", "Effects". Bob Fenner>

Link/partnership issue ... prawn aquaculture in the Middle East  - 05/22/2006
Hello,
I have found your website http://wetwebmedia.com/ when searching the web on the topics related to my website theme.
I must say your site content is very good and I think we would benefit much from possible partnership - for example link exchange. This would bring more targeted traffic to our sites, plus increase our websites' weight at the search engines, as they give greater value to the links from the topic-related sites rather than irrelevant backlinks.
My website http://www.robian.com.sa/ is definitely related to yours.
I would be glad to link to your site in return to you linking back to mine. Feel free to email me direct to XXXX@robian.com.sa to discuss the details on the possible partnership.
Hope for the fruitful cooperation,
Best regards,
Yawar Nawaz,
http://www.robian.com.sa/
<Our content and reader-base is almost entirely pet-fish/ornamental oriented... Not aquatic source protein generation. How would this link
benefit our intended audience? Bob Fenner>

Seaweed culture  8/31/05
Bob
I was going thru ORA's website on how they culture seaweeds.
What do they mean when they say they use "An air-generated method of tumbling the algae in large vats is employed to culture them."
<Air bubbles, from pressurized air, are released in a circular (torus) fashion on the bottom of circular tanks, lifting water and the algae and turning it "donut fashion" in the water... gives all exposure to light, moves nutrients about. BobF>
http://www.orafarm.com/algae.html
regards
Perry

Fish Breeding Business... you've come to the right crewmember
I have been searching all over trying to get information about starting a wholesale freshwater fish breeding business.  Could you direct me to where I might locate some information? You seem to have all the answers. Thanks for a very informative site!
>>Stacy,
Not sure what species you are planning on breeding. Because of the costs involved few species are worth breeding for a profit in North America. The  thing to start with is to identify what species you want to breed, and check to see if you can produce them at a competitive price. You will compete with places that have free heat and very cheap labour, mostly in Asia. So it is not easy. Some larger cities have a good market for locally raised angelfish, but unless you are able to produce large numbers and sell for cheap it may cost too much to heat the place and provide food and labour for your "product". Good Luck, Oliver

Info on Growing Coral for Reef Restoration
Hi,
I am looking for information about growing coral in labs to have it eventually transplanted back on the ocean for reef recovery? Do you know where I can find information about this?
<Mmm, there are plenty of such schemes, folks involved in such plans, only a few actually doing something re. Walt Smith is one of these latter>
Do you have anyone on your website in the academic community that may know about reef restoration?
<Mmm, likely Anthony Calfo is a good place to ask here>
Thank you for your help.
~Melody White
<Will Bcc both in hopes they will contact you. Bob Fenner> 
<<See Google search here.  Look for CORL (Coalition Of Reef Lovers), a non-prof. organization that supplies areas in need with concrete "cages" upon which to grow corals.  They use coral plugs from the area, not lab-grown specimens.  Also, ArtificialReefs.org, makes "reefballs".  The AMDA is another avenue of exploration.  Marina >>

Researchers Reveal Infectious Impact of Salmon Farms on Wild Salmon 
A Dietician's Discussion
Thank you for the information posted related to this topic. I forwarded it to my daughter, who is very involved with sea life and environmental issues, and below is her response, which I forward for the benefit of those interested in the topic. I have left her name and email address as well as website URL for anyone wishing to search further into the subject or make direct contact.
Digna Cassens, MHA, RD
http://groups.msn.com/RDForum 
>>Thank you for forwarding this research to me, I will be posting in tomorrow's "Dailies" on WetWebMedia. This is already a well-known problem, not JUST with aquaculture of salmonids, but in many other areas of aquaculture where wild stocks and farmed animals have an opportunity to mix. This would include the farm-raising of shrimp and other coastal species. It should also be noted that wild stocks are breeding with "feral" stocks, escapees, which is leading to other problems. These include change in growth and breeding rates, as well as longevity in the wild.
All should know that, along with feed designed to improve color (visual appeal), such facilities often treat with antibiotics prophylactically (as well as to treat secondary infection due to parasitic infection) - this of course leads to many organisms becoming resistant to such, as well as "downstream" consumption - ingestion by humans. Folks should be aware that treatment of parasitic organisms is necessarily harsh/toxic.  This may include the use of copper containing treatments.  Ivermectin, typically an antiparasitic seen for the treatment of internal parasites in horses, is also being used. Sea lice are only one organism that is problematic, Cryptocaryon irritans is another problematic  (protozoan) parasite. 
The salmon farming industry has fought long and hard to prevent studies that are harmful to their livelihoods, this would include the following. The debate is contentious indeed. Marina Harding<<
Public release date: 29-Mar-2005 
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-03/s-rrt032405.php 
Contact: Jessica Brown <jbrown@seaweb.org >
Researchers reveal the infectious impact of salmon farms on wild salmon
Increase in sea lice infections of wild juvenile salmon are potentially deadly and extend for 30 km beyond farm.
    A new study published in the March 30th edition of the prestigious scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B (a publication of the UK's national academy of science) shows that the transfer of parasitic sea lice from salmon farms to wild salmon populations is much larger and more extensive than previously believed.
    This quantitative analysis of parasite transfer is a scientific milestone in a contentious debate. It is the first to isolate and measure the impact of a fish farm on sea lice outbreaks in wild salmon.  The study combined new field techniques that allowed comprehensive, individual observations of over 5,500 young wild pink and chum salmon over 60 km of migration route; an enormous data set from months of laborious fieldwork; and state of the art models of disease transfer.
    "Our research shows that the impact of a single farm is far reaching," says lead author Marty Krkosek. "Sea lice production from the farm we studied was four orders of magnitude - 30,000 times - higher than natural. These lice then spread out around the farm. Infection of wild juvenile salmon was 73 times higher than ambient levels near the farm and exceeded ambient levels for 30 kilometers of the wild migration route."  This increase in sea lice abundance is likely to be damaging for already dwindling wild salmon populations in British Columbia, where the study took place.
    In Europe, transfer of parasites is generally accepted as a significant threat to adjacent wild populations - although European studies have not measured the direct transfer of sea lice from farms to wild salmon.  However, a bitter debate continues in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest as to whether salmon farms are contributing to sea lice infections of wild salmon at all.
    "Parasites are a key negative side effect of fish farms on the local fish stocks," says Andrew Dobson, an epidemiologist from Princeton University who researches infectious diseases in wildlife. "We're seeing similar effects in Scotland, Norway, and Ireland; in each area parasite amplification on fish farms seems to increase disease levels in the local fish community.    However previous studies have not shown nor quantified the direct transmission. This study captures the chain of events."
    "Part of the contentious debate about sea lice is that there hasn't been this level of precision in the sampling and modeling," says coauthor Mark Lewis, a mathematical ecologist from the University of Alberta known for his work on West Nile virus and invasive species. "We have worked out the spatial footprint - the data are strong and show that the farms are having a significant impact over a very large area."
    The researchers isolated the effect of the salmon farm by studying the infection levels of migrating juvenile pink and chum salmon as they approached and passed a salmon farm. Within the study area, the salmon farms are anchored in a long thin fjord. Here the wild salmon have no choice but to pass by the farm on their seaward migration.
    The scientists developed new, non-lethal sampling techniques that allowed them to examine thousands of the fish for parasites, taking measurements every 2 to 4 km. The fish start in the rivers and head to sea, traveling en masse in large mixed schools. Thus the scientists could see the effect on the salmon as they moved toward the farm. They found that the juvenile salmon carried almost no sea lice prior to the farm but became heavily infected as they approached it.
    Unlike other species, pink and chum salmon leave their natal rivers while still much smaller than your baby finger - 3 cm long - and weighing only half a gram. "The youngest fish can be only days old when they encounter a farm," says Krkosek. "Some of these fish are so young their egg sacks haven't been fully absorbed - even fish this small are infected."
    The anchored farms, open cages of closely packed salmon, are aquatic feedlots providing the ideal conditions for the breeding and spread of sea lice amongst the adult fish. For the migrating wild salmon, the farm is a concentrated point source of infectious lice larvae.
    "We found lice levels exceeded what we would find normally, extending for 30 km - even though the farm is only about 0.2 km long," says John Volpe, the third coauthor from the University of Victoria. "Conservatively this means that the parasite footprint of the farm is 150 times larger than the farm itself."
    Sea lice can lower the fitness of salmon - and in some cases be lethal - as they create open lesions on the surface of the fish that compromises a fish's ability to maintain its salt-water balance. When infection rates are high enough, the parasites feed on the fish at rates greater than the fish can feed itself, literally eating the fish alive. Adult salmon can survive sea lice infection, but young salmon are much more vulnerable due to their small size.
    Under natural conditions, juvenile pinks and chum do not typically have to contend with sea lice because the adult salmon are far out at sea and are widely dispersed. By the time the migrating pinks and chum normally encounter lice, the juveniles have had the time to put on body mass and build resistance. The location of the farm near the natal rivers undermines this natural coping strategy.
    The field study also discovered a new cause for alarm: once the young salmon pass the farm and pick up the sea lice, the migrating school becomes a moving cloud of contagions. Sea lice larvae mature and reproduce on the seaward salmon with each louse producing 300-800 eggs. This second round of lice larvae can re-infect the fish in the school and can spread to other previously unexposed populations coming from geographically disparate regions.
    "At about the 30 km mark from the farm, those lice become reproductive," says Volpe. "In effect, the farm has exported its lice generating properties - a cyclical event establishing the potential for re-infections up and down the coast. As the abundance of lice increases, we are now realizing that lice will attack other species, not only salmon, but other fish such as herring which are the spark plugs of the entire ecosystems - everything depends on them - from salmon to whales to seabirds. Every commercially important fish is either directly or indirectly dependent on herring."
    "Previous studies have been dismissed by industry, but past studies haven't looked at such large samples or the spatial aspect," says fisheries biologist Ransom Myers of the University of Dalhousie. "This study goes far beyond a theoretical model. They tested the model in the real world, using an enormous data set, and saw the same patterns. It is a very thorough analysis."
    "We've tried to be very careful and conservative - but there is potential for a major impact on the survivorship of the migrating salmon," says Lewis. "The next step is to thoroughly investigate the degree of impact on wild populations," adds Krkosek. The authors concur that their findings point to a need to reconsider the premise of industrial scale fish farming in wild salmon habits. "There's a double bottom line here. The full ecological costs of industrial scale salmon farming must be quantified as well as the economic ones," says Volpe. "For the migratory runs we studied, there may be very little time left."
Additional information and visuals will be available at www.math.ualberta.ca/~mlewis/SeaLice/npSeaLicePub.htm 

Using WWM
Hi Bob,
Last time I asked you a question I meant to ask how do you know if a white skirt tetra is carrying eggs can you help me thanks!! Louis E
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/characiformfaqs1.htm Bob Fenner> 

A Good Question - Culling fry humanely
When breeding goldfish and getting your spawn, what is the most humane way to cull the deformed or inadequate goldfish fry?
Regards, M
<To place them in a bag with little water, freeze them. Bob Fenner>

Looking for Bass Fry
I have searched internet and run across your website.
I am emailing you and ask for your help because we think you are an expert in fishery or you
have some contacts with those people who are in fishery
We are looking for the larvae/fry of Green Grouper ( Epinephelus coioides or Estuary Cod )  with a large quantity for our fish farm in Philippines.
We need :
200,000 larvae and fry per month ( for Fry, the size 1 cm or less than 1 cm is the best,
the size 1.5 - 2 cm is OK )
If you can supply or help us to buy these quantities, please contact us
at : azfish04@yahoo.com
Thanks in advance
Dean
<Dean we don't "do" aquaculture, but would check through the World Aquaculture Society membership here. http://www.was.org/main
Bob Fenner>

FW shrimp cultivation
Dear Bob,
Can shrimps be cultivated in fresh waters - like farm dams where we
raise tilapia (breams) fish?
Best regards,
Chileshe Mutale
<Mmm, some species, yes... are polycultured thus. Bob Fenner>

Eggs in Tank
Hi. I have a 75 gallon freshwater tank. Perfect water. I have some Gourami, Pleco, Cory cats, Neons, Danios, moors, etc. Not very many. <OK, but I'd lose the goldfish (moor). They need cooler water than the others and are large waste producers> The tank has been set up for about 5 months. I recently went to PetSmart and purchased Neons. I went against my better judgment and bought them despite seeing an outbreak of snails in their tanks. <Not always a bad thing> Two days later, in my tank, I have groups of small white egg looking things, about the size of a pencil lead, probably 10-12 groups mostly on back of tank. <Cool> My two largest Gouramis have been pretty aggressive lately, <Natural, especially in males> but not causing damage. Are these eggs from the Gouramis, <No, they make a bubble nest at the surface> or could they be snail eggs? <Maybe, but don't sound like it. Common "pond" snails lay eggs in a jelly-like mass> No other changes in the tank, water same, filtration same. Help???
<I think your Corys are doing the nasty. A sign of your fine care. Congrats! I doubt you will get any hatching in this tank though. All your fish, except the moor, will eat the eggs. Even the parents. I would be surprised if the Pleco did not eat them all tonight. Not a bad thing at all. Don>
Thanks Robyn

Re: Eggs in Tank
Thanks for such a quick response. I won't worry at all. I'll just keep watch. So far, it's been 4 days and they are still there. <Wow, you may get some to hatch then> I do feed the fish enough food, three times a day, so maybe they aren't that hungry or they haven't noticed them yet. Thanks again. Robyn
<Oh, I'm sure they've noticed them. They just don't recognize them as food and aren't hungry enough to experiment. Any that do hatch will have a fair chance of survival. Not many fish that will take on those sharp stiff fins. Feeding could be a problem, but maybe not in your well (over) fed tank. I would hold off on cleaning the gravel for a little while. And that's the last time you will ever here me give that advice! Don>

Greenhouse aquaculture 9/20/04
Hi Anthony, it was a real pleasure to get your reply.  Your propagation book has been an inspiration to me.
<ah, thanks kindly... very good to hear it>
I am really looking forward to a greenhouse.  I'm in the early planning stages- I'm going to take you up on your kind offer and will submit plans at some point for your thoughts, after the tour of Tropicorium and others-
<I will help any/every way I can>
One question- why would you want to heat the room rather than the water?  
<good question... always the air. You'll never see a productive/profitable fish room/GH run by heating the water... waaaay too expensive. Heat the air, and the tanks/water act like heat sinks. Very stable>
It isn't that electricity is more expensive than natural gas?  
<depends on where you live... varies wildly all over the country. I have seen electricity from 4 cents to over 30 cents per kw hour>
I would think that heating a large volume to bring the water up to temp would be very inefficient-I suppose the cost of 10k watt water heaters for each 240 gallon sized receptacle would be prohibitive compared to inexpensive warehouse-type heaters?
<it is most always best to simply use a hanging furnace to heat the room/air. You see these everywhere in industrial applications. There's a reason for it <G>>
Thanks for your help, Anthony- Charles<always welcome.. best of luck/Life. Anthony>

Breeding Puffer with convicts?  8/18/04
Hi
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I was wondering if you could breed a Convict Cichlid with a Puffer fish?  
<About as easily as breeding a cat & a dog. Just won't work.>
Also I was wondering if you could breed green Severums with Convict cichlids.
<There has been success interbreeding different species of cichlids together, but I highly doubt you'd have much success with it.>
Please email me back with the answer Thank you.
<Instead of concerning yourself with breeding, why not try & study up as much as you can about the fish you have & do the best you can to keep them alive, healthy & long-lived?  ~PP>