Select Aquatics of Erie, CO
 

                       Breeding the Puntius padamya "Odessa"

                                         Page 5 - Growth Rates

 

 
 

          

                  Page 1:  Odessa Barbs,  Origins of the Odessa Barb

                  Page 2:  Overview of Breeding the Puntius padamya

                  Page 3:  Step by Step Specifics of How We Breed Them Here

                  Page 4: An Easier (But less Yield) Way to Breed Them

                * Page 5: Growth rates

 

 

                The rate that fish will grow out can vary dramatically, even between efforts that were entirely well intentioned.
               Below are pics of siblings, each 6 weeks old. The smaller fish were fed 3-4 times per day on BBS and high quality
               dry foods with daily 15% water changes and the best of care, in a moderately stocked 30 gallon aquarium. The bigger
               fish were accidentally introduced to a 200 gallon trout runner, outside, filled with daphnia that received 5%
               daily water changes, and they were the only fish. As you can see, the difference is dramatic.
 

 

 
 
 
               So care can always be improved. What is interesting is that with the accelerated daphnia diet, the larger fish on the left, 
               at just 10 weeks, is already showing signs of the red stripe – something that won’t be seen it its brothers for another
               3-4 months!

               So the variables are a balance between excellent water quality, against the maximum amount of food that can be
               fed, with correct temperature and oxygenation. Keeping water quality high when feeding large amounts of food requires 
               that density be watched closely. When mistakes are made – feeding isn’t adequate, the tank is too crowded, oxygenation
               is too low, temperature is too low or filtration isn’t sufficient, the result can be dramatic and swift:

                But when all goes right,  it is always a thrill.  Be sure to have the tank space on hand to raise up the young  you will end
                up with!  

 
 
 
                 When fed well, in water of good quality, all healthy females will fill with eggs and can be spotted easily, as the egg laden females on rt. show!
               With a single batch hatched the first week of June, 2015, videos and still photos were taken every day for the first
               30 days, and videos were taken weekly from then on until the males in the batch colored out. Here are representative
               examples to give you an idea of their appearance through the maturation process. As you shall see, the young males
               not only look exactly like their female sisters through their first 6 months, but when they have colored out, their
               adult coloration is entirely different from their juvenile form.

              This batch ended up being 1400 fish! There were 4 males bred with 7 females.

              This line has been surprisingly consistent – though thousands have been raised here, very few males do not possess
              the optimal coloration. Pictures do exist of mutations bred in Russia, and those are generally little more than a
              splotching or mixing of the red and black coloration.

              Though I have been watching closely, there has never been an albino or leucistic color morph, nor have there been
              any fin mutations that I have noticed.

              Videos were taken of this batch from day 2. The earlier videos are often not of the best quality and are meant for growth
              comparison.

 

                                               The First 30 Days

 
   
 
    The videos were generally taken
     just after being fed to bring them
     out - though there are many
     hundreds of fry, the tank can
     appear totally empty!
                                       Click on Day Icon to see video of that day.

 

 

 
 
 
 

                        The first month takes you to when they are just large enough
                        to be gently moved with a fine mesh net. They are just hours
                        old in the pic above, and 30 days old in the pic at right.

                                                                                                                                                 30 Days old and ready to be split up into larger tanks.

 

          Shortly after the picture above was taken, the 30 day old fish were divided up into 7 tanks. These tanks were the 29 gallon tall
          that the fish were bred in, 3-30 gallon tanks and 3-40 gallon breeder tanks Those in the 40 breeders were kept in homemade
          shoebox sized breeders for another week to acclimate them and give them time to put on a little more size.

          Generally, 150-300 were put into each tank. Because the temperatures between the 7 tanks differs, growth rates can vary slightly,
          so the majority of the photos below were taken of the group being raised in the original 29 gallon tall. All of the photos are taken
          from videos.

 

 
   
 
                     30 Days + 1 week                              
                            See Video         
             30 Days + 2 weeks               30 Days + 3 weeks
 
                                   2 Months

                                See Video
                 2 Months + 1 week                    2 Months + 2 Weeks
               At this point you can begin to see that some fish will likely become females. Their body is higher in stature and
               heavier. At this point earlier maturing males will begin to show some black speckling in their dorsal fin, but
               attempting to sex the fish at this size will result in being correct only about 75% of the time, and your rate will
               be better with females than males.

               The Odessa barbs do not show the type of harassment from males toward females seen in some other species. 
               The sexes school together routinely, showing little interest in dominant or sexual behavior. When a female is ready 
               to spawn, and the circumstances are to their liking, they simply go off and breed. I have not found that they needed 
               to be separated when they do finally sex out.

 
 
 
   
 
                      2 Months + 3 Weeks
                                  3 Months
                                
See Video
 
                                         3 Months + 1 Week
 
   
                            3 Months + 2 Weeks
                                    3 Months + 3 Weeks                                 4 Months
                              See Video
 
   
                        4 Months + 1 Week
                               4 Months + 2 Weeks                                      4 Months + 3 Weeks
 
   
                                 5 Months
                              
See Video
                            5 Months + 1 Week                                        5 Months + 2 Weeks
 
   
                           5 Months + 3 Weeks
                               6 Months
                             See Video
                                        6 Months + 1 Week
 
 
 
                              The first hints of the red color to come with this batch was first seen at 4 months, 2 weeks and 4 days, these pics are of that
                                        moment! By 6 months, the color is fairly well established, but still nothing like it will become, as seen below.
                                           
 
   
 
                       6 Months + 2 Weeks
                          6 Months + 3 Weeks                                   7 Months
                                See Video
 
   

 

    This is about the age when they are
   sold in shops, but these are not close to
               being fully colored up.
                       7 Months + 1 Week
                           7 Months + 2 Weeks                                 7 Months + 3 Weeks
 
   

     

                              8 Months
                            
See Video
                              8 Months + 1 Week                                      8 Months + 2 Weeks
 

    
 

     This is about where they are if you happen
     to find Odessa barbs in pet stores. According
     to what I have been told, commercial growers
     could not sell these at a profit to distributors, due
     to the long grow out time and need to carefully 
     choose breeders to maintain the brilliant color 
     of this line. As a result, the fish often sold in 
     fish stores today are of poor quality and/or very
     young. This line was obtained about 6 yrs. ago,
     and has been selectively bred for color and
     markings since.
    

                    8 Months + 3 Weeks
                                     9 Months
                                  
See Video
 
 
 
   

     This is quick video taken in February, 2016 of a tank
      of males that are 12-18 months old. The males used for
      this batch came from this tank. Compare to the Odessa
      videos HERE to see how this line has been developed
      over the past 6 years. Click on picture to see vid.

 
 

         

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