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Old 09-06-2004, 09:08 PM   #1
Absolute Ranchu
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Smile Breeding Ranchu Part one

Breeding Ranchu

Greeting and Salutation from Absolute Ranchu in Thailand,

I would like to present for your consideration a number of articles on breeding ranchu. I will first touch on the preliminary preparation, then the natural spawning then my Master Breeder of the Absolute Ranchu Farm, Mr. Kitikorn (Lek), will be covering his techniques on manual or hand spawning techniques. I will also include the development and caretaking of black babies. Furthermore, I will also present to you the translation of breeding techniques from the other leading breeders in Thailand. There are quite a few successful breeders in Thailand, but their operation is rather small. This way I will be presenting a good overview for every one to enjoy no matter what your level of qualifications may be. Breeding is not difficult, particularly in smaller scale. The most difficult, however, is to try to achieve the desired results. Success depends on how hard you work, and how much you are willing to sacrifice your time, resources and efforts. This article contains many parts and I will present all of them to you in due course. If you have any questions, I suggest that you contact me directly at my e-mail (unless you think that others will also benefit from your questions), since I do not want to take too much of the posting space available. I am also preparing similar instructions with pictures and illustration on our website, and that should be available for clients and all interested parties soon. Knowledge is free but I only ask that if and when you have developed your own techniques one day, please kindly share it with the rest of us. This is a sure way that we will all be able to take the best care of our ranchus. I want to learn from you, wherever you are, too.

Ranchus spawn when there’s a change in temperature (colder) such as the entering of autumn or winter. Ranchu spawn once a year in area with severe cold weather and more in warmer climate. In Thailand, ranchu spawn twice a year on average, during monsoon (July-September) and winter (November-January). However, I do have several breeding pairs that give 4-6 broods per year. At Absolute Ranchu we do not breed fish that is smaller than 13cms, since those fish will not produce good quality eggs. Young ranchus (under 1 year old) are capable of spawning, as well, but the offsprings are usually of inferior qualities with mixed size. Older ranchus will give offspring that grow uniformly in size and qualities.

Natural Spawning: You will need to have one female, two males and a pond of about 1mX1mX40cms with ropes tied up in bunch in the middle of the pond to catch the eggs. The pond should also have an adjustable air pump or valve; this is to control the amount of air in the pond at different stages. The pond should also have an overflow system, thus the cleaning of the top water is possible.

When the female is ready to spawn, their stomach will become noticeably bigger. The stomach will bulge out sideways, and when you lightly touch the bottom of the stomach, the stomach will feel soft and seems to be filled with liquid. Ranchu’ stomach is usually hard. As the female gets closer to spawning the color of the ass will turn from white to pink or red and the ass will stick out noticeably. This is the surest way of checking if the female is ready. (Some fish, the stomach will get soft too, right after they have just eaten.) For the female, I usually do not do anything special, in preparation for breeding. I just stop feeding her any color enhancing food and increase more live feeds.
For the male, which should not usually be kept with the female, we have to be sure that they are also ready for the spawning. You need two males that are ready for this. I usually keep the males rather skinny, since this is the only way to be sure that they will produce enough sperms for breeding. Males usually produce small amount of sperms therefore, two males are needed for the most efficient breeding. When the male is ready, you will clearly see a number of white dots that appear on their swimming fins. If the male do not have these spots, then they are not ready.

When all three fish are ready, then I will put them all together in the prepared pond, usually in the afternoon. The pond must be in a cool place, with no direct sun light. The water quality has to be kept very clean at all times. I usually feed them normally that after noon. Ranchus spawn at dawn, thus I usually get up a bit before that, usually 5.30-6 o’clock. When your fish are ready, you will be able to watch the progress from the very beginning after you release the fish. The male will develop more dots on their fins, and will start to harass the female. The male will start to hit the female on the side as they swim and will continue to do this until spawning. This is the way the male fish gets the female ready. In the morning, the female will start to lay eggs, and then the male will automatically secrete the sperms. I usually have to wait 15-20 minutes before the fish is done, but this time is up to you. Usually I will move the parents when the female start to eat the eggs. I figure if the female starts to eat, then she is done with spawning. You have to remove the parents, or else, they will eat all the eggs.
After spawning is completed, I usually clean the water the best way I know how. I clean the top water, religiously, and I keep extra pale of water (with the exact same temperature as the water in the pond, this is crucial!) to change the water. Be very careful, sudden changes in temperature will destroy the eggs. There are usually a lot of protein and sperms and soiled eggs in the water, and it is very important that you have to keep the water very clear, cold and clean. I keep the air on high while the eggs are not hatch yet. As soon as they start to hatch, I will turn the air to very, very low. There should not be any strong movements of the water or in the environment since the fish can get easily damaged at this stage.
After the fish hatch then cleaning will be too difficult, and management will be much harder too. You have to keep the eggs from direct sunlight, for if the water gets too warm, the eggs automatically hatch, no matter how deform the fish may be. You also need to have good air circulation for the pond, and I do not recommend putting any kind of lids on the pond. The following day or night, you will be able to inspect and see how many usable eggs you will get. Use a flashlight, shine on the eggs, if the eggs are clear then it’s a good egg. If the egg is opaque and unclear then the eggs are usually no good. I usually use a small air tube to suck out all the bad eggs, but this is optional. I often find that the bad eggs will get soiled after a day or two and they will get moldy in the water. I take them out in order to prevent any bad things happing to the good eggs. This is, however, very tedious and time consuming, and very eye straining.

The eggs will start to hatch in 2-5 days, depending on your weather at home. The first 3 days of their lives the black babies do not need any of your help. They have enough food to last them the first three days easily. When they are first born, they usually lie motionless at the bottom of the pool. They will become more active when their food reserves are spent, and they will start to swim around. When they are all swimming around then they are ready to be fed for the first time. I usually prepare the artemia a day before it is needed. The first meal is very important and you have to feed them constantly and all the time, while keeping the water clear, clean and cold. This takes around the clock tending, and you can’t let up. The first week is very important for the overall development of the fish. If you do not feed them enough at this time, they will never grow into their potentials. At the beginning (at least the first month), use only live feed. There is no substitute. I usually give them so much food at each feeding that they will not be able to move afterwards. You have to also use your experience in observing and noticing the little changes in the fish condition and developments. Little changes can be devastating to the quality of the fish at the end. One must learn to know when the fish has eaten enough, about to get sick, or still hungry. This can be done by just watching the fish eats everyday. Watch how they swim regularly, before feeding, and after feeding. Watch the size of their stomach. The stomach must not get bigger than the head, ever. Learn to use the oxygen tube to suck out the wastes and leftover feeds, and use them religiously and carefully. How successful you are is often directly correlated to how crazy you can get at this time? Try it out and tell us how it went.

This concludes the first part of my article. Hope that you are able to follow my writing. Please kindly give me a feedback of what you think, and whether I can improve this presentation, some how. Your input is most welcome. The next part, I will turn the table over to my dear partner, who will be sharing with us his interesting and successful technique in hand or manual spawning methods. Please stay tuned.

Peace out Y’all

Pat Bhukkanasut

for more information you can contact me at info@AbsoluteRanchu.com, sawasdee krap.
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Old 10-06-2004, 09:59 AM   #2
mybirdshit
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Good info...good info...now that I am done with exams I will go breed my ranchus... All I need to do is get them in a horny mood...
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Old 10-06-2004, 10:23 AM   #3
Absolute Ranchu
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Default Fungus which destroys ranchu eggs

For you members who have sent me many mails wanting to know how to treat the fertilized eggs that have not been hatched so that they do not get destroyed by fungus that seem to grow after a couple of days.

The trick is after you have removed the parent fish, you have to change the water 100% (be careful with the temperature factor here ok). Then some breeders will add a few drops of anti fungus medication such as Malakyte Green or Formaline right into the water. This is totally up to you. I understand that in SG, medication is very difficult to come by. I think that any antifungus medication that can be used with small fish will suffice. Hope that this helps.

Pat
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Old 10-06-2004, 05:53 PM   #4
monsterz1975
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Bro thanks for sharing at the right time cos just got my GF fry last week.
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Old 11-06-2004, 06:01 PM   #5
Absolute Ranchu
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Default Black Baby Ranchu from different Japanese bloodlines

We have just posted good pictures of black baby ranchu from the different bloodlines in Japan. The pictures are good motivator for all you breeders out there. Keep up the good work.
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Old 18-06-2004, 08:11 PM   #6
Absolute Ranchu
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Default Easy Peasy

Breeding is real simple. You just need to do a bit of prep work and have a few adult fish. Real simple.

Read and find out how easy.
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Old 30-06-2004, 04:15 AM   #7
mAtcHz
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ths for sharing bro....
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