So its been about 5 months since an update. (if you want alot more detail there is an Exciting times at Salt Babies Thread)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2683885
My daughter (age 20) is joining the business, so no profits for me LOL. I hope she enjoys it as much as I do. With the extra hands I might be able to stabilize my parvocalanus production opening up so much more for breeding. Though she is in college so that may not be that much extra help.
My Barbouri male is still alive he still hasn't healed all the infection but it is getting less deep an I believe eventually will heal up. I just put him and the female in a 10 gallon tank (they don't swim much and are not that big). I had them before in a small tank for dosing medicine, changing water and did not want him pregnant so he could heal. The 10 is only an intermediate step I have a 30 gallon for them once I do a little changing to it. Since they are feeling better and have started trying to breed again they do have some flashes of some really cool colors but for most the day a rich mahogany brown.
The erectus pair had a batch back in the late fall. I have changed out the male for one of my males that showed very slow growth as I'd love a dwarf erectus line. I also have a female who is still very small despite her age but they are in an erectus tank with two males and two females. The large female is breeding with a smaller male. The other two haven't decided to get together yet. But I'm back in the baby business.
I also have about 11 baby saltwater mollies. And looking to make more of these.
My blue pipe is still cycling eggs each week and I'm hoping this summer to give that a shot after I get my copepods, parvocalanus straight.
I have 4 dragonface pipefish in the erectus/blue pipe tank but they just aren't breeding I find it hard to believe I don't have opposite sexes but maybe they aren't all the same species as dragonface covers 11 species. I did get them from the store but not all at the same time (some at the same time). I'm beginning to worry about if they will ever pair up. My daughter just loves the dragons so breeding them would be the best. I wonder if it just isn't tall enough or something.
The dwarf cuttle fish all lived to about 8 months but then all died shortly after going into a different tank. No eggs that was disappointing. Ordered 10 more eggs from the LFS to try again. They are just so neat to watch hunt! And I kind or like playing hide and seek with my fish tanks.
My next conquest I hope to be Barbouri then blue strip. And I hold out hope that I can get my male coral croucher to actually mate with the female coral croucher. They split when I added them to the tank and haven't gotten back together since. I'm not sure they actually know the other is in the tank.
I have right now stabilized a tetra culture and working on T-iso but contamination concerns are still high. I have a few rots laying around and Tigger pods though the seahorse babies have put a hurt on those.
I also have some breeding strombus snails (the small ones). And I'm restarting my tisbe pods this week. If I can get the T-iso to build up and make lots then I'll order parvacalanus around May 14th so that by the time I'm done with the summer workshop I can have several weeks and copepods to play with blue stripe!!!!
Who knows if I pay attention I might if find my cardinal holding eggs
