# What do you do with your fry?



## TMB60 (Jan 6, 2011)

Steve617 had an interesting thread the other day which dealt with lack of availability of Tangs and subsequent lack of resale opportunities in many areas of the country. Likewise, there is a lot of emphasis in this hobby placed on "start with a group to end up with a pair" for both compatibility and breeding purposes.
My area has 2 LFS's with TONS of Malawi but very limited Tang selections, so me, like many I'm sure, have very limited options when we have more fry than we can keep. I'm only into Tangs for 6 months now, 3 tanks running with at least 2 more in the works. I'm loving it for all the right reasons (behavior and shape, not color). I'm raising all juvies at this point so no breeding yet, but I ask myself if I should just let it happen or stock my tanks in such a way as to try and avoid it. If there is little demand for them in the area, I'm just creating a problem for myself (and the fry). So I wonder, especially for those of you in low demand areas, what do you do with your fry?


----------



## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

You just need to ask your self if you want to raise and sell fry or let them just get released in your tank and get a very low numbers that live to selling size.

I have 16 tanks running with 90% tangs in them breeding all the time. I sell very few to LFS, mostly for store credit, but the rest I sell on Aquabid or to members on different forums or to people locally. It seems that most tang keepers get there fish from online somewhere because of the fact that most LFS do not sell many tangs. I personally like the fact that tang keepers are everywhere but not in stores. It keeps the genetics of our fish in very good shape by not having, the average fish keeper accidentally breeding hybrids and polluting the hobby with them.


----------



## Charlutz (Mar 13, 2006)

Get in touch with the local cichlid club and regional cichlid forums and sell them there. You'll also get access to many other fish to buy.


----------



## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

I live in fly over country too and until recently we did not have any LFS that had a decent variety of tangs (do have one now - hope they survive). I do sell some of my tang juvies to a couple LFS (mostly for store credit). I do sell some fry to folks on the various fish forums - mostly people sending me a PM (that is driven mostly by photos). Great way to meet other hobbiests and make some new friends. My "operation" is small enough that it is not a burdon and is something I can enjoy.

I have given fish to kids at church and try to pass on the joy of the hobby. I find it fun teaching them basic water chemsitry and other basic stuff. Made an offer to my Sunday School kids a couple weeks ago that I would give them some fish if they had their dad ask me. One kid took me up and his dad is getting a 55 gallon tank and I am going to help set it up and give them 5 calvus & 5 comp fry (they are SO excited). It is a great way to fellowship with others and build deeper friendships (beyond just shaking their hand in the pew before the morning service). Tangs are an amazing testimoney of the Lord's wonderful creation:

_"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork"_ (Psalm 19:1).

My advice would be to make sure you enjoy it. Many of our fish rooms grow out of control and we end up spending more time with critters that have gills than our own kids.

Blessings,
Russ


----------



## dotbomb (Jan 5, 2011)

Razzo said:


> It is a great way to fellowship with others and build deeper friendships (beyond just shaking their hand in the pew before the morning service). Tangs are an amazing testimoney of the Lord's wonderful creation:
> 
> _"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork"_ (Psalm 19:1).


:thumb: But I'd argue mbuna qualify too


----------



## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I find cichlids to be excellent, real-time examples of speciation at work. :wink:

Living in a part of the country that most folks seem to think is in Canada (except the Canadians, who know better :lol: ), I must order fish online or drive long distances (7 hrs minimum) to get new stock. When I can, I'll use the trading post here, or stop by my LFS for store credit to move juvenile fish along. The biggest help to keep my stock in check are auctions- while I can't control the price as much as I would like, a good auction can pay for my gas, fish food and some new stock. There's lots of options on the East Coast.


----------



## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

This reminds me of a recent thread in which we found out that evolution is a wonderful thing, and that atheist, secular humanists love to watch their tanks too. :thumb:

I suggest we get back to the original subject of this thread - what to do with excess Tang fry - and refrain from any further credo, be it theistic or atheistic.


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)




----------



## Mr Mbuna (Nov 16, 2007)

I sell my F1 Zaire front fry via ebay and an online aquarist sales site and although there is not exactly a queue outside my door, they eventually go. I currently have about 100 F1 comp fry growing up though and I doubt I will have the same demand for them. People buy groups of fronts but I anticipate the comps going in 2s and 4s. Time will tell.
Tang specialists are not common in the UK either. I have maybe 5 major aquatics stores and about 6 smaller shops within 20 miles of my home and none of them really stock a good range of tangs, if any at all. I use a specialist dealer via courier service. Other than that I have to drive a long way to find unusual fish.
A long time ago I ended up culling about 20 Protomelas kirkii fry because I could not even give them away. I hope I never have to do that again. It makes you wary about breeding and unless there is a fair demand, as with my fronts, I usually sell off breeding parents once I've bred them or leave the fry in with them and let nature take its course. Most shops that try to specialise in tangs end up with the same fish still in stock a year later. Even a specialist shop such as Verduijn in Holland told me that they end up in this situation with certain species - they still stock them though because they like them. That's a good shop.


----------



## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Mr Mbuna said:


> I sell my F1 Zaire front fry via ebay...


ebay, I haven't thought about that. I have sold some Mbuna in the past off Craigslist though.

Russ


----------



## mokujin22 (Jan 19, 2010)

Local fish clubs are the easiest way to sell/trade/give away fish.

Another option of course, is to sell them to local fish stores. Yeah, you won't get top dollar for them, but will be helping them out. They need all the help they can get right now...


----------

