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Scott nthQld
29-09-2009, 03:36 PM
I want to eventually get a 6ft tank with a barra, or 2, I will be able to keep them pretty well fed on live mullet, prawns etc, but if I don't get time to get down to the creek and get those, what is the best species to keep in another tank that are easy to look after and are very prolific breeders?

What size tank should I be looking at to keep the feeder breeders in?

I will more than likely start the barra's off in a 4ft tank, then move them into the 6fter once they grow a bit, then the 4fter will be used to house maybe a jack, but a fingermark would look great too I reckon.

justjack
29-09-2009, 10:05 PM
mate something like fire tail gudgeons or the most widely used feeder fish because they can handle so many water conditions but will breed only in outside ponds and dont have a quick growth rate if you want a fish you can breed at a quick pace you might look at a non native species like mollies or guppies which are live bearers and will grow at a lot quicker pace though you will need to breed alot to be able to supply a growing fish enough food, why dont you just freeze some fish? barra will still munch on a dead meal aslong as it looks natural

ifishcq1
29-09-2009, 10:10 PM
Scott
do your self a favour and teach the barras to eat pillies as well as live baits
and alternate the feed
while they are still little, guppies do the job
my buggers only eat live stuff so when I put them in the creek they know how to hunt
but it is a pain sometimes when bait is scarce
the main trouble is they outgrow even in a 6ft tank in a couple of years

cheers

STUIE63
29-09-2009, 10:22 PM
Scott I used to feed mine guppies but as said previously you need an awful lot of them . a friend used to feed his barra dead prawns what he did was to cut the bottom off a hook and used to thread the bait onto the hook and hang it half in the water on some heavy line fed his barra very well this way
by the way I know a good dam you can let them go in when they get too big for the tank .they will be left alone in this dam to grow old gracefully
Stuie

shayned
29-09-2009, 10:47 PM
mate something like fire tail gudgeons or the most widely used feeder fish because they can handle so many water conditions but will breed only in outside ponds and dont have a quick growth rate if you want a fish you can breed at a quick pace you might look at a non native species like mollies or guppies which are live bearers and will grow at a lot quicker pace though you will need to breed alot to be able to supply a growing fish enough food, why dont you just freeze some fish? barra will still munch on a dead meal aslong as it looks natural
You can do Firies in a tank but it is a pain. Build yourself a little outdoor pond and stock some local fish, gudgeons, hardy's, rainbows etc to supplement a dead food regime. Of course you could skip the whole feeder routine and wean them on to barra pellets.

Scott nthQld
30-09-2009, 02:13 PM
I'll be pretty much a beginer in everything, the last fish tank I had was when I was a kid, mum and dad had one full of tropicals, until that is my little brother ran head long into it one day.

I want to try and keep it fed on live food, so it doesn't lose its natural instinct as it grows, any dead food I will try and present it in a life-like manner.

I drive right past some prime bait gathering sites every day to and from work, so it will only be the odd occassion when a net full of live feeders will need to be thrown in, in the meantime though, they can grow and multiply as much as they like.

Having never kept a barra or Jack before, how much would they eat, and how often, ie a barra 40cm long should be fed 2 or 3 4" mullet everyday etc. I don't want to over feed the fish so it grows too quickly, but the same goes the other way, i don't want to starve him just for me to be able to keep him longer.

And Stuie, I nearly forgot about your dam, i guess those barra would be doing well, that is if they didn't get washed away in the wet. I guess a new addition wouldn't go astray.

On another note, I've never heard of a fingermark inhabiting fresh water, so I spose I would need to keep him in salt (if it ever eventuates), is a saltwater tank any more dificult to look after than a fresh? (I wouldn't mind keeping the barra in salt either to be honest, to really bring out the yellow fins and chrome). Also comes the problem of finding one, I am still yet to catch one under 60cm and have never seen them in an aquarium

rhycebullimore
30-09-2009, 10:46 PM
mate bring it up on dead food - so much easier, you may lose more fish trying to just use live bait as they can be that fussy sometimes they will just not eat and starve them selves to death. i had a jack from a very small size and brought it up on specs of prawn to begin with and believe me it never looked like losing any natural habits and i had him at 15/20 mm long

ShaneC
30-09-2009, 11:12 PM
Couldnt agree more,

My toga (about 400mm now, had him since a fingerling), mainly survives on pellets, however gets the occasional tank full of goldfish every few weeks. In between, I feed whatever comes to hand (grasshoppers, crickets, worms, small poddys etc etc) so as to keep his hunting instincts.

He's happy enough, and would do fine in any local dam as long as nobody threw a lure near him/ her. I called it a 'him' cos its name is Tommy Toga as named by my little boy, I dont know what sex it is.

Langey
06-10-2009, 01:34 AM
I would get em on the pellets and then when u are keen, go catch him a feed of rainbows for a bit of a treat and a bit of entertainment.I currently have a 50cm toga called "sara"(i dunno if shes a girl.lol) and a 25cm bass (ive had the bass 8 years)....i feed em on pellets,then every now and then i go get them a nice feed of rainbows,blue eyes,gambusa etc,etc, just to "keep it real in the tanks" Btw,u can learn so much from them feeding in a tank,if u can translate what u see in the tank to whats happening at the end of ur line...if u need a bit of help pm me.ive kept just about every native fish in a tank at some stage over the last 15 years.cheers.Langey.

Swindells
06-10-2009, 12:27 PM
you could get those feeder gold fish, i heard they go alright, not sure about breeding though