Building an incubator

[byjungle]

Hi all, i am in the process of building an incubator and i thought i would post some helpful sites i have found, incase anyone else is building one.

http://www.arbreptiles.com/cages/incubator.html

http://www.turtlecare.net/incubato.htm

http://www.smuggled.com/egg1.htm

Has anyone tried these methods at all?

cheers
M.S

 

[cyber_crimes]

I have used an old fridge before.I used heat tape along the bottom and sides and a red globe at the top.

I am keen to try and let a female maternally incubate in the future (just a once off thing to experience it)

I have recently been thinking about trying heated water as an incubator (an experiment).I will place the eggs in a plastic container with no medium and place these in water that is heated with submersible aquarium heaters inside an insulated box.I'm sure this would keep accurate humidity levels as well as heat.

 

[Guest]

Kool make sure u tell us if the experiment works.

 

[cyber_crimes]

Just read the turtle incubator which is similar to what I wanted to experiment with.Seems they advise you to use medium such as vermiculite though. I'm sure it is safe without medium as the water used would provide 100% humidity...Just my thoughts!

 

[byjungle]

Thanks CC, i am leaning towards the fridge one. If you look at the second link, there is the aquarium methods. I keep Discus and i put a container in the top with a thermometer and humidity thing and it read 29 degrees with 100% humidity, so that may be an option, i would have to put some mesh on the top of the container though, dont want the babies to drown or have the discus nibble at them.Talking about Discus, i have a pair that lay eggs almost every 2 weeks, the babies hatch and about 3 days later they dissapear, there are no other fish apart from the pair in the tank, i am certain the Discus are eating them , but i dont know why? 2 weeks later they lay about 100 odd all over again, and a week later the babies are all gone, it is driving me nuts!


Cheers
Mark

 

[cyber_crimes]

mmmm Discus,
I just adore discus but have never had the courage to try my luck with them.I guess all the readings I've read had put me off.Do you lower the water levels hardness with peat moss etc? Please fill me in on how hard/easy they are to keep and breed as I'd love several pairs in the future.

 

[byjungle]

Hey CC, i suggest get some, i bought some babies, fed them up, 6 months later i had a pair and they now produce but they eat them. I am not an avid fish keeper, i just filled the tank up with water, put in a heater and filter, the water stays at 30 degrees, i left the tank for a couple days and then put the fish in, i didnt use any thing in the water, i fed them brine shrimp(frozen) till they were big enough to eat bloodworms and beef heart. I only clean the tank once a month if they are lucky and thats it. I have found them as easy as angelfish to keep.So i say try it or you will never know.Ill post a pic for you later on when i am at home.

cheers
Mark

 

[cyber_crimes]

Thanks Mark.
I have several discus books from when I was an avid aquarist.I guess discus are much like diamonds as all outdated readings on them are severely confusing (and much off putting I might add).But I will deffinately give them a go one day as from the sounds of it they seem a hardy species and one that an experienced aquarist such as myself should have no problems in keeping

 

[byjungle]

CC, give it a go for sure! The only fish experience i had before these were goldfish. Here is a pic of my male aged about 9 months, i have been told they should colour up even more, just like jungles they get better with age, in the case of jungles...not always!

 

[Morelia_man]

nice discus, and i am pretty sure that there colours do grow nicer when they get older.
i think that they are pretty hardy fish but they are just a little difficult to breed.

cheers
charles

 

[africancichlidau]

Discus are like GTP's, one of the most overated fish in the hobby as far as conditions and difficulty of keeping goes,(not wishing to offend anyone here).
They will thrive in a lot more conditions than the Elite Discus People will have you believe.

 

[byjungle]

LOL. Very true, i keep them exactly like goldfish, just that they have a heater. I bought 4 and all of them are fine, and i even got a pair, which i was told was almost impossible as i only bought four, the guy that had them told me i had to buy at least 10.

cheers
M.S

 

[africancichlidau]

Sure thing BJ, people will tell you you can't sex Discus, to which I normally say Bull**it.

 

[Magpie]

Hey, I was told the same thing about the african cichlids. Found them a peice of cake to keep and breed. My brother in law on the other hand believed those who told him they were hard to keep and got goldfish instead. After he lost about 30 goldfish, he switched to cichlids and hasn't had a problem since.
BTW, I have heard of people having very poor results with the aquarium style incubators. CC, if you left the lid off and used no medium, you'd have a good chance of the eggs absorbing too much water as they are at a constant 100% humidity. I'd use a fridge or foam box or build one out of timber and insulate it.

 

[cyber_crimes]

Mags,
I was contemplating leaving the lid on the container and giving a good airing out every day or so,however the whole water incubation thing was just an idea I was meddling with and wanted to experiment,but it seems it is already in use by some breeders so I'll prolly give it a miss now. I thought I had discovered a new technique all by my lonesom.The actual idea came to me from hearing of a breeder that used a submersible heater in a water bowl that was placed inside the incubator to give humidity.Oh well back to the drawing board lol!

 

[africancichlidau]

I lost a whole clutch of Beardy eggs using the "Aquarium Method"

 

[Guest]

Thats so sad I wish i wa allowed to get tropical fish i have all the stuff exept the fish mabey if i set up an enclosure and go buy some my parents wouldnt care. what do u think i could get what is the easiest species of fish to keep. also cheapest. besides goldfish i already own 11 goldfish there in a bathtub outside.weve had em for like 8 months and there growing still havent fed em.

 

[africancichlidau]

Any of the commonly available fish you find in aquarium shops are pretty easy to keep. Different types need different water conditions but once you know what they are you can maintain them fairly easily, water testing and changing are the two most important regimes. Good luck with Mum & Dad