TIMELY MOVE

It is time to give fast developing ranchu fry more room. Right stocking density is crucial for grooming healthy and well shaped fry. At this stage, when the fry is around 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) no more than 100 per 3.3 sq.ft (1 sq.m) is appropriate. As the fry grows the stocking density must be adjusted. Again, since my set up is quite minimalistic and I do not have room for more water containers, I used my 120 gal (454 L) pond to accommodate the next project - a larger size nursery for the ranchu fry.

All it took was four bamboo sticks, four rubber bands and a 400 micron mesh to make a net. The net was suspended from the bamboo frame in the pond, keeping the water depth inside the nursery of 4-5 inches (10-13 cm). I added an airstone and a hose to constantly supply clean water to the nursery, pumped from the UV sterilizer (see my previous post "Filter Box Addition and Improvements"). Water pours from the hose into a "diffuser", a bunched up fine mesh, to keep the water movement to a minimum.

Since newly hatched brine shrimp size is up to 400 microns, I chose 400 microns mesh to keep them from escaping. Any finer mesh would get clogged more often with algae and the rest of the derbies.