Ranchu Update; Freezing Temperatures Continue

With below freezing conditions for several days now, the ranchu pond has now dropped just below 5 degrees and the ranchu have all slowed considerably, for the majority of the day. At times, during daylight hours, they have all been observed cruising about and all appear to be in good health.

I will begin the slow process of beginning to warm the ranchu up again very soon. Whilst this will be done very gradually, I have been waiting for acknowledgement of my brine shrimp eggs shipment to avoid being poorly equipped for any potential early spawning. I'm told the brine shrimp are now in the country and i expect them to be with me this week all being well.

Below is my brine shrimp hatchery and collection setup. It's pretty crude, but similar is design to many that i have seen used by ranchu keepers in Japan and the east. I have used Plastic bottles in the past and hatching was acceptable, even from low quality eggs, so i'm confident I will be happy, with superior brine shrimp eggs being used. The setup should provide an AM and PM hatch, giving the fry fresh artemia, day and night. (Assuming we get fry of course!)