First Pure ( big spot) Black Diamond SA bred pups!!

Interesting link @Toy, those are salt water/marine rays though

However, If inbreeding is done the right way and not left to nature by having the rays altogether all the time, there is nothing wrong with inbreeding providing ( rule of thumb) you dont go closer than 3/2
2/2 is ok for a reason, ie you trying to achieve something, but then you have to out breed the offspring

Black Diamonds only reach breeding age at over 3 years old so Pups can be kept together until then with no problem, if you waned to
These pups will stay together until they ready to go to their new homes at about 8 weeks, once i have dewormed and treated for parasites and they obviously all strong and eating well
I am keeping a boy and girl, they will stay together until they are about 18 months or so depending how fast they grow
Then the male will go into @Cesar's tank with all the males and the girl will go to a female only tank

 

They too cute, you right, but trust me they can be naughty and full of mischief!!

At this age, they feel like you touching silk.
Once they get older, the bellies remain silky to the touch but their skin on top actually goes quite rough

Problem with one big tank and them all together is that you have no control on the breeding so you land up breeding hybrids only and never pure species.
There are stunning hybrids but even then you still want to control who you breed to who toachieve the patterns and colours you want

 

So... the 'brats' moved to the pup tank tonight

And no sooner were they in there they were getting up to mischief!!

 

Ideally no, you should not get into that habit because if you don't have control measures in place, they start in- breeding with same pool gene all the time and you start picking up problems because a s much as you inbreed the good points, you also inbreed the weaknesses so unless you going to be strict on yourself and go that close once and then make sure you breed out the next time, its best you don't do it at all

 

Glad to see move went well
Glad to see them spending some time with larger rays as well

 

Hahha they look large rnext to the babies than they actually are
They only arrived about 5 weeks ago and very much still babies
Also battled with them not eating and very skinny but after doing the full Prazipro treatment they now pouncing on food

They still too small to go in with the adults, not because they would harm them but because I still have to cut up the food much smaller for them and also very difficult to ensure they get enough food when you have adult rays in an eating frenzy

Its also good for the little ones to feel the comfort of the slightly bigger ones around them
The bigger pups also teach the little ones that have just moved from the confinement of the box into the big tank, to come running for food
The excitement of the bigger ones eating triggers the pups off to do the same
I still target feed each pup at the end to ensure it got enough food though

 

@Reedfish, the grow out tank is 2.2m X 750 X 750

ts a bit big for a grow out but, its my old tank and it was brand new so selling it for a smaller grow out tank when I have the space, wold have been silly
The size also alows for it to be used to grow out other fish like the baby Aros etc..

 

Thanks @top dog

Yes, funny enough they almost all went immediately to join the bigger pups and its funny because they actually plonk themselves on top of the big pups and harass them all the time
Rays are generaly very gentle with the babies so the bigger pups just go along with the brats around them
It also gets them used to being with bigger rays quicker which is also nice

 

Thanks @Whoknows

Between @Cesar and I, there is another breeding pair of Black Diamonds
Male is with Cesar and the girl with me
The female isn't 100% ready to breed but the male ( they usually reach maturity first) has already mated my Pearl X Black Diamond girl
Pups are moving already, will post some pictures

This pair still has a while to go before they will be old and mature enough to breed

Haha yes... everyone wants to book pups but I don't sell unless you can prove to me you can house them

 

And I guess these little guys deserve an update too!!

The two bigger pups are not part of the litter

These are still with us and havent gone to their new homes yet

 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah @MariaS your killing me LOL............... So Beautiful. (If my wife could get inside my head and find out what I have dream't up, she would probably divorce me instantly LOL . I have such a beautiful setup planned out in my head for the ultimate ray tank and the reality is I actually have the room for it!)

 

@Whoknows Not So easy, She will literally kill me if I put another aquarium in the house.!!!! (and my fish room is way to small for my plan) But I am a patient man so just need to get her to see how adorable these fish are and get her to fall in love with them as well.