Spawning, birth, and rearing facilities for fish eggs and newly hatched fry

Abstract

The spawning, birthing and rearing facility for fish eggs and natal fry, comprising at least one spawning and birthing container (1) for receiving female fish in an advanced state of pregnancy, a rearing container (2) connected to said container (1), a line (5) connected to the bottoms of the two containers (1, 2), an intermediate bottom (4) mounted in the container (1) and having at least one opening through which the female fish cannot pass, and a conveying system for conveying water from the container (1) into the container (2), is characterized by the following features: the containers (1, 2) are in communication with each other, and a riser line (6) connected to the line (5) is guided in the container (2) to a height below the water level (b) in the container (1).

Description

Background Art

[0001] To protect against death by being eaten by self-reproducing ornamental fish, so-called spawning boxes are known. These are hooked onto an actual aquarium and are divided into upper and lower regions. If it can be predicted that a viviparous or oviparous female fish is about to spawn or give birth in order to protect the offspring of the fish from the fish present in the aquarium, the female fish is placed in the upper region of the spawning box. Newly born immobile juveniles or eggs directly fall into the lower region of the spawning box through a fine-mesh grid. This prevents the fish and female fish in the aquarium from eating the offspring.

[0002] U.S. Patent No. 3,900,004 describes a spawning, and thus birthing and rearing, apparatus corresponding to the preamble of claim 1. This apparatus, which can be suspended from the wall of an aquarium, includes a spawning or birthing container 14 and a rearing container 18 connected thereto. The spawning or birthing container 12 has a lid 32 provided with an air passage. The container 12 is provided with an intermediate bottom having two V-shaped bottoms 50, 52 converging downward, and these bottoms are bounded at the bottom by longitudinal slots 48 wide enough to prevent the mother animal and other adult fish from passing through them. Below this intermediate bottom is a container bottom 26 provided with a central opening 28. Connected to this opening is a water conduit 64 that extends through the bottom 68 of the rearing container 18 to the height of a slot 94 disposed within the container 18. The slots 94 are of a width such that already sufficiently grown fish cannot pass through them into the rearing container 18. A compressed air conduit 100 opens into the conduit 64, such that when compressed air is supplied to the conduit 64 through the compressed air conduit 100, water is suctioned from the spawning or birthing container through the conduit like an injector and conveyed into the rearing container 18. By this suction flow, fry or fish eggs passing through the bottom slot 48 are conveyed into the rearing container 18 through a vertical conduit 46 connected to the conduit 64 and fall into the rearing container 18 from the upper end of the conduit 46.

[0003] After the fry reach a certain size in about two to three weeks, they are transferred into the aquarium without the risk of being eaten by the adult fish or the mother fish present in the aquarium.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved device as compared with known devices.

[0006] The features of claim 1 serve to solve this object.

[0007] As described above, known devices for transferring offspring from the spawning or birth container to the rearing container are effective according to the principle of the injector, but according to the present invention, the principle of communicating the containers is used for this purpose, which is much gentler especially for the offspring as compared with the principle of the known injector.

[0008] The device is preferably characterized by a floating body attached to the container and supporting the container on the surface of the water filling of the aquarium.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] The spawning or birth and rearing device according to the present invention includes, as shown in the drawings, at least one spawning or birth container 1 and one rearing container 2. The two containers 1 and 2 float on the water surface a of the aquarium (A) by means of a floating body 20. The container 1 and the container 2 each have a breathable lid 3 and 13.

[0011] The two containers 1 and 2 are communicating containers. The lower end of container 1 is connected to conduit 5, and a riser pipe 6 passing through container 2 is connected to the conduit. The upper open end of the riser pipe terminates below the water level b in container 1.

[0012] To adjust the water level b in container 1, container 1 is provided with a water level adjustment opening 8 that is impermeable to the mother animal.

[0013] A water inlet opening 7 connected to a water pump (not shown) is provided in the approximate central region of container 1. An opening that is not permeable to the mother fish is provided at the intermediate bottom 4 of container 1.

[0014] Container 1 is provided with a bottom 4.1 having an opening connected to conduit 5.

[0015] Container 2 into which the riser pipe 6 opens is provided with a water level adjustment opening 9 for adjusting the water level c in container 2, which is not permeable to larger fish or adult fish.

[0016] An air injection opening 10 connected to an air pump (not shown) is arranged in the lower region of container 2.

[0017] The bottom of container 2 consists of a grid 11 having a grid opening that is not permeable to fry.

[0018] When it is determined that there are pregnant, spawning, or highly viable mother fish in the aquarium, they are captured and transferred to the spawning or birth container 1. At the same time, a water pump (not shown) connected to the water inlet opening 7 is started. As a result, the fish eggs and newly born fry spawned by the mother fish move downward and pass through the opening at the intermediate bottom 4. These fish eggs or fry are conveyed through the conduit 5 and the riser pipe 6 and fall into container 2 through the upper end of the riser pipe 6.

[0019] The fry hatched from fish eggs and the newly born fry stay in the breeding container 2 for a predetermined period of about 2 to 3 weeks until they reach a sufficient size so as not to be eaten by the large fish existing in the water tank A before being transferred to the water tank A.

Claims

1. An apparatus for spawning, birth and rearing of fish eggs and newly hatched fry, comprising: - at least one spawning or birth container (1) for receiving highly pregnant female fish; - a rearing container (2) connected to said container (1); - an intermediate bottom (4) disposed within said container (1) and having at least one opening that is not permeable to said female fish; - a conveying system for conveying water from said container (1) to said container (2), wherein said conveying system - a conduit (5) connected to said container (1); - at least one water inlet opening (7) disposed laterally on said container (1); - at least one water level regulating opening (8) disposed laterally above said water inlet opening (7) on said container (1); - at least one water level regulating opening (9) disposed laterally and below said water level regulating opening (8) on said container (2); - a riser pipe (6) connected to said conduit (5) and guiding water into said container (2) to a height lower than said water level regulating opening (8) of said container (1) and higher than said water level regulating opening (9) of said container (2).

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a floating body (20) attached to said container (1) and said container (2) for supporting said container (1) and said container (2) on the surface of the water filling the tank.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a water pump connected to said water inlet opening (7).

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said intermediate floor (4) is provided in the form of a grid floor having grid openings that are not permeable to said female fish.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said container (1) has a breathable lid (3).

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said water level regulating opening (8) is not permeable to adult fish, i.e., larger ornamental fish.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said water level regulating opening (9) is impermeable to larger fish.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said container (2) has a bottom having openings that are impermeable to fry for excrement or dirt particles.

9. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the container (2) has a vented lid (13).

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