how to extract Alto comps & calvus & other shell dwellers from their shells

[BigRock]

thought i would share my tried and true method of safely extracting alto comps and calvus from their shells to steal their fry and to clean their shells from all the gunk left over from last spawn which can and does spoil some or all of the next clutch if the female doesn't clean up properly or simply cant! this is why sometimes you will notice less fry with each spawn instead of more, the egg rott from the last batch is spoiling them ; >>>

So, here it is. If its just a male or non-paired or non-spawning girls that have hogged a shell I extract them by placing the shell right up to the front glass with the opening facing you, give an inch or so room from the opening to the glass, when they come out a few mins later they say WTF im not living here up against this front glass, and that BigRock bloke is ugly enough from a damn distance as is, im out of here lol ,...so they simply abandon it! males abandon instantly and females who aren't fanning ofcourse will abandon it pronto aswell !! a fanning female usually wont.

So with them,soon as I notice fry I go get an exact replica shell that's been cleaned and dried then i'll gently move her shell over just a few inches and place the new shell in the exact same position and place where hers was and then sit back and watch, she will come out a couple mins later and you'll see her expression almost say wtf lol what am i doing here? this isnt my shell thats my shell. And bang she'll go in the new one and that's when you dive in and grab her shell full of fry works a treat! and she is none the wiser all except her fry are gone, the pair bond also stays the same, theres NO territory dispute or sussing of new shells or placement etc, coz they have no real clue what happened when you do it this way and they'll begin another spawn soon as they can. This method is also more deviously fun than other methods when doing it, so enjoy!! ;

Edited September 12, 2013 by BigRock

[aquaholic99]

Once you have the shell full of babies, the easiest way to remove them is to place the shell on an upturned terracotta flowerpot so the shell is higher off the ground. When the babies emerge, they will sink down to the tank bottom and seek other places rather than swim up high to return. They only swim down, not up when small so the next day, all your fry will be safely out and the shell empty.

[BigRock]

Once you have the shell full of babies, the easiest way to remove them is to place the shell on an upturned terracotta flowerpot so the shell is higher off the ground. When the babies emerge, they will sink down to the tank bottom and seek other places rather than swim up high to return. They only swim down, not up when small so the next day, all your fry will be safely out and the shell empty.

yeh that's a good one most of mine I just used to put the shell in a fry trap and they would all be out next day, 2 days max, coz they get real hungry fast and being so tiny they need to feed soon as they are able to or they waste away quickly, this is why its good to take em from the mum coz when the fry try to hover in the entrance to snatch passing baby brine the mum scares em back in too often and too much so they don't get fed well, and these being the painfully slow growers that they are they need a good feed in the first few weeks esp the first few days, coz a lil alto that has a bad start and gets starved is gonna grow even slower ay ; ..............btw when I do this and take the fry the females will lay another batch of eggs in about 10days or 2weeks max

Edited September 12, 2013 by BigRock

[marcusnsherell]

Thank you for sharing