Quick update....still no larvae! Both PS are STILL holding and the eggs on both are now a distinct silver and plenty of eye spots are visible to the naked eye...perhaps I'll have a nursery full of larvae tonight.
Now a note about the snails that I've added to the nursery, I added them too soon! On several occassions I've caught the adult PS killing them for a little escargot even though they are very well fed....so not a good idea to add the snails until after the larvae have arrived and the adults have been moved back to the broodstock tank. With this new diet that the adults are on I've observed significant growth and of course this prolonged period of carrying the eggs. We are now at day 22, I was of the understanding that it only takes 10-14 days for the larvae to hatch as was my experience with the first batch. Now, I'm starting to think that this prolonged period is far better and should produce higher quality larvae (time will tell) and that the previous 14 day
cycle may well be a premature
cycle as a result of poor nutrition (this is only an idea based on what I'm currently observing).
Now as far as the system goes, I am running a set of NO flourescents across the broodstock and the nursery; however, because the nursery has very little flow through I am starting to see the development of
cyano , so the plan is to move the lights to a position several feet above to create more of an ambient lighting effect. If this doesn't help with the
cyano then I'll switch to a light source for the broodstock only tank and leave the nursery with no direct lights. (The photoperiod is important to get the PS to keep spawning).
....my next entry should be the announcment of the larvae (I hope).