Pompon spawning mops

The pompons are from Oriental Trading. They are lower quality than the green poly shakers but are 1/2 the price. I have them all floating in a tub of fresh water to see how they saturate. So far it might take a while, or a wash with soap to get them fully submerged and more weight maybe needed. The smallest sinking model will work great in a spawning tub, or for a squeeze media.

The kit

Float and weights

Aluminum fishing net float and ceramic insulators for electric fences

Cut off the handle

Snip

Handle removed

Feed the zip tie through the insulator then around the pompon, back through the insulator and zip the tie

The mechanism of the tie keeps it from falling through the insulator

The cut end of the zip tie is very sharp  

Melt it with a lighter to save your buckles and the fish's scales

Melted

Finished single sinking spawning mop

Triple (3 pompons) on a large ceramic insulator

Single floating spawning mop

Double floating spawning mop

Four versions

And a fifth version. 

Floating 4 PomPon spawning mop.

Penn Plax Aqua Plant Baby Hide-Out

http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquarium-plants/11442-519239/aqua-plant-baby-hide-out.html

http://www.amazon.com/Penn-Hide-Out-Breading-Grass-Aquarium/dp/B0002565KM

Eggs on the hand...

Embryos in the pans.

Israeli Yellow Blue Belly Goldfish

Bristol Shubunkin Apogee poly mop spawn 7/21/11 (hatched 7/23/11

This is a natural in tank spawn of Bristol Shubunkins (Wolf).  It took place on 7/21/11 which was one week past the full moon, and was when the moon reached Apogee, which is when the moon is the furthest from the earth in it's elliptical orbit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/moon

Mop loaded with eggs.

The spawn was incubated in a floating tub with light aeration.  Hatched in 72 hours.  There were very few infertile egg and 500 to 1,000 fry.  After they had hatched the mop needed to be removed as it took up most of the space in the tub.  The mop was slowly removed shaking it lightly as it was removed.  It was then transferred to a new tub of water to look for any stragglers.  There were a total of 5 fry trapped in the polymop.

The mop floating in the spawning tank.

Make your own Countdown Clocks

Green poly mop

Green poly mop

48 hour hatch on green poly mop.

Green Poly Shaker Spawning Mop

Green Poly Shaker is made of 512 strands of bright green plastic that measures approximately 12" long and has a white plastic stick (stick measures approximately 12" long).

http://www.amazon.com/Beistle-Company-Green-Poly-Shaker/dp/B002TJLII8

Weighted Spawning Mop: Surface and midwater rig

Acrylic yarn made into 6x short spawning mops with 50 strands each.

Tied around a ceramic electric fence insulator.

Airline fed through the ceramic weights then knotted to keep one at the surface and one midwater.

Top mop.

Midwater mop and bottom weight with air.

Deep water spawning rig

Film Canister float, top mops




Midwater mop

Fry Grass with ceramic fence insulator weight