Would anyone know of any alternative sources to purchase "small" breeding boxes (Tubingen style)? It seems that Klaus-Jurgen Schwartz is too busy to make them these days (unless you purchase his tank system).
Dear Didier,
I'm not sure what a "Tubigen-style" breeding box is, but we use 1 gallon
clear plastic "economy aquaria" from Connecticut Valley Biological Supply
Co., Inc.--800-628-7748. They cost $5 ea if you buy 5 or more, they are easy
to clean and store and they last forever. Cat. # A 2108. We make a simple mesh
insert to separate the breeding fish from the eggs.
Good Luck.--Julie Sandell
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From: Julie SANDELL
Dear Didier,
We buy the mesh from a company called Internet, Inc. (pretty confusing
choice of names, isn't it?). Their phone number is 800-328-8456, address is
2730 Nevada Avenue North, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55427. The particular mesh
we use is #XB1130, high density black polyethylene mesh, 1/8 inch mesh size,
36 inches wide and in 1993 (the last time we ordered it), it was 61
cents/linear foot. We bought a big roll and cut off what we need.
We have used it 2 ways: Take a square sheet (2 x 2 ft) and push the middle down into the water in the breeding box, leaving the edges sticking up into the air. You have to make sure that there is sufficient area and depth in the "well" that you have created with the mesh so that the fish aren't high and dry, and we usually tape the outside edges of the mesh to the outside of the breeding box to make sure that the mesh doesn't spring out of the box in the middle of the night (the mesh is very stiff and wants to stay flat). This arrangement seems to be especially useful if you are breeding a single pair, because the irregular contours of the mesh "well" that you create leaves some nooks and crannies for the fish to mate in, and we suspect that if you only have one male and one female the eggs have a better chance of being fertilized if the male chases the female into a confined space. The other way we have used the net (and the one my technician prefers) is to fashion the net permanently into a "bucket" with an open top that just fits inside the breeding box (like a rectangular mesh bucket). We cut the mesh, fold in the corners and secure them with little plastic ties that I believe are also sold by Internet Inc. We got a fistful of ties from Gerhard Heinrich's lab, so we have never bought our own. I think they are sold in enormous quantities. The bucket type of insert is very convenient and works well when you have several pairs in one breeding box. We do cover the top of the open bucket with another loose piece of mesh because we have had a number of fish leap out onto the floor and perish.
I hope that this all is helpful. It takes a lot of words to try to describe something that is actually very simple!
The breeding boxes come from:
outer part: Semadeni, Switzerland
inner part: Gies Plastic, Germany.
On these you have to cut off the bottom
and have it replaced with a stainless steel mesh. Let me know if you want
to try getting them, then I ll give you details.
Dr. Michael Brand
Max-Planck Institut fuer Entwicklungsbiologie
Abt. Genetik
Spemannstr. 35 - 3
72076 Tuebingen
FR of Germany
Good luck, Gary
If you're looking for something that works the same, is cheap and fits into the smallest size mousecage, you can try the breeding traps that we use. Do you remember the green cages we were using when you stopped in last time? Let me know if these interest you and I'll send you the complete information on how and where to order them from.
If you like, I'll also ask Paul and Paul in the machine shop to get you a quote, since I have a few of the Tubingen style breeding cages here that they could use for a model.
Hope all is well in fish land.
Didier- sorry for the delayed response; we have home made mouse cages cut off with stainless steel mesh for bottoms.
I was about to make some more from extra material I collected earlier, and have asked my tech to look up the specifics (company, model numbers, mailing addresses and phone numbers). Last time I tried several ways involving cutting stainless steel mesh, cutting off bottoms of polypropylene mouse cages for insertion into intact polycarbonate mouse cages, and using a hot plate to melt the stainless steel mesh into the plastic. Obviously, too much heat melts too much plastic, and precision in cutting is important. You will need metal shears for the mesh and use of a carbide blade table saw to cut off the bottoms. A Corning hot plate works well. Be sure to do this in a hood, since if you burn the plastic at all it will release toxic fumes.
Since the previous construction was not entirely satisfactory, I can tell you more details of construction after I make my latest batch of cages.