(or these are snail eggs) If they are his eggs, should I remove them from the tank and set up a breeding tank? I have 4 Zebra loaches, 3 Turquoise Rainbows, 3 BB puffers, 8 Black Phantom tetras, 1 Whiptail Cat, and a Peacock Eel in this tank.Hemiloricaria Sp (L010a) -- Possibly Breeding
Hemiloricaria Sp (L010a) -- Possibly Breeding
Okay, I'm new to the forum. I bought two of these about 4 months ago. I arbitrarily decided that the large one was male and the small one was female (which is probably opposite.) However, now the large one is guarding eggs. I think they've bred! (or these are snail eggs) If they are his eggs, should I remove them from the tank and set up a breeding tank? I have 4 Zebra loaches, 3 Turquoise Rainbows, 3 BB puffers, 8 Black Phantom tetras, 1 Whiptail Cat, and a Peacock Eel in this tank.
(or these are snail eggs) If they are his eggs, should I remove them from the tank and set up a breeding tank? I have 4 Zebra loaches, 3 Turquoise Rainbows, 3 BB puffers, 8 Black Phantom tetras, 1 Whiptail Cat, and a Peacock Eel in this tank.-
pleco_breeder
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Hello and welcome to the forum,
Your best bet is to get the male and his eggs out of the tank as quickly as possible. They are usually pretty good at guarding their eggs, but the fry are usually kicked out to fend for themselves as they hatch. That usually takes 5 days at 80 degrees and can vary by a day or so depending on the temperature. Make sure to keep the male and nest submerged in water as you move them to the new tank. Once the fry hatch, keep them in as small a tank as possible to condense the amount of food around them and do partial at least once, preferably twice a day to keep the water parameters in check. They usually don't feed at night until they are about 6 weeks old, so pull all the excess food out before turning the lights out. Just remember to put some back each morning since they starve very easily.
Larry Vires
Your best bet is to get the male and his eggs out of the tank as quickly as possible. They are usually pretty good at guarding their eggs, but the fry are usually kicked out to fend for themselves as they hatch. That usually takes 5 days at 80 degrees and can vary by a day or so depending on the temperature. Make sure to keep the male and nest submerged in water as you move them to the new tank. Once the fry hatch, keep them in as small a tank as possible to condense the amount of food around them and do partial at least once, preferably twice a day to keep the water parameters in check. They usually don't feed at night until they are about 6 weeks old, so pull all the excess food out before turning the lights out. Just remember to put some back each morning since they starve very easily.
Larry Vires
Impossible only means that somebody hasn't done it correctly yet.
How wet?
Thanks for the reply! If I could bug you with some more questions...
I actually discovered the nest during a water change when I had the driftwood out of the tank. I will keep it wet as I do the transfer, is it possible that I've already done damage?
Should I remove the male as soon as the fry hatch? (Will he eat his babies?) How temperature sensitive are they, when I did the water change the temperature dropped to around 70 degrees. How elaborate should the breeding tank be, I would usually use a bare tank with an air bubbler.
I actually discovered the nest during a water change when I had the driftwood out of the tank. I will keep it wet as I do the transfer, is it possible that I've already done damage?
Should I remove the male as soon as the fry hatch? (Will he eat his babies?) How temperature sensitive are they, when I did the water change the temperature dropped to around 70 degrees. How elaborate should the breeding tank be, I would usually use a bare tank with an air bubbler.
-
pleco_breeder
- Posts: 892
- Joined: 09 Dec 2003, 16:51
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- Contact:
Hello again,
The fish are usually fine with their fry. I've never seen them to eat their fry, but it has been heard of. Usually they are very good parents. The only drawback I can see from your breeding tank idea is the filtration. I have tried to simplify my technique several times by going to foam filters, airstones, and anything else I could think of. They usually don't want to work with me unless I'm using a small power filter with a foam block over the intake. It has worked best for me when I put the cave, I use 3/4-1 inch PVC, in the direct current of the flow.
I doubt that you did any real damage to the spawn so long as the male returned to the nest. If it were critical, he would either abandon them or eat them as they went bad. On that note, I have seen spawns of over 100 eggs be less than 20 by the time they hatched for no apparent reason. I assume that one of the breeders just wasn't really prepared at the time since it is a random occurrence.
If this spawn fails, don't worry. In my experience, these fish can condition amazingly fast, and it is not uncommon for my pairs to get into a pattern of laying every 2 weeks for months on end. If it doesn't work out, just set them up in a 10 gallon bare bottom tank with a good cave and filtration. It will happen again. Raising the fry is the real trick since they don't seem to eat very well until they are about an inch long. Clean water and an abundance of food is the trick there.
Hope this helps,
Larry Vires
The fish are usually fine with their fry. I've never seen them to eat their fry, but it has been heard of. Usually they are very good parents. The only drawback I can see from your breeding tank idea is the filtration. I have tried to simplify my technique several times by going to foam filters, airstones, and anything else I could think of. They usually don't want to work with me unless I'm using a small power filter with a foam block over the intake. It has worked best for me when I put the cave, I use 3/4-1 inch PVC, in the direct current of the flow.
I doubt that you did any real damage to the spawn so long as the male returned to the nest. If it were critical, he would either abandon them or eat them as they went bad. On that note, I have seen spawns of over 100 eggs be less than 20 by the time they hatched for no apparent reason. I assume that one of the breeders just wasn't really prepared at the time since it is a random occurrence.
If this spawn fails, don't worry. In my experience, these fish can condition amazingly fast, and it is not uncommon for my pairs to get into a pattern of laying every 2 weeks for months on end. If it doesn't work out, just set them up in a 10 gallon bare bottom tank with a good cave and filtration. It will happen again. Raising the fry is the real trick since they don't seem to eat very well until they are about an inch long. Clean water and an abundance of food is the trick there.
Hope this helps,
Larry Vires
Impossible only means that somebody hasn't done it correctly yet.
thanks again!
Thanks again for the reply, your info and exerience have been extremely helpful hopefully I get some fry.