My first Microglanis aff. poecilus spawn

[bekateen]

Hi All,

I just returned from a four day weekend visiting Eric Bodrock, Regina Spotti and the GPASI. What a fun weekend. Got back this afternoon and discovered a sheet of moldy eggs lining the floor of the "egg catcher" I created for the

Microglanis aff_poecilus

from the Rio Blanco (I made the same box for my Rio Nanay population too).

Even though I think all the eggs are fungused, I moved them to a breeder box and treated them with a few drops of methylene blue. If any hatch I think it'll be a miracle, but just getting the eggs, and the fact that so many are in the breeder box (vs. NOT in the box) is a joy for me.

Let's see if I can get the adults to spawn again while I'm here so I can try to rescue the eggs sooner.

Cheers, Eric

[Shane]

That is a great start!
-Shane

[Mexnotex]

Congratulations my friend, you are in a roll there sir.
Martín

[bekateen]

Thanks guys. A roll, yes it feels like it. Won't last forever, but I'll enjoy it while I can.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

SPAWN #2: Second spawn of my

Microglanis aff_poecilus

Rio Blanco found this morning. I collected approximately 57 (my best count on three tries) eggs, most looking good but a couple are already white. These are tiny eggs - 0.9mm diameter, with a pale amber, almost clear, color.

I know these eggs weren't here yesterday at 6pm, so they were laid between 6PM 3-May and 10AM 4-May. This is already a great date (either Star Wars Day or Dave Brubeck Day depending on your affinities), but now it's even better... actually, even better than that! I found a spawn of my

Ancistrus sp`Wabenmuster`

this morning (first spawn in years) and last night at bedtime I found another spawn of my Ancistrus aff. bodenhameri (

Ancistrus sp(8)

).

Let's hope these microglanis eggs hatch!

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

I suspect these Microglanis fry, if the eggs hatch, will behave like the Amblydoras fry did and swim into foam if it's available. To avoid that fate, I've lowered the water level in the breeder box and replaced the inflow water current with a simple airstone in the box. We'll do manual water changes with a turkey baster. This removes the risk that the fish can swim up to the outflow with foam, so now the babies can't get stuck in foam.

[characinkid]

Hi Eric,
I have learned the same lesson as you with these Fluval breeder boxes in raising Tatia as mine used to get stuck in the foam or in the grill from the outlet. I now exclusively use the Zeiss boxes for Tatia with the inlet higher than the water level, but still use the Fluval boxes for Cory's as they tend to stay on the bottom of the box.

Good luck with these, will be great to see them hatch.

[bekateen]

More eggs laid in the last two hours!

[bekateen]

Hi Eric,
I have learned the same lesson as you with these Fluval breeder boxes in raising Tatia as mine used to get stuck in the foam or in the grill from the outlet. I now exclusively use the Zeiss boxes for Tatia with the inlet higher than the water level, but still use the Fluval boxes for Cory's as they tend to stay on the bottom of the box.

Good luck with these, will be great to see them hatch.

Thanks @characinkid. I've never used or owned a Zeiss box. Worth a try. I think these Fluval boxes will work well in this way I've got them now, so that the babies will have nowhere to get stuck (unless they can wedge into the layers of the airstone... LOL).

With the extra eggs, I hope we have a good production to show for this, if I can raise them well.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

Found a few more new eggs at 2:30AM when I was leaving work. Didn't collect them because it's late. I'll get them in the morning when I return to work.

[bekateen]

None of the eggs hatched as of today. I suspect none are good.

[sturiosoma]

None of the eggs hatched as of today. I suspect none are good.

Eric what size tank do you have these in and how many fish.

Jeanne

[bekateen]

10 gallon tank housing 3 adults, each 1" long

[sturiosoma]

10 gallon tank housing 3 adults, each 1" long

Don't know what your doing for a trigger, but you seem to have that down pat with 3 spawns, but fertilization sounds like the problem do you think that lowering the water level would concentrate the fertilization process, so in other words apply your trigger but don't fill the tank up as high as you usually do.

Jeanne

[bekateen]

do you think that lowering the water level would concentrate the fertilization process, so in other words apply your trigger but don't fill the tank up as high as you usually do.

Jeanne

Hi Jeanne,

Good question. I don't know if fertilization is the issue or water conditions for eggs, etc. Hopefully I get more chances to find out.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

SPAWN #3:Three new eggs this morning. One looks larger and white than the other two. Bad egg? Or just older egg? My vote is older, but time will tell.

Cheers,
Eric

[bekateen]

SPAWN #5: Another spawn today, only about a dozen eggs found. I don't know if that's all they laid overnight or if that's all that fell into the egg-catcher.

There was also a small spawn on 22 May SPAWN #4. None of those eggs hatched. In fact, to date no eggs have hatched.

This time I'm adding a double dose of Pimafix with hopes that fungus is the culprit and the Pimafix controls the fungus.

Cheers, Eric

[sturiosoma]

Eric did you try lowering your water level and what is your male female ratio?

Jeanne

[bekateen]

Eric did you try lowering your water level and what is your male female ratio?

Jeanne

I have only one male and two females of these. I don't have a lot of play in the sex ratio. As far as water level, no.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

Uggh. Again, all the eggs have fungused. I think I should play with pH or return to the methylene blue dip I tried before.

[Shane]

Eric,
Two things: Reading up on raising rarer tetra spawns (also egg scatterers) I have come across two pieces of information that you might want to experiment with. Light sensitivity is a well known issue with tetra eggs and newly hatched fry. We don't talk about light sensitivity much with catfish eggs and fry, but it would seem logical it could be a potential issue with some spp.
Second, some tetra breeders are having success hatching out the eggs in 100% rainwater. I have never experimented with this, but if you are getting constant eggs it could be worth a try. Eggs were simply hatched in a one gallon milk jug (opaque to block light) with a gentle air stone. After yolk absorption they were drip acclimated
to tap and raised without issue.
Just throwing some ideas your way.
-Shane

[bekateen]

Eric,
Two things: Reading up on raising rarer tetra spawns (also egg scatterers) I have come across two pieces of information that you might want to experiment with. Light sensitivity is a well known issue with tetra eggs and newly hatched fry. We don't talk about light sensitivity much with catfish eggs and fry, but it would seem logical it could be a potential issue with some spp.
Second, some tetra breeders are having success hatching out the eggs in 100% rainwater. I have never experimented with this, but if you are getting constant eggs it could be worth a try. Eggs were simply hatched in a one gallon milk jug (opaque to block light) with a gentle air stone. After yolk absorption they were drip acclimated
to tap and raised without issue.
Just throwing some ideas your way.
-Shane

Thanks Shane. I've considered both of those factors for the Microglanis eggs. RE: light, the room is dark 90% of the day, but I do hit the eggs with an LED flashlight when I inspect and I turn in the overhead lights when I collect the eggs. Light may also be a factor with the Amblydoras eggs, but I'm getting a better hatch rate in these last two Amblydoras spawns just by being more gentle with the eggs, so I won't change much with them for now.

SPAWN #6: A few new eggs on June 1. I'm putting them in 90٪ RO water.

Cheers, Eric

[sturiosoma]

I think that the poor hatch rate is due to poor fertilization, in nature egg scatters spawn in very shallow water to concentrate the fertilization process.

Jeanne

[bekateen]

I think that the poor hatch rate is due to poor fertilization, in nature egg scatters spawn in very shallow water to concentrate the fertilization process.

Jeanne

"Poor hatch rate" is an understatement... It's zero for the Microglanis.

Cheers,
Eric

[sturiosoma]

I think that the poor hatch rate is due to poor fertilization, in nature egg scatters spawn in very shallow water to concentrate the fertilization process.

Jeanne

"Poor hatch rate" is an understatement... It's zero for the Microglanis.

Cheers,
Eric

Yes but I believe you will have success if you can get them to spawn in the syno breeder you added to their tank, and maybe even a tank divider to lessen the available space, I have the plastic needlepoint canvas and suction cup dividers, I will post pics.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0824 ... psc=1,this plastic can be had in different widths, I guess what I'm trying to say is that with you only having 3 fish and one of which is a male and they are small fish, me personally I would put a divider in the tank and cramp their style, just my thoughts.

Jeanne

Jeanne

[bekateen]

ADMIN note: Since this post and the previous five posts are about the Microglanis aff. poecilus eggs (not Amblydoras eggs), I'm moving these posts to the Microglanis aff. poecilus spawning thread.

Yes but I believe you will have success if you can get them to spawn in the syno breeder you added to their tank, and maybe even a tank divider to lessen the available space, I have the plastic needlepoint canvas and suction cup dividers, I will post pics.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0824 ... psc=1,this plastic can be had in different widths, I guess what I'm trying to say is that with you only having 3 fish and one of which is a male and they are small fish, me personally I would put a divider in the tank and cramp their style, just my thoughts.

Jeanne

I understand. I'm already using the needlepoint canvas on the egg catcher, but you're right that the fish can swim anywhere in the 10-gallon tank. The inverted pot with the synodontis-style setup sits atop the egg catcher they're already spawning over, so the pot itself should act as a water barrier to concentrate sperm to fertilize eggs at least as well as the flow-through canvas (which wouldn't restrict water flow or sperm dispersion).

SPAWN #6: I arrived at work today to find 4 eggs in the egg catcher under the Synodontis pot, but the eggs weren't directly beneath the pot... I don't know if these eggs were released inside or outside of the pot but they did fall into the egg catcher.

I don't have rainwater, but I do have RO water. I've moved these four eggs into one of the FLUVAL breeder boxes with an airstone (not bubble-through flow) and I filled the box with RO water, not tank water. Let's see what happens.

If this fails, the other thing I'm contemplating to employ is an actual egg tumbler. I have one of the Cobalt style egg tumblers.

Cheers, Eric

Below is one of the pots I made using the concept for Synodontis but adding a mop inside. I call it "mop-in-a-pot."

[bekateen]

SPAWN #6: A few new eggs on June 1. I'm putting them in 90٪ RO water.

Cheers, Eric

Again, ugh. No eggs hatched.

[sturiosoma]

ADMIN note: Since this post and the previous five posts are about the Microglanis aff. poecilus eggs (not Amblydoras eggs), I'm moving these posts to the Microglanis aff. poecilus spawning thread.

Yes but I believe you will have success if you can get them to spawn in the syno breeder you added to their tank, and maybe even a tank divider to lessen the available space, I have the plastic needlepoint canvas and suction cup dividers, I will post pics.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0824 ... psc=1,this plastic can be had in different widths, I guess what I'm trying to say is that with you only having 3 fish and one of which is a male and they are small fish, me personally I would put a divider in the tank and cramp their style, just my thoughts.

Jeanne

I understand. I'm already using the needlepoint canvas on the egg catcher, but you're right that the fish can swim anywhere in the 10-gallon tank. The inverted pot with the synodontis-style setup sits atop the egg catcher they're already spawning over, so the pot itself should act as a water barrier to concentrate sperm to fertilize eggs at least as well as the flow-through canvas (which wouldn't restrict water flow or sperm dispersion).

SPAWN #6: I arrived at work today to find 4 eggs in the egg catcher under the Synodontis pot, but the eggs weren't directly beneath the pot... I don't know if these eggs were released inside or outside of the pot but they did fall into the egg catcher.

I don't have rainwater, but I do have RO water. I've moved these four eggs into one of the FLUVAL breeder boxes with an airstone (not bubble-through flow) and I filled the box with RO water, not tank water. Let's see what happens.

If this fails, the other thing I'm contemplating to employ is an actual egg tumbler. I have one of the Cobalt style egg tumblers.

Cheers, Eric

Below is one of the pots I made using the concept for Synodontis but adding a mop inside. I call it "mop-in-a-pot."

Eric have you always had the mop inside the pot.

Jeanne

[bekateen]

Eric have you always had the mop inside the pot.

Jeanne

No never before. This is a new experiment for me.

Cheers, Eric

[sturiosoma]

ADMIN note: Since this post and the previous five posts are about the Microglanis aff. poecilus eggs (not Amblydoras eggs), I'm moving these posts to the Microglanis aff. poecilus spawning thread.

Yes but I believe you will have success if you can get them to spawn in the syno breeder you added to their tank, and maybe even a tank divider to lessen the available space, I have the plastic needlepoint canvas and suction cup dividers, I will post pics.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0824 ... psc=1,this plastic can be had in different widths, I guess what I'm trying to say is that with you only having 3 fish and one of which is a male and they are small fish, me personally I would put a divider in the tank and cramp their style, just my thoughts.

Jeanne

I understand. I'm already using the needlepoint canvas on the egg catcher, but you're right that the fish can swim anywhere in the 10-gallon tank. The inverted pot with the synodontis-style setup sits atop the egg catcher they're already spawning over, so the pot itself should act as a water barrier to concentrate sperm to fertilize eggs at least as well as the flow-through canvas (which wouldn't restrict water flow or sperm dispersion).

SPAWN #6: I arrived at work today to find 4 eggs in the egg catcher under the Synodontis pot, but the eggs weren't directly beneath the pot... I don't know if these eggs were released inside or outside of the pot but they did fall into the egg catcher.

I don't have rainwater, but I do have RO water. I've moved these four eggs into one of the FLUVAL breeder boxes with an airstone (not bubble-through flow) and I filled the box with RO water, not tank water. Let's see what happens.

If this fails, the other thing I'm contemplating to employ is an actual egg tumbler. I have one of the Cobalt style egg tumblers.

Cheers, Eric

Below is one of the pots I made using the concept for Synodontis but adding a mop inside. I call it "mop-in-a-pot."

Eric how deep is that pot.

Jeanne