183a has knocked the eggs out

beemzer109 · Post by **beemzer109** » 21 Oct 2005, 22:31

Hello,
My 183a's spawned about three days ago. The male has been inside the cave fanning the eggs. Today we noticed that he has pushed the eggs out. They appear to be developing. What do I do, should I put them back. How would I pick them up. Thankyou again for your advice to this newbie.

j4782 · Post by **j4782** » 22 Oct 2005, 00:15

Are you sure they haven't hatched already? Look for tiny wriggling fins on those loose 'eggs.' A number of fish hatch and carry around the yolks for a while.

If possible, scoop them by swishing the water around to try to get the eggs off the substrate without squishing them (catch the egg when it floats up).

Putting them back in the cave or in a breeder net (or other small container) depends on if you want to watch them develop.

I've only had one fry escape the cave like that. It went back in the cave.

Post by **Janne** » 22 Oct 2005, 08:53

Scoop them up in a net and let it hang into the water, if the water are of good quality they will develope and hatch, the male will not accept them back if you try to put them in the cave and he will sweap them out again.
This happens sometimes with Ancistrus species of several reasons, either have the male been to much disturbed or in this case it can also be that the water is not soft enough.
L183 require soft and acid water to succeed, 120-150 ÂµS and a pH around 6,0-6,5 with very low nitrate level will make them happy.

Janne

beemzer109 · Post by **beemzer109** » 22 Oct 2005, 09:38

Thankyou for all your help.I checked on the eggs and some are clear and some appear to be developing. I will keep you posted.