I have been trying to breed some catfish and have been able to get eggs a few times but they always seem to be taken over by spawn fungus before they can hatch. At first i tried keeping them in a floating mesh basket spread in a single layer but the fungus got them. Tried a few ways to increase the O2 and water flow but that didnt help either. Also tried making a little tumbler but the fungus still killed all my eggs.
I have been using the same tank and same setup. Should I dose with a fungicied like acriflavin a little while before to kill any fungus hiding out in the system or should I sterilize the whole thing? The problem I have with sterilizing is that the beneficial bacteria will die too and when the eggs hatch there will be some serious nitrogen spikes.
I have heard that catfish (Synodontis) eggs are quite sensitive to chemicals but could I maybe dose the tank before hand and then leave it for a few days or even put in some carbon a few days later. Any ideas? The first spawning resulted in some live fry but ever since the fungus has killed absolutely everything
I also tried to breed my A. ramirezi's in the same tank (a few months later) and the eggs also got taken by fungus even though the parents were there fanning and they have raised 3 clutches of eggs before with no problems. How can I fix this?
Thanks
SynoSteff