Woo Hoo - They finally did it! - Again! And Again!

Owch · Post by **Owch** » 07 Nov 2005, 23:36

And this evening we have swimmers, this is the third time this has happened to me but it still amazes me

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 08 Nov 2005, 00:39

my albino male has been on eggs for 5-6 days and none have hatched yet. Temp. is 74-75. Should they have hatched by now?

I can see them and they're all orange and intact. No fungus that I can see. And if they were infertile, wouldn't he have eaten/expelled them, by now?

I'm not in a hurry, just wondering what's up. This is my first spawn...

Thanks!

Andy

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 08 Nov 2005, 00:50

It takes between 10 and 14 days around 25'C/77'F for the eggs to become free-swimming, and the first several days there isn't much (visible) development, so I'm pretty sure you're fine at the moment. As you say, if they are infertile or something else is going wrong, the male would sort that out by expelling/eating the eggs.

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Mats

nightowl1350 · Post by **nightowl1350** » 08 Nov 2005, 01:39

Andy, your temp is just a bit low so it will take longer to hatch out. If there is no fungus just give them some time. It may speed things up if you raise the temp a bit at a time to 78.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 08 Nov 2005, 04:49

will do, thanks!

I just did a water change and noticed a little orange blob wiggling around in the corner. My first fry! He looks like a little egg with a tail. I wish he was in the cave with dad, but hopefully he'll be ok. He seems very capable of sticking to the safety of the glass.

yay! now I'm off to steal some nylons from my girlfriend to cover the filter intakes.

Owch · Post by **Owch** » 08 Nov 2005, 08:34

Even when hatched, they look like orange eggs with tails. The only noyicable change in the dark cave, was that the eggs had moved......... to the roof!

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 08 Nov 2005, 19:35

when the rest of the fry emerge from the cave, I'm planning on sucking them up with a turkey baster and raising them in a breeder net. (the kind that hangs on the side of the main tank).

Is this a good idea, or should I just let them roam the main tank with the adults? I'm primarily concerned with them getting continuous access to food, and I also think that it would be easier to clean up after them this way.

What does everyone else do with new fry?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 08 Nov 2005, 19:45

I would recommend keeping them in there, unless you have some predators in there.

It gets pretty crowded in the breeder net. I've got some 50-60 in a net at the moment, but I'd rather have them in a tank if I had the space to keep them separate. Also, cleaning them out may be easier, but you also have a smaller area that gets dirty, so you need to clean them out more often too.

When it comes to ancistrus babies, they are pretty decent at finding food as long as it's available somewhere in the tank.

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Mats

nightowl1350 · Post by **nightowl1350** » 08 Nov 2005, 20:22

Unless they will be eaten by other tank mates it would be best to leave them. You may damage them as you transfer them. It might be better to remove andy fish that would eat them.

Next time, if you plan to move them out of the tank hatch the eggs in a 10g with water from the tank they were layed in (or combined with fresh aged or dechlor water)and a cycled sponge filter. Put Dad and eggs (cave and all) in the 10g.

drpleco · Post by **drpleco** » 09 Nov 2005, 00:57

Thanks everyone. I guess I'll just leave them be, since I don't have anything except other bristlenose in the tank. I guess I'm just overprotective (first time dad

)