Are these eggs?! No bubbles anymore, but unknown orbs remain?

[Vengified]

So what are you going to buy with the credit you get from supplying the local shops with gouramis?

I have no idea honestly. They only apply it to "Fish Credit" so I cant use it on food or equipment, which I could actually use at the moment, and I'm all full on fish (especially with a Tupperware on our kitchen floor, the wife ain't happy). I will have to just hold onto it for a while, until we have room for more tanks, and then after getting some more, or a bigger one, then I can think about more fish. Dang little apartment we stuck in...

 

[Colin_T]

That's pretty crappy having fish only credit. Tell them to catch up with the rest of the world and let you use the credit for anything fish related. Over here you get store credit and can buy anything in the shop with it, doesn't have to be fish related. Otherwise buy fish with the credit and sell them online and get cash for them. Sell them on ebay, gumtree or craig's list and say pick up only, 200miles northeast of Montana

 

[Vengified]

Sell them on ebay, gumtree or craig's list and say pick up only, 200miles northeast of Montana

Are you saying gum tree is 200 miles northeast, or you are? Lol. If it is you, I sure hope you brought a lot more than Aussie clothes! It went from summer, to the beginning of winter, right quick! Not full on winter, as it got just below freezing last night, we have another 60 degrees to go down, hit the negative 30s before I call it winter, and we are getting our cold from the north so...

The only problem with buying fish, and selling them, is that I would have to know what fish are desirable, for any of those selling methods, and more importantly, have a place to put them. On top of that, I would have to NOT get attached and want to keep them.

The store is rather behind in some ways, but is the only decent store for getting fish within 100 miles. They do ONLY fish, and then have a dog food store attached. But that's ALL it is, dog food, treats, fish, fish related products, unlike Petco, or Petsmart, which is all types of pets, or WalMart, which is everything, and those are my local options. Well, there is the one guy, who sets up aquariums, and does maintenance on them, whom I purchased my frogbit and christmas moss from. He also told me if I want to trade RCS later, to make sure and diversify bloodlines, to send him a message. He only does fresh shrimp, and salt seahorses (is there even a fresh seahorse?) And he actually just had a set breed and has a bunch of baby seahorses he is selling!

Anyways, I dont have plans for fish credit yet. Used some of what I had to get my 3 Pea Puffers, which are doing wonderfully in my community tank, (MUCH BETTER than my two wild honey gouramis), so I only have a couple bucks left, but its indefinite as long as the shop is open. I enjoy the raising of fry, more as a casual hobby, just to see them grow and change. It's fun and educational for my 5 year old as well. I must say also, that despite my opinion that pea puffers are about the cutest fish EVER, these gourami fry growing, are sure getting cute with their ITTY BITTY little feelers developing! Looks like little tiny hairs hanging down that they wave around, lol.

 

[Colin_T]

There are no freshwater seahorses but there are freshwater pipefish (related to seahorses), although most pipefish are saltwater too.

Seahorses are cool and I reckon your kids would love them. They are also endangered now so the more people breeding them, the better.

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I must admit I enjoyed watching baby fish grow. They start off being clear and tiny and swimming around just under the surface as plankton. Then they start to go silver on the sides and move into the water column. Then colour up as they mature.

That's an interesting blue colour on the baby in the first pic. Do they all have it?

 

[Vengified]

There are no freshwater seahorses but there are freshwater pipefish (related to seahorses), although most pipefish are saltwater too.

Seahorses are cool and I reckon your kids would love them. They are also endangered now so the more people breeding them, the better.

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I must admit I enjoyed watching baby fish grow. They start off being clear and tiny and swimming around just under the surface as plankton. Then they start to go silver on the sides and move into the water column. Then colour up as they mature.

That's an interesting blue colour on the baby in the first pic. Do they all have it?

Sorry for the long delay in a response! Been getting kinda crazy around here with the normal daily back and forth work, kid to school, baby fish tank, and then getting ready for baby human on the way!

As for the color, no other fish have exhibited that bluish hue, just that one. I find it amusing, since I threw a few in the community tank, all lived, but he/she is the only one with the blue tint. Think I have to keep him now, my wife named him "Ace" to keep with my sons "superhero" name scheme for all his fish... In either case, he is as large as my pea puffers now (obviously not as round and fat), and still has a "rainbow" shimmer as I call it, as it kinda changes color as he moves. But ya, hes just shy of 1 inch, and he is smaller than most of the fry in their own tank!

I did notice though, for some reason or another, that a BUNCH of the fry, developed bent spines, S shapes, like if you layed an 'S' sideways, or like this symbol, ~ so I'm not positive on the cause. However, I do have a thoery: If the parents were not well nourished enough (because they repeatedly breed every 4-5 days) could it cause some of the broods or some of the fry, to be genetically weaker? This is my thoery, as the larger ones (5 weeks) are all perfectly healthy and shaped correctly, but a lot of the smaller ones (3-4 weeks) were the ones developing deformities. I know Mycobacterium Marinum is a possibility, and as such, I removed fish daily, that were exhibiting these symptoms, and as of now, no longer have any in my fry tank with mis-shapen spines, but I did throw the mis-shapen ones, in the adult gourami tank (figuring let nature do its thing, and if they live, so be it, but will never be bred if they do, etc) anyways, most got eaten, others are hiding I am sure, but the adults havent changed at all, would they not catch the fish TB if that was the case and they ingested infected fish? This is why I removed them ASAP, to make sure I didnt infect 100+ fry, if that was the case. Dont worry, I wore heavy duty neoprene and something or other gloves, which state they can be used with acid and other harsh chemicals, so I was sure I couldnt get it somehow. IF that was a possible explanation...

Anyways, I'm rambling and making this post super long. Sorry. If you have thoughts, let me know! Other than what's stated, puffers and guppies are all doing great together still!

 

[Colin_T]

It's not TB that caused the s in the fry. It is most likely water quality or poor genetics. If the problem is only affecting fry from the same batch, then it is most likely genetic, assuming water quality is good.

Separating the adult male and female for 2 weeks between breeding, will allow the male to develop stronger sperm and should fix the problem.

Protozoan infections can kill fry and might be an issue but if you are cleaning the tank regularly and washing out rearing containers between use, that is unlikely to be the cause.

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There are hundreds of Mycobacteria species around the world and they affect all sorts of different animals. They have been around for millions of years and are a slow growing bacterium that takes months or even years to grow sufficiently to kill fish so is unlikely to be involved with the s shaped fry.

Fish, bird & reptile TB can only infect your skin if you have open wounds, cuts, sores that are exposed to the Mycobacteria through direct contact. In fish TB you can get it if you get contaminated water on a cut or scratch that hasn't healed over. Even then most people with a healthy immune system will not develop a localised infection. People with an impaired immune system (heart disease, diabetes, hepatitis, cancer, etc) are more likely to develop localised TB infections in their skin. This can be prevented by avoiding contact with contaminated water when you have cuts and scratches. Wearing rubber gloves will stop water getting onto the skin, and washing your hands and arms with warm soapy water after working in an aquarium will prevent infection too.

If you get a small sore on your hands or arms and it doesn't heal in a couple of weeks, tell your doctor you keep fish and would like a swab taken and sent off for testing. Inform the doctor that you have concerns about Tuberculosis (TB) and wait for the results.

Most doctors will try to put you on anti-biotics while you wait but avoid medications until you know what is causing the problem. Then take the appropriate medication.

You can try raw honey on the wounds while you wait for the pathology results. Wash the wound, dry it and apply a blob of honey to the site. Rub it into the wound and apply a bandage to stop it going everywhere. Remove the bandage and wash the area every 12 hours, before reapplying more honey and a clean bandage. Honey has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties and has been used for thousands of years to treat minor infections.