Glowlight Tetra Fry

[David J]

Hi

I got 6 glowlight tetra about 3 weeks ago. They went into my 90L. The other inhabitants are lemon tetra.

Today, when doing routine maintenance, I found a glowlight tetra fry. Here is a link to a pic of it. It is about 3/4 of a centimetre long.

http/i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu120/DavMars/image-14.jpg

This obviously came as quite a surprise. When I first got the glowlight a I noticed that one of them was very fat. After reading up, at the time I concluded that it was fat because the females are plumper than the males. I did originally wonder if it was pregnant but eventually dismissed it because I read about what it takes to breed them and figured it just wouldn't be possible. But there it is. It spends most of its time in the cave and seems healthy. The lemon tetras have shown interest but don't look like they are going to eat it.

Does anyone have any advice etc?

Thanks,

David

 

[David J]

Hi

Despite the lack of replies to my original post, I thought I'd post an update anyway.

The glowlight fry is still alive. My best guess is that he is around 4 or 5 weeks old. The big news however, is that it is actually a lemon tetra. Now that it is a bit bigger i can see it is definately a lemon.

 

[daizeUK]

You must be chuffed!  Your tank is looking great too

 

[Shelster]

Excellent!
I have never seen any young in my tanks - did see an egg on a plant once, but it was eaten as soon as I spotted it

 

[David J]

I never even noticed any eggs. When I first spotted it i assumed it was a glowlight because the glowlights had only been in for a wee while and one of the females was REALLY fat. Because I hadn't made any effort to breed anything, I was amazed to see this but assumed that the female glowlight was pregnant before I got her. Now that I can see it is a lemon tetra, it makes me even happier because it means that everything started in my tank.

 

[David J]

Update time. Tonight I spotted what I thought was the lemon tetra baby I've been talking about. Then, I spotted a 2nd one roughly the same size so I have 2, at least. They are so good at hiding. I'm amazed that there have been 2 in there without me realising.

Also, the glowlights are doing the jiggy dance so you never know, I might be in for some glowlight fry after all.

And finally, I have spied 5 clutches of snail eggs. I know the pest snails have been breeding because of the numerous small snails in the tank but this is the first time I've seen the eggs. My 3 assassins are eating snails but obviously not enough. I will now look at other ways to control the population.

Snails aside, I am delighted with the way things are going in the tank. The fish are obviously happy to be behaving the way they do.

 

[Shelster]

Pics if you can

 

[David J]

Hi

Here are a few links:


This is a short video of the tank. You will see the 2 baby lemons, both out of the plants today for the first time that I've seen.

http/s639.photobucket.com/user/DavMars/media/IMG_0276.mp4.html

This is a pic of one of the largest pest snails I have in the tank. Anyone any idea what kind it might be? I think it's just a pond snail.

http/i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu120/DavMars/image-20.jpg

This is one of the clutches of eggs (at the back left corner on the glass). Snail eggs? I think so.

http/i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu120/DavMars/image-19.jpg

Another one of the eggs. 3 clutches at/near the highest point on the wood. They look the same as the previous pic.

http/i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu120/DavMars/image-15.jpg

Another one of the bigger pest snail but from a different angle.

http/i639.photobucket.com/albums/uu120/DavMars/image-17.jpg



Let me know what you all think.

David

 

[daizeUK]

They're so big already!  How old are they now, about six weeks?  My platy fry are about a centimetre long at 3 weeks.
 
Congrats on a really lovely looking tank!  That plant growth is impressive.
 
 
That snail looks mahoosive!  Looks like a pond snail to me, from the shape of the shell.  There's a great snail ID thread here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/75554-snail-species/

 

[Shelster]

Lovely tank!

I love that great chunk of wood those babies are cute

I would suggest they are snail eggs, you'll have to get an assassin snail. (Providing you don't have pet snails in there like trumpet or golden apple?)

 

[David J]

Hi Daize,

I can only guess but yes, I think around 6 weeks but who knows how long they've been hiding. The snail is about a cm or so. Im fairly certain its a pond snail. The snails are getting out of control so need to act. I took a very quick count tonight and found 35 without even trying so I reckon there might be upto 100 in there if I really looked hard. I'm going to try lettuce in the next couple of days.

The elodea grows SO quickly. I have to cut it back every week now. Im considering changing it for something that grows slower but maybe i shouldnt be so fussy. as long as i dont let it get too untidy. The cabomba also grows fast but maybe an inch or 2 each week. The crypts at the front melted a wee bit at the beginning but look good now and are getting bigger nice and slowly. The moss is now growing well on the wood too. It is very slow but I'm happy with it.

You know, after many months of hard work, physical and mental, I realised a couple if weeks back that we forget to just enjoy the aquarium. We all work so hard at them and invest so much time and because there is such a steep learning curve I think it is easy to get caught up in the technical stuff and forget to sit down in front of the tank for no other reason but to enjoy it.

Dvid

Lovely tank!
I love that great chunk of wood those babies are cute
I would suggest they are snail eggs, you'll have to get an assassin snail. (Providing you don't have pet snails in there like trumpet or golden apple?)

Thank you very much.

I have 3 assassins in their and they do eat plenty snails but obviously can't keep up. I think i need to cut back on feeding. I'm thinking of posting a video to show how much flake etc i feed each day to see what folks think. I'll do that on another thread though.

David

 

[Shelster]

May I suggest vallis, java fern (this needs attaching to something) and amazon swords.

I have elodea but it drives me nuts! Cabomba just the same, when they sprout roots out half way down its a lot of maintenance!

 

[David J]

May I suggest vallis, java fern (this needs attaching to something) and amazon swords.
I have elodea but it drives me nuts! Cabomba just the same, when they sprout roots out half way down its a lot of maintenance!

I tried vallis before the cabomba and it just didn't do well. I later found out that my soft water isn't good for it. Java fern was something I was looking at but will also consider swords. Thanks.

 

[Joshwainwright]

Oooh, great little surprises. Awful looking pest snail though, I don't think my usual remedy would work either (a nice, firm, finger...)
 
That really would be messy! I'm glad I catch mine while they're small
 
Personally, I'd want to get the snails under control before getting any more plants...
 
Blooming snails! 

 
 

 

[daizeUK]

David - I actually envy your elodea.  Mine is completely pathetic, it melted and just looks like it's dying.  I'd love to have a background plant that grows to the surface right now!
 

You know, after many months of hard work, physical and mental, I realised a couple if weeks back that we forget to just enjoy the aquarium. We all work so hard at them and invest so much time and because there is such a steep learning curve I think it is easy to get caught up in the technical stuff and forget to sit down in front of the tank for no other reason but to enjoy it.
 

 
Not me, I get shouted at for spending too much time staring at the fish tank!