I Have Eggs, Finally!

[Fishkeeper2004]

I officially have eggs!

But it wasn't the Trilineatus, it was the Bronze that I moved back into the community aquarium. I fed them tablet, bloodworm, and white mosquito larvae, over a long period last night.

I have moved them into a breeding tank now, (was empty so I added water from the community aquarium!) and it now has a filter running softly. I am going to add a heater now, but do I need an airstone, as there is no real flow running over the eggs. I don't want to move them again, because alot of the eggs have already fell onto the gravel.. (It wasn't meant to be a breeding tank, I was going to add the rainbows in it tommorow when they arrived, and thats why there was gravel!)

Should they be ok with small flat gravel, and are the eggs likely to hatch even though they have fell to the substrate? I cannot see them because the gravel is light grey.


Any help you can offer would be great. The spawn isn't very big, I have counted around 35 eggs overall, and I managed to see my Bronze in the act earlier today! Including the T-Position, and the female laying the eggs.

UPDATE: Over 90 eggs and still spawning! The female is massive.

 

[Kuhni]

All I can say is congratulations. I'm not very good with breeding. But I'm guessing good air flow would help the newborn fry get to the surface to get their swim bladders working?

My opinion

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

All I can say is congratulations. I'm not very good with breeding. But I'm guessing good air flow would help the newborn fry get to the surface to get their swim bladders working?

My opinion

Thanks Kuhni,

Also, the filter helps keep a fresh flow of water over the eggs to help prevent fungus. Another little update, I have now transferred well over 100 eggs, with I would guess another 10-20 eggs on the gravel in the breeding tank, and also some more on the sand in the community tank.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Fishkeeper2006

Congratulations! I knew they would spawn for you!

Gravel isn't the best thing to have on the bottom of a fry tank because it's hard to keep clean with them sitting on it. If you can get it out, it would be a good idea to do so. A sand substrate or a bare bottom tank is a lot easier to keep clean because you will want to feed the fry generously, but not have any food sifting down between the gravel and spoiling. It can be done, however. My first batches of fry were raised on fine gravel, but after I had snails overrun one of the tanks, I figured out there had to be a better way.

Did you start microworms yet?

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

Hi Inchworm,

I haven't started a Microworm culture yet.. as I wasnt expecting the spawn. I have bought some 'Egglayers fry food' from the LFS, and wondered whether they would accept this to begin with?

I am going to remove the gravel in a moment, but there are some eggs lying on the substrate, just hope I miss them! I have placed the eggs on the glass directly opposite the filter flow, would this be Ok or do I need to add an air pump? The eggs are spread around the glass and aren't all catching the flow of the filter..

Advice please, on food and the air flow. Thanks alot. By the way, I popped out and came back to find another 5 clutches of eggs, they were all laid by the largest female and that brings the count to just over 300 eggs. Is this normal?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Fishkeeper2006

I think your fish were just waiting to see how frustrated you would get when they didn't spawn! Yes, it sounds like you have a nice, mature female C. aeneus, and big spawns are common. If you look at the picture I posted on your earlier thread you will see how many eggs can come from just one pair of these prolific fish.

You just need water movement over the eggs; it doesn't have to be too much. If the eggs are in opposite sides of the tank, I usually put an airstone at each end. After they hatch I take one out and replace the other with a sponge filter.

What kind of filter do you have in the tank? If it's any kind that can suck up the tiny fry, it would be best if you replace it with a sponge filter run by an air pump. Are you familiar with them? Once the adult fish are out of there you will not need it to be cycled since you will be doing daily water changes for the fry. If you put a new sponge filter in, it will grow beneficial bacteria as time goes by and the fish grow.

Cleanliness is important in a fry tank and uneaten food must be removed. Microworms live in the water for a time and therefore it takes a while before they become a problem. Prepared fry food starts to spoil and feed harmful bacteria much more quickly, but if this is all you have, it will have to do. Since you are aware of what can happen, you can work with it. I do suggest getting the microworms started as soon as possible though. Here's the link to BigC (a reliable UK seller) in case you need it.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=108516

I suggest you forget about the eggs on the bottom and clean up the tank. Take care not to let the water level drop and let the eggs get exposed to the air while you're doing it. This part is a pain and for that reason I usually keep the water level down an inch in tanks where I expect the fish to spawn. It just gives me a little room to work with.

Now that your corys have started to spawn, you will probably see more eggs soon. If you want to raise another batch, you might want to think about setting up another breeding tank and move the bronze corys into it now.

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

Hi Fishkeeper2006

I think your fish were just waiting to see how frustrated you would get when they didn't spawn! Yes, it sounds like you have a nice, mature female C. aeneus, and big spawns are common. If you look at the picture I posted on your earlier thread you will see how many eggs can come from just one pair of these prolific fish.

You just need water movement over the eggs; it doesn't have to be too much. If the eggs are in opposite sides of the tank, I usually put an airstone at each end. After they hatch I take one out and replace the other with a sponge filter.

What kind of filter do you have in the tank? If it's any kind that can suck up the tiny fry, it would be best if you replace it with a sponge filter run by an air pump. Are you familiar with them? Once the adult fish are out of there you will not need it to be cycled since you will be doing daily water changes for the fry. If you put a new sponge filter in, it will grow beneficial bacteria as time goes by and the fish grow.

Cleanliness is important in a fry tank and uneaten food must be removed. Microworms live in the water for a time and therefore it takes a while before they become a problem. Prepared fry food starts to spoil and feed harmful bacteria much more quickly, but if this is all you have, it will have to do. Since you are aware of what can happen, you can work with it. I do suggest getting the microworms started as soon as possible though. Here's the link to BigC (a reliable UK seller) in case you need it.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=108516

I suggest you forget about the eggs on the bottom and clean up the tank. Take care not to let the water level drop and let the eggs get exposed to the air while you're doing it. This part is a pain and for that reason I usually keep the water level down an inch in tanks where I expect the fish to spawn. It just gives me a little room to work with.

Now that your corys have started to spawn, you will probably see more eggs soon. If you want to raise another batch, you might want to think about setting up another breeding tank and move the bronze corys into it now.

Ok a few problems..

The breeding tank has only just been setup. It was empty this morning, so I filled it with water from the community aquarium, but the filter is brand new so has no good bacteria.. and the adult fish have remained in the community aquarium..

Do you suggest using some of the mature filter from the community tank? Also, the filter came with the tank, and is enough to clean the tank in question (58 litres), but yes, it could suck up the fry. I am not familiar with sponge filters.. and I assume I will need some mature filter media..?

I will buy the microworm culter from BigC right now. I am going to try and tank out as much gravel as possible now. Thanks for the help.. I can't believe how unorganised I am!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Fishkeeper2006

The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath and relax. The eggs won't hatch for a few days, so you have time to think things through and then to do what needs to be done.

A sponge filter is like this:

http/www.aquariumguys.com/spongefilter1.html

It is a fine sponge that uses an air pump to suck the water through. Beneficial bacteria grow on it's surfaces and since a sponge has a lot of surfaces throughout it, it can hold a lot of beneficial bacteria. The main disadvantage of them is that they get clogged up and need to be rinsed out in tank water more often than other kinds of filters. On the positive side, they cannot hurt even little fry and tiny microorganisms will also grow on them which the fry can eat too. This filter is connected to an air pump the same way an airstone does.

When the fry hatch you will be amazed at how tiny they are, but they will grow quickly, especially at first. Since they are so small they will produce very little ammonia and you really don't need an established filter in the tank at first. It will be necessary for you to change some water every day to keep the tank clean and this will dilute the little ammonia they produce. As they grow they will produce more and beneficial bacteria will begin to grow on the sponge. The bigger they grow, the more the bacteria will reproduce. It's the basic cycling thiing where beneficial bacteria just seem to appear when they are needed.

Only if you set up adult fish in a breeding tank will you need an established filter, and once they are removed you won't need it there anymore.

All fry tanks need to have at least some of their water changed every day; this is normal and helps the fry grow faster.

BTW, I don't know if it was mentioned before, but if you can safely let the eggs stay where they are for a few hours they will firm up a bit and be much easier to move.

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

BTW, I don't know if it was mentioned before, but if you can safely let the eggs stay where they are for a few hours they will firm up a bit and be much easier to move.

Thanks for all your help so far Inchworm.

I did read that about leaving the eggs, but my shrimp was making a tasty snack of them as soon as they were laid. I have ended up with just over 300 eggs, but I'm sure I would have had alot more if it wasnt for them being eaten, and a few of them dropping to the substrate when I took them on with my finger.

 

[raeburter]

Just asking but....Does a bigger female means more eggs?Cause i have a huge female compare to the rest of the females.....Or does it have a disease of something cause she usually lose her balance although she is not near the filter

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

Just asking but....Does a bigger female means more eggs?Cause i have a huge female compare to the rest of the females.....Or does it have a disease of something cause she usually lose her balance although she is not near the filter

I would have thought more eggs, because it was my largest female which spawned and laid over 300 eggs. I have heard of some younger and smaller females onlying laying between 50-100 eggs per spawn!

 

[Fishkeeper2004]

Ok.. whats going on?

The eggs are directly opposite the filter flow and they seemed to be developing well. However, it the last 24 hours they appear have started exploding, as the a good 50% off the eggs are gone, and there is just smudges of white where to eggs used to be.. I have turned the filter down, but I don't know what else to do. It's been around 48 hours since they were laid..