Steve H.
Fishaholic
Hello all,
I am attempting to breed Rummy Nose Tetras. I have scoured the net researching only to find information is quite limited, and in a lot of cases articles contradict each other.
I am hoping that posting my project here I will attract some discussion and insight from more experienced breeders/aquarists to help me along.
Since there was a lot of differing information out there I took bits and pieces of what I had read, and put together my own little breeding project.
Stock:
My first step was to acquire breeding stock that would produce viable eggs. In my research I had read that RNTs that were kept at a pH higher than 6.5 for a duration of time could leave them sterile, and unable to produce a viable spawn. Not wanting to be shut down before I got started, whether this is true or not, and to be on the safe side I acquired 11 wild caught RNTs. My thinking was that if they were kept at a higher pH than 6.5 it was at least not for very long.
I homed them in an aquarium of 6.2pH and 2gH for several months before making this attempt to breed.
My tap water parameters are quite hard, so in order to maintain these parameters I use a combination of RO/DI water, almond leaves, bog wood, and sphagnum peat moss.
Breeding Aquarium:
I decided to try using a 2.5gl aquarium for breeding a male/female pair.
Since this is a tiny tank I was able to build a screen to cover the entire bottom of the tank using #5 plastic cross-stitch meche, and some plastic tubing.
It fits snugly into the tank and will let the eggs fall to the bottom while keeping the parents from eating them.
To condition the breeding tank, and age the water, I added long strand sphagnum moss under the screen. This is to not only help maintain water parameters, but provide a place for the eggs and first foods if I am able to produce fry.
While the breeding tank aged I did my best to condition the breeding stock...now only 8.
I divided a 10gallon tank with a similar DIY screen, and did my best to separate the males and the females.
This is no easy task, and I'm still not sure which is which. They say the female has a rounder body shape...uh ok. They still looked all the same to me. I must have switched them around a dozen times finally just settling on size and shape being the closest to each other.
For 2 weeks I feed a lot of different foods. Mostly frozen daphnia, but also black worm flake, and live brine shrimp.
After conditioning I transferred the entire stock to the breeding tank...this is because I could not be sure of which were male and which were female.
In order to try triggering a spawn I drained the breeding tank by 70% and refilled using slightly cooler water. Then drained again to a 4" depth of water.
I then covered the tank with some towels as the eggs and fry are said to be photo sensitive.
There I left the adults for 42 hours....and that's where I am in the project right now.
I just removed the parents and the screen from the breeding tank, and covered the tank back up with a towel.
While removing the adults I noticed they were very pale in coloration...this is a good sign that spawning might have occurred.
Now, I guess it's time to cross my fingers and check in 4 days to see if I was able to produce anything.
The only thing I didn't do which I planned on was adding some meth blue, but didn't because of the peat moss in the tank.
I would love to hear some success stories if they are out there.
Pointer, tips, or advice as well!!
Thanks for reading
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I am attempting to breed Rummy Nose Tetras. I have scoured the net researching only to find information is quite limited, and in a lot of cases articles contradict each other.
I am hoping that posting my project here I will attract some discussion and insight from more experienced breeders/aquarists to help me along.
Since there was a lot of differing information out there I took bits and pieces of what I had read, and put together my own little breeding project.
Stock:
My first step was to acquire breeding stock that would produce viable eggs. In my research I had read that RNTs that were kept at a pH higher than 6.5 for a duration of time could leave them sterile, and unable to produce a viable spawn. Not wanting to be shut down before I got started, whether this is true or not, and to be on the safe side I acquired 11 wild caught RNTs. My thinking was that if they were kept at a higher pH than 6.5 it was at least not for very long.
I homed them in an aquarium of 6.2pH and 2gH for several months before making this attempt to breed.
My tap water parameters are quite hard, so in order to maintain these parameters I use a combination of RO/DI water, almond leaves, bog wood, and sphagnum peat moss.
Breeding Aquarium:
I decided to try using a 2.5gl aquarium for breeding a male/female pair.
Since this is a tiny tank I was able to build a screen to cover the entire bottom of the tank using #5 plastic cross-stitch meche, and some plastic tubing.
It fits snugly into the tank and will let the eggs fall to the bottom while keeping the parents from eating them.
To condition the breeding tank, and age the water, I added long strand sphagnum moss under the screen. This is to not only help maintain water parameters, but provide a place for the eggs and first foods if I am able to produce fry.
While the breeding tank aged I did my best to condition the breeding stock...now only 8.
I divided a 10gallon tank with a similar DIY screen, and did my best to separate the males and the females.
This is no easy task, and I'm still not sure which is which. They say the female has a rounder body shape...uh ok. They still looked all the same to me. I must have switched them around a dozen times finally just settling on size and shape being the closest to each other.
For 2 weeks I feed a lot of different foods. Mostly frozen daphnia, but also black worm flake, and live brine shrimp.
After conditioning I transferred the entire stock to the breeding tank...this is because I could not be sure of which were male and which were female.
In order to try triggering a spawn I drained the breeding tank by 70% and refilled using slightly cooler water. Then drained again to a 4" depth of water.
I then covered the tank with some towels as the eggs and fry are said to be photo sensitive.
There I left the adults for 42 hours....and that's where I am in the project right now.
I just removed the parents and the screen from the breeding tank, and covered the tank back up with a towel.
While removing the adults I noticed they were very pale in coloration...this is a good sign that spawning might have occurred.
Now, I guess it's time to cross my fingers and check in 4 days to see if I was able to produce anything.
The only thing I didn't do which I planned on was adding some meth blue, but didn't because of the peat moss in the tank.
I would love to hear some success stories if they are out there.
Pointer, tips, or advice as well!!
Thanks for reading
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited:
