Spawn Diary - Purple Hm Pair

[Betta*b*Happy!]

I thought I'd start a spawn diary and I would have done so earlier but I have babies all over the place from other fish!

Here are the parents:

The male had built an impressive nest in his own tank so I transferred him into the spawn tank along with all I could salvage.

They had been able to see each other for a few days prior to the spawn. Both are permenantly conditioned.

Spawn tank is a 5g tank filled to 5 ins. Half a poly cup with a peice of bubblewrap under for the anchor. Floating hogweed for cover.


He set about streight away building a fantastic nest! He was in for 24 hrs when i put the female in a jar in the tank. She barred streight up and an hour later I let her out. They remained there for two days with him chasing and building. No fins were nipped. The next morning i awoke to her randomly floating in a dream like manner and after a while it became apparent the were at it! It took em 4 hours to do the job!

I took the female out and the male was looking after the eggs.

The next morning he didn't seem very bothered about the nest and by this afternoon all the eggs were on the floor and he wasn't interested. I have taken him out and collected the eggs which are now in two seperate jars.

I am a little worried that they got fungus and that is why he abandened them. Is there any way of telling?

 

[Tangerinefizz]

Betta B, no advice just wanted to say that your two are gorgeous. If you didn't live in the UK I would surely have to order a bebbee or two from you.

Hope the eggs make it.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I am a little worried that they got fungus and that is why he abandened them. Is there any way of telling?

Well, you could put an irstone in the jars along with a bit of anti-fungal, you never know . Maybe they didn't fertilize, but you might as well see if any are OK

 

[Lady]

Good advice Ohhfeeshy! Sounds like a good idea...I know another member on here had a successful hatch of babies without the dad...so dont give up just try with what ya got and good luck!!

 

[Andie]

<-- had a deadbeat dad abandon his eggs one week ago )

I did pretty much what you did; went in with a turkey baster, sucked out what eggs I could save (twenty-five/thirty) into two jars of existing tank water, and changed everything over to make it fresh (mostly because the parents had been in the water for three/four days so it was pretty gross by then).

I put the jars of eggs back into the fresh water, let them adjust and then poured them into one section of the tank to keep an eye on them. Every now and then I'd blow a light current of water over them using the turkey baster so they could rotate and hopefully avoid risk of fungal infection/planaria getting to them . . . obviously I wasn't nearly as gentle as a proper father would have been when cleaning them, but I kept them moving! I got ten hatchlings out of it, and of those ten five are still alive, and four of them are the most active little fiends I could have hoped for (number five is more apathetic about it all).

By twenty four/thirty six hours after fertilization you should be able to tell at least some of the eggs that will hatch apart from the rest- their nuculei are darker, and look like little tadpole heads, with two dark eyespots (and toward the actual time of hatching, a teensy wisp of a tail curled up behind them). Hatching rate depends on your tank temp . . . a warmer tank will hatch out eggs slightly faster than a cooler one.

Best of luck with your fry!

 

[Betta*b*Happy!]

hmm. i've still got them in jars with anti fungal meds.

I'm giving a current as often as I can. Some of the eggs have like a curl of white in them but i think this is fungus.

I'm pretty sure this spawn is done for.

 

[Andie]

I know what a pain it is, but don't give up on them yet Give them thirty six hours, at least. You'll know for sure by then if there will be hatchlings or not

 

[splashluff]

I'm soo sorry, Betta*b*Happy ... what a stunning Mom and Dad, it sounds like it started out as a PERFECT spawn. That's the thing about spawning, it's a complete gamble every time. My male (he looks a LOT like yours, except he's Green/White BF) is a total spaz and I figured he wouldn't be a great Dad ~ but lo and behold he has been the best Daddy (so far...) that I could possibly ask for!! It does sound like he sensed a problem and just gave up, so definitely try again in a couple of weeks and hopefully you'll be successful!

he could've also been too tired to care for the babies after spawning for 4 hours!!! LMAO, that sounds like it might have been wearing on him. Mine spawned for 2 hours, and I thought THAT was waay long. Good luck with the eggs, I do hope they hatch out to be healthy fry

 

[Betta*b*Happy!]

Thanks splash and andie!

And everyone!

I'm sure he sened something as he had separated some of the eggs and tried to transfer them but didn't have another nest to put them in....

Is there anything I can do to my plants next time to make sure they are not carrying fungus into the spawn tank. I suspect that is what happened.

I'm having to use a small peice of airline and my mouth to clean uneated food out cause no where sells turkey basters near me.

Needless to say after a few bits of water got in my mouth, im feeling a little this morning!

At least i hope it's that

 

[Andie]

I used brand new silk plants myself; it's the only way I can be certain that there's not some bacteria on them, and that they won't start to decay in my tank.

As to the turkey baster, try your local dollar store, hardware store or Wal Mart; basically any place with a housewares section should have a vinyl baster for a buck or so.

 

[fawnmodel]

The little white curl you speak of is baby.
The next day, the tail of that little curl will poke out. And they will be white dots with a string tail and do basically nothing but fall.
The day after (or so) they hatch out, you will begin to see brown eyes and spine. About two days after that, they will begin swimming.

Don't give up on them, give it a few days and see what happens to those white dots!

 

[Betta*b*Happy!]

those little white dots turned furry.....

I gave up on them and decided to try later.

I do have a question about melafix though. Every time I use it it sends the water cloudy. Any ideas?

Spawn tank is now home to 200 or so angel eggs on day 2 and no fungus.

 

[fawnmodel]

those little white dots turned furry.....

I gave up on them and decided to try later.

I do have a question about melafix though. Every time I use it it sends the water cloudy. Any ideas?

Spawn tank is now home to 200 or so angel eggs on day 2 and no fungus.

Oooh that sucks, strange they would get fungus so fast...all of them?
I always use aquarisol and salt in my spawn tanks, its a preventative. IAL can also help as it has medicinal properties. and it makes a great place for dad to make a bubblenest.

Did you keep the light on for the male? Many times if the light is not sufficient they give up at night, there is a theory too that lack of light causes a hormone drop and the male will eat or abandon the nest. Was he replacing popped bubbles effectively? If not, that can cause droppage, and males quickly get tired of picking them up.....or perhaps none were fertilized.....

This male has not spawned before? If not, don't despair, sometimes it takes them several times to get the hang of it, some will eat their first batch or two and then never again - did you say how old he is? Some breeders beleive nestcare is a trait, too, and actually breed for it which is a great idea!

Better luck next time

 

[Betta*b*Happy!]

I had IAL and a few drops of blackwater in the tank. I need to get some anti fungus meds cause my angel spawn has succumbed to it too despite nuking everything that would be in the tank.

The pair have spawned successfully before. He was trying to move some of the eggs to a different spot but didn't have enough bubbles, so just left them on the floor.