When the sleeper wakes...

[Deleted member 149562]

Tyrion sounds like a right little randy blighter

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Tyrion sounds like a right little randy blighter

Unfair...he's being a real gent.
The ladies, on the other hand...

Ammonia, nitrites and even nitrates are still zero, in spite of the filter being switched off, so that's good and the plants are obviously doing their thing.
Obviously, the four fish in 48 litres is far from ideal, hence the repeated measurements to come.
I'll be removing 8 litres later on anyways, regardless of readings...why wait for toxic substances to register?

 

[vanalisa]

i would take the girls out. (If I were you...)
let him tend the nest without distraction.
you say he is actively doing this already...
trust nature, there was a sort-of-nest, flirting, a meeting, a squeeze, eggs, and now nest tending.
(you are doing just what I would do, overthink it). let go of the reigns! (since it's you)!

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

i would take the girls out. (If I were you...)
let him tend the nest without distraction.
you say he is actively doing this already...
trust nature, there was a sort-of-nest, flirting, a meeting, a squeeze, eggs, and now nest tending.
(you are doing just what I would do, overthink it). let go of the reigns! (since it's you)!

Given that any eggs will hatch between 24 and 48 hours, I'll leave them in today and remove the three girls before I go to bed tonight.
If I'm premature, so be it.

Memo to self, while I remember: Remove the support rails for the lid and then use the lid to separate the ladies from Tyrion...should be easier to catch.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

...And removing a bucketful of water moves the water level to below the filter intake. All good.
(Reducing water depth will also encourage jiggery-pokery*).

*Highly scientific and technical terminology.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Having watched the tank all day, I think it's safe to say that there's no bubble nest to speak of.
Tyrion has now taken up residence in the middle of the Amazon Sword and I notice his blue chest is once again colouring up a nice dark blue shade.
Perhaps last night was practice?

Watch this space.

 

[itiwhetu]

Dwarf Gourami's often don't build a proper bubble nest, especially if there is a lot of plant. The eggs will be there for sure.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Dwarf Gourami's often don't build a proper bubble nest, especially if there is a lot of plant. The eggs will be there for sure.

I'd read as much, ta.
Gotta say there's an element of experimentation to this episode that I'm perversely enjoying.
The ladies remained chilled, mainly to the front of the tank, whilst Tyrion remains chilled all around the tank.
Water parameters are still great, in spite of no running filter...just goes to show how good plants can be.

IF eggs survived and found their way somehow to the Salvinia roots, then I suspect they'll be hatching between now and this time tomorrow. The adults seem to be enjoying being overfed on Bug Bite flake. They'd also demolished that food tablet I stuck to the glass earlier today.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Last night, before I went to bed, Tyrion and the largest of the ladies, Shae, were definitely courting.
She actually kisses him, drapes her tail over his face and slowly retreats to the centre of the Amazon Sword.
He sat there like a numpty, before going after her...at which point she returns to the front of the tank, rejoining her sisters.

After a while, he comes out and tries to be disinterested. (If there was a bar, he'd be leaning against it and asking for another pint...all casual, like).

Then Madam saunters over, kisses him on side and lips, smears herself over him and disappears to the Amazon Sword.
Tyrion was distracted by the other girls, but eventually gets the message and pursues Shae.
They almost writhe together.

The process repeats, each time with getting closer to the all-encompassing embrace.*
I gave up gawping and left them to it.

This morning, I transferred the ladies to the main SE Asian tank, leaving Tyrion to stew a little.
Currently, he seems to be spending his time staring at the roots of the Salvinia.
The ladies seem quite happy together in SE Asia.

I'll be pretending the DGBT has DG fry from this afternoon and will keep the filter off, keep monitoring parameters, (changing water if required) and dropping Liquid Fry Food for Egglayers into the water...although thanks to previous leaf additions, there's probably a fair amount of biofilm.
If nothing shows by this time next week, I'll know it didn't work and I might try again...probably with some minor changes.

*I'm sure many of us may recognise this.

 

[vanalisa]

"smears herself over him..."

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

So I left Tyrion alone in the tank with any (possible) eggs and, to be honest, he didn't seem as happy as he was when the girls were present, with him keeping a very low profile amongst the plants.
On the Tuesday after the weekend, I removed him from the DGBT and re-united him with the girls. They were as welcoming as previous and, in spite of being in a tank with other fish, he soon coloured up and I watched him get...er...friendly once more.
I decided to leave them to it. I know that he had previously made himself a bubblenest in that tank, so he's more than capable.
It's possible that some Dwarf Gourami eggs might be produced and some might even become fry...as stated in a previous post, I know there are fry alive in this tank, sop it is possible that some might survive, unlikely though that may seem.
No sign of anything in the DGBT, but I also know that any fry would be tiny. With that in mind, I'm using liquid fry-food and keeping an eye on the water conditions.

I think I'll call this episode of Dwarf Gourami breeding a bust.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Stop watching them...you're making them nervous...its like daughter's first date and having dad waiting in the car with binoculars

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Stop watching them...you're making them nervous...its like daughter's first date and having dad waiting in the car with binoculars

A fair point, which was why I was initially watching from across the room d left 'em to it, once I realise they were being serious.
You make a valid observation, though...biologists, zoologists and naturalists the world over, will confirm that animals know when they are being observed. The trick is not to stare.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

A fair point, which was why I was initially watching from across the room d left 'em to it, once I realise they were being serious.
You make a valid observation, though...biologists, zoologists and naturalists the world over, will confirm that animals know when they are being observed. The trick is not to stare.

Yes...but sometimes the urge to watch is incredibly strong and devilishly difficult to resist

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Yes...but sometimes the urge to watch is incredibly strong and devilishly difficult to resist

Oh, you can watch...but there are genuine tricks to the watching trade.
Distance and magnification make for a worthwhile combination. Even across a room, with a decent telephoto lens.