1st post - 1st wigglers

[Rod Coleman]

Hi Folks

I've been enjoying reading here for a while and thought I would put up my first post tonight to mark my first wigglers. This is the 7th spawning from my blue turqs but first time in their own tank. Previously the eggs went white after a day or so. This time I softened the water a bit with ion-exchange resin and got a hatching tonight. At first I thought they had eaten the wigglers straight out of the eggs - only a few were left on the glass wall of the tank where they spawned. Then I found they had moved the wigglers onto the sponge filter. These fish are looking like great parents so far. The female seems to have picked out the sponge as a nursery before they hatched - I saw her picking at it earlier this evening. Smart fish, hey? When they spawned in the orgy tank they put on a really defensive show taking it in turns to keep all the other fish rounded up at the other end of the tank. Just like sheep dogs!

My water is normally about 4 degrees kH and with the resin I got it down to 1 degree after mixing back in some normal. Did this do the trick or did the pair just mature? I also cut the water circulation and lowered the temp to 29C from 30C.

Meanwhile, back in the main tank another pair of turqs have taken over the shimmy dance. They must have seen me putting in the stand with 6 new tanks on the other side of the room!

By the way, I live in rural Victoria, Australia and have been keeping discus for about 18 months. These fish have me hooked!

Regards to all,

Rod

[Jeff]

Welcome!! Congrats and post some pics when you get a chance.

[Discusgeo]

Rod if the fry are on the filter turn it down so the fry don't get drawn into it. You want them to be able to swim away from it in a day or so. Also feed the parents very little so that they eat everything so nothing gets wasted. Also get so baby brine shrimp hatched out. It takes almost 24 hours to hatch and then feed to the free swimming fry.
George

[Dennis_Hardenburge]

Rod
I hate that when they move them to the sponge, I have one female that does this quite regular.
But they alway seem to come out fine.
Good Luck
Dennis

[Rod Coleman]

Hi guys,

The eggs were laid 5 and a half days ago. They hatched in 2 1/2 days and the parents moved them around a bit - onto the sponge filter, back to the glass, back to the filter.. This afternoon I saw the first free swimmers. The parents would darken up when a fry came near, it would get onto the parent momentarily, then off again. Tonight they are all on the sponge - maybe they're getting a feed of rotifers but I would really like to see 'em on the parents' backs.

Should I be worried? I have bs ready to hatch tomorrow and NO BS fry food arriving next week.

Rod

[Rod Coleman]

Well I needn't have worried. This morning they are all over the parents who seem to be doing a great job.

Here's a pic.

Rod

[Rod Coleman]

Here's another pic of the pair. Sorry the last one was so big.

Rod

[Carol_Roberts]

A very pretty pair. You'll have gorgeous babies!
Carol

[fcdiscus]

Nice job Rod! Keep it up. Frank

[Dennis_Hardenburge]

Rod
Very nice family there. Beautiful pair
I usually start live baby brine on the fourth day of side feeding, just a small amount, you will be able to see the fry have red bellys when they are eating the baby brine shrimp.
I like to get them on the baby brine farly soon so if there is a problem with the pair fighting ( they do get jealous of each other some times ) I can pull the fry if neccesary.
Good Luck
Dennis

[Rod Coleman]

Thanks Folks,

Not being sure how soon they would take baby brines, I offered some today but they didn't go for them. I'll wait a bit as suggested. Must have spent about half the day watching them - ha ha very entertaining! And makes it all worthwile. ;D

The babies certainly bite into their parents - I'd expected a sort of gentle sucking action.. :P Its fascinating watching the parents and the fry tune into each other.

Around evening the pair had a bit of a bingle. Babies were flying everywhere. The parents were very dark and I saw the female take a couple of hard strikes, leaving scratches the length of her body. So much for the loving couple, but I suspect its all part of the ritual. I lowered the lights and later they had settled together and put the babies to bed on the sponge.

I'm pushing it a bit as I have them in a 17 gallon but as soon as necessary I'll move the youngsters into a 40 or 75. Tonight I put the other new turq pair in an identical tank next door to see if I can get another batch going.

Regards

Rod

[Rod Coleman]

This morning I found the aggression had stepped up a lot so I moved the female out and left the male with the fry. Later today the fry played around in the corner of the tank for a couple of hours before going back onto the male's sides. So far they look OK.

The male is very quiet on his own. Well that'll teach him to be so violent!

Rod

[Rod Coleman]

Here's the babies 16 days after hatching. Today they really started to spread out from dad to search for food - something he seems to appreciate.

Regards

Rod

[Pick]

Wow! congrats Rod. I've got a couple of pairs that have had wigglers several times but never get the fry to attach. Great photos too.

TC