Rookie with eggs

[TfnG]

2 weeks ago I picked up 2 adult Royal Blue from a local guy selling out and moving. I placed them in a bare 29g with a sponge to quarantine. Well, tonight during water changes I see eggs on lift tube of the sponge! Sat back to watch and they are in the middle of laying. No telling if this is a male/female but still excited.

They are in tap water of 8.2 pH and 350 TDS. should I start mixing in RO water? If so, now or in 48hr to get them to hatch?

I have a few tanks growing out discus but none are old enough to lay, so this is my first experience with eggs laid.

[Keith Perkins]

There is no point in worrying about RO at this point for this batch of eggs. Lower TDS is used to aid fertilization rates, nothing else. It's possible if you do have a true pair you may still confirm them even with a TDS of 350, 48 hours of someone doesn't eat them and you will know. If you have no glory in 48 hours, I'd add 20 percent RO with the next WC and then increase by another 20 percent with each successive WC until you get your TDS down around 75 or so.

If you can get close enough to see each of their parts you might be able to tell if you have a male and a female. The female hopefully will be easy even for a knob :), a male will have smaller apparatus that is more pointy sort of cone shaped almost. Good luck.

[Ripplingfire]

Congrats

[TfnG]

Thanks for the help! Unfortunately I went down about 2 hours later and all eggs were gone :(

I'll make a few changes now that I know to expect eggs. I need to get a breeding come for them. These were laid on the lift tube of the sponge filter.

[TfnG]

Well a breeding cone is on the way but they beat me to it. They were laying for over an hour tonight all over the sponge filter. Hopefully the eggs are still there tomorrow morning!