Male Milt Question

[larry lob]

Hi,

I was wondering if the experts out there could answer this one for me please.

I think i have found out why i have bad hatch rates(water seems not the problem) Just now witnessed my female put down eggs for a whole hour, my male however only sprayed for the first 45 minutes. ( from the first egg not the dry runs)
the question is this.... does a male fertalise each individule egg or does he spray an area? also if the female carrys on laying after his last runn do those eggs get fertalised that she is laying? (assuming she lays where he has previously passed).
How long is the milt active? can they fan it away with thier passes?

Sorry for so many questions but i have looked for threads with answers but nothing that helps much so far.

any answers to these question would be so appriciated as i find this subject not well covered.

Thanks again.

Larry

P.s Cary, mike and other breeders PLEASE PLEASE help answer this one.

Larry: I'm no expert by all means. From my observation. I've never seen milt floating around like trout and Salmon. I found the tube of the male have to actually touch the eggs in order to fertilize the eggs. The expert in this area may diagree. I further study them by putting indentations on the spawning site. Only eggs were laid in the indentations usually will not get fertilized by the male and the surrounding eggs above them would not be affected. These are the eggs will turn white in the next days. If the spawing site is close to the glass where the smaller female able to squeeze in and laid eggs but the big huge male is unable to get in. Those eggs will also turn white. This will proof milt doesn't flow like Salmon. I also tried with strong current towards the spawning site compared to just AC power hang on type filters. Only the current towards the site will decrease the fertilize rate but not by much. Based on the above obserations. The breeding tube of the male actually have to touch the eggs in order to fertilize them. JMHO HTH
Jimmy.