Somebody's Breeding!

[FredB]

...I'm just not sure who it is! I have a planted 75-gallon tank with three discus (one large, two small for now), 6 various cories (peppered, bronze), 15 rummynose tetras, a couple Australian rainbows, two neon tetras and one black neon tetra, not to mention a few ghost and amano shrimp tooling around in there somewhere.

Well, someone laid eggs in the java moss. They don't appear to stick together, though they seem to be attached to the moss. I know it's not the discus and I'm pretty sure it's not the cories, seeing as there are plenty of broad-leaved plants for them to use. So, that leaves the rummynoses and the rainbows. One of the neons looks to be on its way out, so I'm assuming it's not them. And seeing as there's only one black neon...

The eggs are a little smaller than a mm, starting off clear with a white speck, then becoming completely white as they age (if they don't fungus). I can't say anything more than that at this time, since they appear to be a day or two from hatching yet. And some of them look as if they may actually hatch!

I've never seen the rainbows display (though they're always together, they have similar coloring), so I think I have two females. Seeing as the eggs appear to be developing, my guess is the rummynoses.

Any thoughts? Anyone know if the rummys are egg scatterers? What the heck do I need to do to raise the fry up if/when they hatch? Greenwater/infusoria?

Thanks...Fred

[Ralph]

You are probably right. They are egg scatterers but they scatter in groups (how is that for a redundant comment). They lay at night and the successful hobbyist recommend using Java moss. They require water params similar to breeding discus, no surprise since they share many areas. There is actually three kinds (maybe four) of rummies, I still can't tell one from the other though. Pull the eggs from the tank if you want fry, tetras love their kids, for lunch.

[FredB]

Great, so I should try and pull them out. Any special needs as far as a raising tank goes? The one thing that's throwing me is the water chemistry here. We have really hard water, and it usually settles in around 7.9-8.2 or so. My discus have never shown any signs of breeding, so I'm surprised the rummynoses would.

I know what you mean about the different types. I've seen them labeled different things...but they all look the same to me!

Fred

[Discus Don]

You didn't say how many eggs you found, but having bred corys for a while now, I would agree that it's not them. Aneaus (bronze) will lay in groups of 50-75, up to 300-500 in total and will generally look for a flatter surface (broad leaves or the tank wall). Paleatus (peppered) will lay almost that many in similar fashion. Also, as they age, they will turn more amber/brown in color as the color of the fry shows through.

So since you're ruling out the discus, and the neons don't breed well in captivity, I would agree with Ralph, although somewhat surprised because from what I've read, breeding rummy-nosed in captivity isn't easy either. I also thought they scattered their eggs in the substrate, but since I've never had mine spawn, I don't know this.

Please let us (me) know if you get any hatches from these. I'm interested in how easy/difficult it would be to breed these guys.

Thanks,
-Don

[Ralph]

The indicators of the different species are the red areas, but those areas vary in the fish over the course of the day and with different water conditions, I'll leave it to the experts.

Not much info or history on breeding or raising fry. It is generally thought to be difficult and the fish are plentiful in the wild, so I think all are wild caught, at least at this point. Give it shot, you could become our inhouse rummy expert.

[FredB]

LOL, great. So, in between trying to breed discus and cories, peppermint shrimp, clownfish, guppies, red-top cobalt zebras, convicts and electric blue johanni, I'm supposed to attempt rummynoses??!!

Well, I guess I need to start up some greenwater or something...and I need more brine shrimp cysts as well!

Anyone with ANY input on raising these little guys up, please speak up!

Fred

[Ralph]

Let me know when you become THE rummy expert, I've got a couple questions lined up for you. Good luck with the little guys.

[thebaglady]

I have some experience w/ Rainbowfish. My guess is it's them and not the rummynose. Based on your water parameters, the size/character of the eggs and the fact that they were laid in the java moss. Are they a Melanotaenia species? Describe what their body shapes and colors look like.

If they are baby bows, you should start by removing the java moss clump to another tank soon. Use a tank with minimal aeration or I should say surface agitation. I use a sponge filter in a 51/2 gal. tank that going, but not bubbling madly. The reason, the fry are gonna be up at hte surface.

If you can't get the greenwater, squeeze a sponge filter into the tank. Cloudy, small foods are the key till they are about 10 days old then they can take BBS

Vinegar eels are good, also APR (through Wet Thumb) and Tetra baby E (for egglayers) Good luck!! ;D