Clear eggs?

[roger]

Hello All,

I may not be a seasoned breeder, but I have a 1st and wondered if anyone else has seen this. I have a pair (hopefully male and female) of Carys red melons that just started to spawn. Up untill recently they had to contend with 7 other fish in the tank and the eggs never lasted long enough to really see.

I pulled out the extra fish so its 2 pairs of fish in a 55, one on each end. After about 24 hours the melons spawned again and this time the eggs are still there. Problem is they are flat out clear. I was expecting red based eggs since that is what my other 2 pairs produce.

Has anyone else seen clear eggs or know what that means?

The fish are about 10 or 12 months of age and both are in the 4.5"-5" range.

Thanks,
Roger

[jeep]

If they haven't turned white the I would assume they are fertile, althought I would think you would see a little dark dot on the inside ???

Brian

[roger]

The eggs are less than 24 hours old. Since the parents are guarding Ill keep an eye on them to see if they change anytime over the next day or so.

The water may still be to hard for the eggs to develop properly. I just started changing that tank over to RO. Since they now look to want to spawn reguarly I should be able to keep up the RO changes untill the tds drops far enough for eggs to mature to wriggler stage.

Ill try and get pictures tonight when I get home.

Roger

[Carol_Roberts]

Don't worry - eggs can be different colors. Viable, fertilized eggs will turn black (and later wiggle). Dead eggs will eventually turn opaque white.