Why are my eggs white?

[Russ]

Hi,
I recently purchased a Golden pair, and when they spawned the eggs were white, not yellow or orange. If they are fertile will they change color?

[kodiak]

If the eggs are clear it is alright. Unfertile eggs will turn opaque white.

[Russ]

I think maybe they were clear and looked white since they are on a pvc pipe. Unfortuately most were unfertile and fungused over with only a few turning light peach in color.

[Kagan]

Here in the breeding section and in the library section there is a timeline that shows how the eggs should be. You can compare your eggs easily with these. Hope this helps.

Kagan

[KIWI13]

if they dont hatch check your hardness. Your TH that is cause hard water hardens the outer shell of the egg making it impossible for the sperm to penetrate rendering the egg infertile. This has been seen with fishes that come from soft water like angels, discus, rams , etc etc.
Use RO water in breeding tanks and raise the hardness after the hatch cause the fry need the minerals in hard water for proper developement of their bones.
this means a hardness around 6°dh for th espawning and then I would take it up to anywhere around 8°dh to 10°dh gradually.

[Carol_Roberts]

Fertile eggs turn black. White eggs or eggs that stay golden are not fertile

[Russ]

I scraped the clutch after 24 hours so I don't know if they were going to turn black. I use 75% RO & 25% tap. The tap water has a KH of 3 and GH of 6, and the mixed water has a TDS of 90ppm.

[Kagan]

Is there a water current during their spawning and close to the cone? Do you know how old the pair is? Also, what is the water changing schedule for that tank?

Kagan

[ShinShin]

Were the eggs translucent or opaque? Opaque eggs are dead eggs. I had a female lay translucent white eggs that were good eggs.

[Russ]

Hi,
There is an airstone about 7" or 8" away, is this too close? I change the water 50% daily and the pair is around 11 and 1/2 months old. I believe the eggs looked translucent, but I'll take a closer look next time they spawn, which should be in the next few days.

[hexed]

Russ what I do is very simple I connected a plastic control valve to the air hose and when I see the female pecking at the cone I turn the valve to slow the air down that will stop the current in the water, I don't turn it off just down so a slow flow of bubbles are flowing. They breed best when there is very little current in the water. I have filters hanging on the tank and I just unplug them as well. Like Carol and the other said, fertile eggs will turn black after 36 hours and white, clear or stay orange eggs are basically dead eggs.

[Kagan]

There are two points coming to my mind..

First and the most possible reason; your pair is very young. Give them time. In a couple of months they will be "surely" mature enough for mating/spawning. For now, I think the male is not fertile.

Also keep in mind that you should stop water changes or at least stop making more than 5-10% water changes until free swimming. Changing the water parameters will definitely kill the egg/fry.. Of course this is just my opinion.

Kagan

[Northwestcoastdisc]

hey Kagan,

Why dont you can check out with your water test. keep hardness is perfect for breeding tank between 4 GH to 6 GH TDS about 100. keep temp at 82.

Also you can look at your male if he runs on the eggs. Or maybe you have two females.


hth

Duncan

[ShinShin]

If parameters are the same (pH, temp, conductivity), 50% water changes are no problem. I have routinely lowered water to just above the eggs and/or wrigglers with no ill effects. Sometimes this had amounted to 50-75% water changes. It's only when parameters cause a shock, deaths occur from water changes.

[Russ]

They spawned again today and the eggs are translucent, I added 1 drop per gallon of Formalin and am using an egg guard. I was told when I purchased them that they carried a few fry on their backs once before. The male is makeing runs right after the female, I'll keep you informed of the results. Will this amount of formalin cause an ammonia spike?

[ShinShin]

It shouldn't if you had a strong biofilter in place.

[Russ]

Hi,
It turns out that only 5 or 6 eggs were fertile, but they are still young fish. It makes me wonder if the breeder was telling the truth when he said they carried fry once.

[Kagan]

Hi Russ,

please do not add anything to the water next time. Formalin decreases the dissolved oxygen amount. Continue doing water change everyday until they lay eggs. Then stop the w/c. Decrease the amount of current in the water during they lay the eggs. Then you have to wait.

Also I have seen then you are using a screen. If it is not properly set, it might prevent the eggs to get aerated be sure about it. Then you will see the amount of fertile eggs. But keep in mind that the male is too young for this kind of work ;)

Kagan

[Russ]

Thanks Kagan,
I'll try it, but I feel bad not feeding them after thay lay the eggs, this pair is always hungry. The guard is about a 1/2" away from the PVC is this OK. Somebody told me I may have micro-organisms or palaris worms in my water that may be harming the eggs, if this is so how do I test for it. I use 75% RO and 25% RO waste water.

[Kagan]

Hi,

I think you should use 70% RO - 30% tap water.. Not RO waste water. I do not use RO but some people use some additives for replacing the minerals. Please ask this too.

You can feed them once per day then. btw, do not turn off the lights at night. Leave a very small lamp on 24 hours.

Guard distance is ok imo. I think you should try couple of times before suspecting some parasites killing the eggs.

Kagan

[Russ]

Hi,
I thought RO waste water was safe for breeders, isn't it cleaner then tap because it went through the sediment and carbon filters?

[Kagan]

true but it has very high hardness if the RO is working properly. You know, you use RO to remove the heavy metals vs. And these are in the RO-Waste part if I am not wrong. IF you use this as the mix water, what is the point using the RO?

Kagan

[ShinShin]

Russ,

No one can tell you what percentage of R/O to tap or R/O waste water to use. You need to get a conductivity meter and mix the tap or waste water into the fresh R/O water until you reach the desired conductivity value. You will use less R/O waste water to achieve your desired level than tap. Both contain the same minerals. I see no problem using waste water. Think about it and you'll see what I mean.