One Mum, Two Dads

[markwill]

What a weird bunch I have! So, after a couple of false alarms in the past few weeks my fish have really gotten their act together tonight!!! Last week I determined that Sunset (a Red Melon) was a female when she laid eggs but they got eaten pretty quickly tonight.

Tonight she started laying again and both Tigger (San Mariah) and Stripes (Royal Blue) where nearby. Stripes started doing his thing - but Tigger came right in and ate them up. Same old story, I thought (I bought material for a tank divider this evening but haven't had a chance to put it in yet).

Then Tigger took the next step - she ate them first and then fertilized where the eggs were. Kinda backwards :-) Then, she skipped the eating bit. So, for the first time, I have fertilized eggs that are not getting eaten (at least not yet - I'm assuming they will be gone in the morning).

But here's the strange bit. Through all this Stripes is still happily doing his thing. So, I have Sunset laying her eggs and then Tigger and Stripes TAKING IT IN TURNS (very graciously) to fertilize the eggs.

I assume this is not too common. Certainly took me by surprise :-)

Like I say, since they are learning their thing and I have no tank divider I assume the chances of the eggs sticking around is pretty low. But this two Daddy thing is just strange...

It's been quite a delightful evening...

Mark

[markwill]

Well, surprise - the eggs are still there and are being guarded by Tigger. Three or four are white - does that mean that those (and those alone) didn't get fertilized?

Tigger was allowig Stripes (the other Dad) to fan/blow on the eggs but - at least last night when I went to bed - wasn't allowing even Sunset (Mum) near the eggs.

I'm a tad paranoid about this. I know it's a long shot that anything will come of this (in a tank with a bunch of other discus) but I left the lights on all night because I didn't want the act of turning them off to spook out the parents. This would have been about 30 mins after Mum finished laying the eggs. Not sure if that was the right thing to do but so far so good...

Is this all a hopeless cause (remember - other fish, no tank divider and two Dads!!!) or should I really consider the fact that good things might happen here?

Mark

[Cosmo]

In my experience, it's pretty uncommon. Though I've had apparent "threesomes" look like they might, they've never gone through the motions as a group. The white eggs weren't fertilized, if the others remain clear until little black dots appear inside then you've got some good eggs. Keep the water quality very high as fungus may now be your major threat.

Jim

[markwill]

In my experience, it's pretty uncommon. Though I've had apparent "threesomes" look like they might, they've never gone through the motions as a group. The white eggs weren't fertilized, if the others remain clear until little black dots appear inside then you've got some good eggs. Keep the water quality very high as fungus may now be your major threat.

Jim
Thanks Jim. This is all rather exciting! I'm peeved that I am at work right now and have to wait till this evening to see if things are still on track.

Yes, this seemed to be a "true threesome" - nothing fake about it as far as I could see and, strangely, it's the two Dad's who seem to be guarding the eggs this morning. Mum is nearby by Tigger kinda chases her away when she wants to fan the eggs. It's also interesting to me that the other fish (there are 4 others in the tank, besides these three) can get rather close (within about 6 inches of the eggs). Tigger makes sure no-one gets right up against the eggs but I thought he'd be a lot more concerned about any fish as close as 6 inches.

I have a question about your post. I am concerned about anything that might spook out parents. Should I be doing water changes at this point? That strikes me as a rather big event for all my fish each time - I'm worried that doing a water change right now might push the parents into freak mode and result in the eggs being eaten. Thoughts?

Should I just feed as usual? There's a frenzy each time I feed and, if food moves along to where the eggs are, might that create an issue?

Thanks again.

Mark

[markwill]

Any comments? This is my first spawn that wasn't eaten within an hour or so. I'm about 20 hours into this and the eggs are still there and being guarded. But I'm not sure what I should be doing next...

Do I continue water changes as usual (I am concerned that the activity might spook them out)?

Do I feed as usual?

Should I be preparing a seperate tank to take out the eggs, parents, both?

Thanks.

Mark

[Cosmo]

Mark,

You need to make sure you keep your water quality high, so regular water changes are necessary. Regular feeding too, as the parents will take turns eating while the others guard and fan the eggs. If they're in a community tank, you may or may not get viable fry once they get to free swimmer stage, usually there's too much current and then there's the other fish in the tank. Moving them though would be too traumatic on all involved (including yourself) so let the process run it's course and see what develops.. if the eggs even get to wiggler stage, you know you have a viable pair.. err, threesome. At that point you might want to have another tank for future spawns.... not sure if you'd need to break the group down to two or not :confused:

Keep us posted :)
Jim

[markwill]

Thanks Jim. Well, I got a water change done. A little frenzied activity at the time but no eating, which is good. The sad thing about this is that the two Dad's seem to think they are an item - they take turns in fanning the eggs and do it effectively but Mum can't get anywhere near her eggs. Cruel world...

I have two filters installed - an Aquaclear 110 at one end (opposite end to where the eggs are) and an Aquaclear 50 near the PVC tube on which the fish were laid. I guess I could easily turn that second one off and perhaps the current near the eggs would be low enough. Who knows. I assume, though, that once they are free swimming then they become lunch for the other fish.

If the eggs make it that far, should I consider installing the tank divider? I can't really see how I can easily seperate the fish correctly (parents on the right, the rest on the left) without all sorts of stress and chasing.

I'm just about at 24 hour since they eggs were laid. Of 100 or so (rough guess), about 4 are white which is good I guess. However, I don't yet see any signs of the eggs going dark, which I understand to be the next phase.

It's all a learning process for me (and my fish).

Mark

[Carol_Roberts]

You can pick any one or two of the discus to place with the eggs on one side of hte divider - it doesn;t have to be the real mom and dad. One parent can raise them just fine.