W00t... eggs!

[tcmemphisbbq]

My white diamonds have been in the new 75gal breeder(split) for a few weeks and finally tonight they are laying.... they laid evey 4 or 5 days in the community but the wrigglers never made it more than a day or so - excited to see what happens in a private environment.

[KEWX]

GOOD LUCK!!

[ockyra215]

Good luck keep us posted!:D:bandana:

[kaceyo]

WTG, hope they pull it all together for ya.

Kacey

[David Rose]

Good luck Tom!

[tcmemphisbbq]

24 hours in and only about 6 are solid white, should be interesting... I am sure as time progresses I will have questions LOL.

[tcmemphisbbq]

So far so good - almost 96 hours in since laid eggs, wrigglers are dancing around the bottom of the tank, some starting to take flight LOL - if they "dance" to far from the cone the parents promptly spit them back....

I siphoned off some poo and checked the bucket and got 5 accidently, I let them gently lay on my finger and movd them back, after the first one the parents met my finger at the top and snatched it up soon as it fell off my finger in the water, amazing.

[kaceyo]

They have to have very good parenting instincts to raise them from loose eggs on the tank bottom. IME, that's usually a lost cause.

Kacey

[tcmemphisbbq]

No they laid them on the cone, but about half have been on and off falling off, ide say 20% are on the bare bottom but al within a 4x4 area at the base of the cone :-) The remainder are attached to the cone still but getting bigger. THIS point is the very farthest ive ever made it before hehe so its all new after this.

From my reading I should be seeing free swimming next day or so and I guess the question after that is 2 fold.......

How long till I start feeding them and how long do i, if ever remove the parents -

Thanks everyone... exciting stuff.

[Jason K.]

congat's on the wiggler's all seems to be working out. mine still eat the eggs before wiggler stage.

[tcmemphisbbq]

ive been fortunate that mine were never egg eaters....

[kaceyo]

I start to introduce them to bbs at around day 3. But you'll be fine starting them within 7 days of freeswimming.

[tcmemphisbbq]

Look like they are still learning, there are a few wrigglers left but looks like most are not there anymore hehe - at least they are back to breeding again after taking a month off hehe

[David Rose]

Would love to see progress pictures if you have time :D

[smiley]

yah we all r waiting for pics ;)

[tcmemphisbbq]

Well came home from work early, burrned the crap out of my hand.. anyway, there are only two freeswimmers left that I can see. Bottom of tank is pretty dirty cause i didnt vac last night for fear of getting the ones that were up and down trying to swim all over the place -

Mom was more interested in eating food at the wriggler stage then dad, he did the tending 80% of the time Ide say - wondering if she ate them all - I see a few not moving on the bottom but didnt watch to see if they were "really" not moving -

Got 2 though swimming around the surface of the tank, doubt they will make it this round -

I think when the eggs hatch I may remove her next time and see what happens - Should lay again in a few days, she is very active, eats like a pig. Begs like crazy ALL the time.

Anyone got any advice?

[tcmemphisbbq]

Ok after a careful water change I have 7 freeswimmers. They bump into parents occassionaly but parents arent stayin still for them and when one swam into its eye it swam off - I powdered some hikari dried bloodworms and mals spinkled on surface - 3 of them was swimming around top of tank - the others are all over the tank - parents catch them when they see them and still try to put it back on the cone.... they just swim off again lol

I dont know where the buggers were hiding, seen a couple swim in and out of the poret divider - pretty cool to sit and watch them swim around, I dont think...after watching them closely and alot, that the mom was eating them, I just think they didnt make it or fell of the cone into the bottom. The bottom was dirty, amazing how much crap (literally) 2 fish can put out - but I was afraid of sucking them up so let it be -

Anyway, got 7 swimmers - we'll see what happens tommorrow. Love it!

[David Rose]

Ok after a careful water change I have 7 freeswimmers. They bump into parents occassionaly but parents arent stayin still for them and when one swam into its eye it swam off - I powdered some hikari dried bloodworms and mals spinkled on surface - 3 of them was swimming around top of tank - the others are all over the tank - parents catch them when they see them and still try to put it back on the cone.... they just swim off again lol

I dont know where the buggers were hiding, seen a couple swim in and out of the poret divider - pretty cool to sit and watch them swim around, I dont think...after watching them closely and alot, that the mom was eating them, I just think they didnt make it or fell of the cone into the bottom. The bottom was dirty, amazing how much crap (literally) 2 fish can put out - but I was afraid of sucking them up so let it be -

Anyway, got 7 swimmers - we'll see what happens tommorrow. Love it!


Have you lowered your water level to help the free-swimmers find their parents?

[tcmemphisbbq]

Yes I tried that the parents ignore them, if they can hang on then fine but if the parent swims away the baby is just there hehe - father is more interested now in fanning the new eggs.
they have laid again today while I was at work - and there are still 7 swimmers - they go to parents then not then back then not hehe - will keep dusting tank - pretty wild they already laid AGAIN, less than a week after laying before....

[tcmemphisbbq]

UPDATE -

expecting another batch of wriggler today around 4pm or so, also still have 6 or 7 swimmers hovering around parents :) Love to sit and watch them -

Will keep ya posted.
tom

[David Rose]

UPDATE -

expecting another batch of wriggler today around 4pm or so, also still have 6 or 7 swimmers hovering around parents :) Love to sit and watch them -

Will keep ya posted.
tom


Unless you separate the current free swimmers and artificially raise them, they will probably become snacks between now and the time the others go free swimming. You could try putting back with the new free swimmers at some point though.

[tcmemphisbbq]

might have to take thier chances lol no place to put them and im sure the stendkers would eat em in the other side of the 75 hehe -

Looks like ALOT more eggs stayed valid and no fungus this round so expectig ALOT more wrigglers
tom

[tcmemphisbbq]

WEll they didnt eat the freewimmers they ate the wrigglers this time lol - i think it was the female - went to bed had about 40 wrigglers -

this morning, nodda cept the 5 freeswimmers that are 9 days old now -

[tcmemphisbbq]

Laying yet again this morning - wow! still got 5 freeswimmers from first batch, 2 from second batch - I guess they are "collecting" them one batch at a time LOL -

[kaceyo]

Maybe thy're just keeping the best and culling the rest?

[William Palumbo]

You're lucky...when my pairs have fry and spawn again, by the time the new eggs go wriggling, they have already hunted down and ate the previous batch...Bill

[tcmemphisbbq]

Yeah pretty cool - three diff sets - 4 of the swimmers are on the parents and the 5th hovers at the top - when I crush a small ammount of dried bloodworms on the top he hangs around it, I assume it is able to eat the dust size pieces - not sure.

Funny thing is the one at the top that has been assumingly eating the hikari worms is bigger than the ones on the parents - pretty neat to get this far, even if its only 5 of them - each day they look more and more like fish....

Just went home for a minute, yup, they laid...knew they would the way she was cleaning the cone...

I was thinking this time around when the eggs are wrigglers of putting her back in main tank - problem is my main tank is under strict AB treatment right now so she will just have to wait a while...and my qt has one in it also....

Tom

[tcmemphisbbq]

Well dang it, I think they are eating the eggs now - the fry are too small I am sure but woke up with no eggs, cone full last night, no eggs this morning - I am wondering if they are just "Getting hungry" in the middle of the night -

I think its the mom but wont be able to move her for 3 or 4 more days at least cause main tank is heavily into a AB treatment....

Still got 4 other fry though -10days or so ;-) Still hand feeding the one dusted hikari worms....

Which brings me to my next question.. seems like every day the parents are more "irritated" with the fry and flick them off, etc - my problem is I have no way of moving or seperating them except to move the very small fry into a tank of 3 hans juvies 3" long now hehe - So not sure what to do really -

Qt tank still has new fish in it, display under AB, half of 75 is 3 juvies, other half has the pair with fry.....

[Eddie]

Hey there Tom,

Pairs/fish won't eat the eggs because of hunger, so no worries on that.

Maybe remove the 4 fry to a tank of their own, it may be the reason why the parents are eating the eggs. :o


Eddie

[tcmemphisbbq]

Yeah Im trying to figure out where to put them LOL :-) All my tanks have occupants currently for a while longer.

Fry are getting big, swiming around more and more and I coulda swore I saw them chasing the falling bits of hikary worms :-) Pretty cool to just this get this far for me hehe

[kaceyo]

Keep in mind that every day they spend in the tank with the parents could be their last day tp live. :confused:

[tcmemphisbbq]

Well unfortunately I have to medicate the tank - so I definately cant be moving fish around -

Amazing what damage one fish can do to all your precious fish and not even be in the same tank.... :(