breeding help

[jhayes6405]

So I have some caudopuncts that decided to breed. They were moved to a 125, formed a pair, kicked out the 3rd(i have a trio of them) and layed eggs. All in a 2 day period. I found the eggs inside the shell in the pic and did some research. Apparently the eggs are supposed to hatch in 72 hours. So I set up a 10 gallon and added the shell with the eggs and the mom.

Now she just sits there. Where as she would stay in and around the shell. Has moving her to her own tank maybe caused her to abandon the eggs? I used tank water from the 125 in the 10.


The pic is the dominant male chasing off another male, while mom in inside the shell via the hole on the top.

[sirknight]

I would say that the female would not take care of them after the move, If they hatch she will most likely eat them, if she hasn't already done so.

If the eggs are still in the shell try placing an air stone close to the entrance of the shell to create some circulation, remove the female and try to hatch them by themselves. After they hatch they will not be free swimming, when they are, you will need to start feeding them.

The best setup for a nursery tank is bare bottom with a sponge filter.

Next time they spawn if you keep them in the main tank, leave them until they are free swimming then remove them to a nursey tank for raising.

Joe

[jhayes6405]

Awesome Joe, thanks. The 10 gallon is barebottom with a DIY sponge filter. Will do what you recommended. I checked the shell today and the eggs are still glued to it. So, we will see I guess.

[jhayes6405]

I have little fish! Well, more like little, tiny pin head sized tadpoles. They are extremely hard to spot and just lay on their sides on the bottom of the tank trying to wiggle. Is this a good thing? When and what should I do for food?

[jhayes6405]

Dec 26, 2009 10:35:32 GMT -6 @sirknight said:

Next time they spawn if you keep them in the main tank, leave them until they are free swimming then remove them to a nursey tank for raising.

Joe

Wouldn't that get them eaten?

[jon carman]

They should hang close to the shell. You would lose some, but unless you want a huge colony it probably isn't a bad thing. If I have breeding pairs that start spawning on a regular basis, I get over run with fry fast, and I can't sell them cheap enough to get rid of them. You almost can't even give them away fast enough.

[sirknight]

The reason, I said this is because the female will protect them until free swimming. Now you would have to take all the rock out and get the fry.

If I were you and want to raise these fish, get a 20 gallon tank, set it up for the parents and breed them in the 20.

Setup another tank(s) to raise the fry. The fry are tiny even when free swimming so you will need very small foods at first. Micro worms, BBS, daphinia, etc. would be good choices

It takes around 2 weeks for the fry to become free swimming and I have never seen a spawn larger then 40.

If I recall correctly these fish take a long time to mature, around a year. The pair could spawn for you every 6 to 8 weeks. What I would do to induce spawning is make a 50% water change and raise the temperature 2 degrees.

Also note that these fish don't normally spawn in shells but I have read that other people have seen them spawn that way. I used a flower pot turned over so the small hole was on the top and the large hole was on the bottom. They would spawn on the side of the flower pot.


Jon, was typing the same time I was. sorry Jon.

[jhayes6405]

Thanks for the help guys. I guess I was just hoping to see if I could even do this. There is a shop here that would probably take them. There are 0 tangs in this town so maybe they will be in high demand ! The shell they are breeding in is essentially lke the upside down flower pot idea, only looks better in my tank.