Ira Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 I'm about to have a try at breeding my Pearl Gouramis. I was thinking I'd also throw a male and 1-2 bristlenoses in that tank with them. The gouramis are bubble nest breeders so there shouldn't be any conflict, right? I'll have them in a 3' 150 or so liter tank that I'll need to make a bit more interesting for them, but anyway... Anyone have any tips? Would it be best to put two females with one male, or just one male and one female in there? I've also read a suggestion that a small piece of foam floating on the water can help encourage the male to build a nest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Pegasus will help you out here (hopefully) if i am wrong. I believe he uses one female at a time, and when she seems uninterested in laying eggs he adds another. The pearl gouramis I had only liked to breed when there were large amounts of floating plants in the tank, and then the male did not make a bubble nest, foam may encourage him to bubble, the other thing is half a polystyrene cup. Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 I used two females on the last batch... but only one at once. Reason was that the male was still keen to breed, but the first female was depleted. Don't know if the BN's will eat the eggs.. or fry, but the tank is a bit big as you will need to lower the water level to around 6" (150mm) once the spawning is over and cover the tank top to avoid draughs and keep the surface air warm. Provide some hiding places for the female and remove her once spawning is over also. The water level should remain low for two weeks or so until the breathing organ develops correctly. Feed on a liquid fry food for a few days, then NHBBS. Dominant fry appear very quickly, and you will soon see you have batches that are much larger than the rest. Increase the level of the water after a couple of weeks... just an inch or so every few days until normal level is reached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Hmmm, I'd forgotten I'll have to lower the water level. I don't really understand why that's necessary though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 The fry will die if you don't. They tend to drop to the bottom of the tank and can't make it if the water is deeper. The male spends all his time keeping the fry in the nest and picking them up from the bottom of the tank and spitting them back into the nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Ira. I think it has something to do with the increased water pressure as to why you need to lower the water level. Also as Pegasus was saying you need to keep the air above the water the same as the temperature of the water so that the labyrinth will develop. I found with my siamese fighters that the best tank for this was a one and a half foot by one foot by one foot (L*W*H) covered with glad wrap. For some reason they didn't like the two foot tank I used, even though the same measures were taken (Glad wrap over the tank). As far as bristlenoses and pearl gouramis in the same tank, The gourami eggs float, that would be the saving factor I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Hmmm, I've also read that once the fry or eggs hit the bottom of the tank the male tends to ignore them, which is why lowering the water level didn't make sense. I'm not sure I believe that one though, since that goes against everything else. I realize the tank size isn't ideal, but it's the best I have available, it's one I'm storing for a relative, the other two of his are bigger. I was thinking of the bristlenoses because, even though they're small, I thought maybe they'd breed, but at least they'd keep the tank a bit cleaner. Not a big deal though if you guys think I shouldn't risk them? I'll also need to do a bit of replumbing with the 404 on that tank because it will disturb the surface way too much with the water level lowered. Oh, and I'll need to figure out how to tightly cover the top. It doesn't have a very good glass top. Glad wrap...That's not a bad idea, I might give that a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Any water agitation will break the nest up, so you are better without a filter. Have the fish shown any intention of spawning...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 I doubt they'd show any intention of spawning with 2 females, 3 males, a dozen bristlenoses and a pleco are all crammed into a small tank. That's why I want to put them in a tank on their own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Ok, I've got the biggest male and biggest female pearl gouramis in the tank, I've also caught some daphnia and threw it in the tank along with a clump of riccia to float on the top. Also put the two biggest female bristlenoses and the male in there. They're probably too small to breed, but I've seen some really tiny ones that have breed. Worst case they'll clean up the tank. I disconnected the 404, I thought it still needed at least some filtration so I've got a pair of fluval 2s blowing into some rocks to keep the surface agitation down. The tank is in the sleepout, and since the weather is cooling off I think I'll have to throw a blanket over the tank if I get any fry to keep the air inside warm. Along with using some glad wrap or something to seal the top a bit. I'm going to start feeding them with frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms and whiteworms. Anything else I'm missing? Or do I just need to sit back and be patient? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Sounds ok.... hope you have a heater in the tank in the sleepout 80F is good. Your "best" procedure would have been to just put the "females" into the new tank and get them into condition with the live foods. Once they were filled with roe, then pick the best and remove the other.... then introduce the best male.... or... you could partition the odd female off so that it is ready if the other female doesn't perform. Never fails... Poorly conditioned fish will give poor results, (low yeilds.. poor quality fry) and the Anabantoids expel a lot of energy during spawning. It's a great sight to watch if you get the chance Some pairs will cope together after spawning, but often the male will terrorize the female and could kill her, so it is best to remove her once the action is over. Leave the male to tend to the fry till you see them free swimming and disturb them as little as possible. Just a note.. Lowering the water level once spawning is over is best done with a piece of airline. This lowers the water very slowly and will keep the nest intact. The same applies to Betta's, but lower to around 100mm (4") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 21, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 All the females seem really fat, but without seeing a properly conditioned female and how she looks full of eggs...Well, they're about 2-3 times the width of the males, so I'll give them a try for a while, if nothing seems to be happening in a week or two I'll remove the male and try to condition the female for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 last night when I went to feed them I found that the bubblenest is looking very orange and there were a few dozen small clear eggs(I assume) floating around the tank just under the surface. So, Can I safely assume that the orange color is from fertilized eggs? In that case, I'll take the female out today when I get home. How long about should I have until the eggs hatch? I'm guessing a about 2 days until they hatch, then a day or two until they're free swimming and need to be fed and just liquid fry food should be ok at first then BBS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Good one Ira, You guessed right... about two days. Infusoria is the recommended first food, but the liquid stuff works, plus green water seems to have enough to sustain them. I get the cloudy water from a vase of old flowers... as this has heaps of infusoria in it. Don't feed until they are truly free swimming and you can see they have consumed the egg sac. Get them to about the size of new born guppy fry before you feed them the NHBBS. They grow rapidly on the right foods. Great stuff. Pity you missed the actual spawning. It's an awe inspirering sight, and one you never get sick of seeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 25, 2004 Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Fins crossed for success Ira. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 It probably happened while I was at work. I've decided I'll leave the female in there for now. I don't think I can get her out without disturbing the nest too much and the male doesn't seem to be too concerned that she's there. He's busy running around grabbing eggs and spitting them in the nest. It's lost its orange color, but I can see heaps of little eggs in it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 I have fry! Heaps and heaps and heaps of fry! Wifey saw them first around 2pm. I forgot to wrap the tank up to keep it warm, though. So, I hope it won't make too much of a difference. It's hard to tell which ones are alive, but it seems there are hundreds of them in clumps at the surface. Most of them aren't moving, but when something disturbs them they wiggle. Is that normal? I'm going to get fry food tomorrow when I get up. I'm going to just guess that sunday would be a good day to start feeding them with the fry food, because all I can see are specks with tails, can't see a yolk on them. Should they start swimming more once they become free swimming? OH! I should do something about the filters in there. Just realized the fry might get sucked up by them. I used to have the intakes wrapped with filter wool, but it's not on them at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisha Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 congrats Ira. Good luck with growing them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Great stuff Ira... Congrats :) Slip a piece of foam over the intake of the filter. Might be time to remove the lady if you haven't already done so, as she has no paternal instinct and may decide to have a fish burger he he. Sunday or Monday sounds good, but not unless they are 'truly' free swimming and have consumed the egg sac (big belly) If you are using the tube stuff, place a few drops in something .. anything... and mix it thoroughly with a bit of tank water, then swish it around in the tank otherwise it will sink in one blob. Hope you lowered the water... Very Important. They will tend to stay near the surface, but will become a bit more adventurous as the days pass. Shift the male out as soon as they have all hatched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Moved the female out when I went to put the wool over the filter intakes. She made a run at the fry and had a bite taken out of her fins. So, back into the main tank. Take the male out once all the fry are hatched? Ok, I think most of them are hatched, but the lights are out now so I'll wait until tomorrow. He seems to be a good dad, he was taking mouthfuls of fry and spitting them back under under the bubblenest. Yup, I lowered the water. It's at 6" exactly, I measured it with a tape measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Congratultions Ira, hope you can post some pics at some stage? Keep up the good work, Robbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suemack Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Congratulations Ira.....keep us posted sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2004 I'll have to see if I can borrow a digital camera again if you want pics. I went out to practically all the fish stores in the Wellington area today looking for 1' lights, Impossible to find more than one per place, anyway it seems there are heaps of pearl gouramis around. Maybe by the time all of them are gone mine will be big enough to sell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 CONGRATULATIONS Ira.....................there is always the Napier auctionLOL to sell them at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Yup, was thinking that. They must be free swimming now, or almost anyway. They're all over the tank instead of clustered near the edges now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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