Faran Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 If anyone has bred Congo Tetras (or anything that might be relevant) please feel free to read and help out, your experience is appreciated So I have 6 Congo Tetras, or which I have observed 4 spawning in the community tank. Problematically, I discovered that the other fish (including the non-parent Congos) were devouring the fresh "roe" as soon as it was released. So I've now set up a little breeding tank and hopefully will have safe eggs soon. This is a first attempt and I don't expect success by far, simply an experiment which I'm sure I'll repeat with varying conditions before victory. So, my tank is rather small (45cm/10Gallon) but with just a pair, I hope it's large enough. I have a 60cm here, but it's too large for the rather limited space I have for the setup and would rather not have a tank in the bedroom (might have to, though!) Water is pH7 with a tanin colouration and marbles as substrate. I've moved 4 of the Congos back to the big tank this morning leaving my 2 most dominant congos (hope they're a pair) to be alone in the tank. They seem happy and the male has already developed the dark patch behind the eye and started dancing. The water is just dechlorinated tapwater, which I heard might be bad for the eggs. Any advice/suggestions? Will keep everyone posted through here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 I have never bred them myself but here is what my trusty book says ... Breeding tank: 100 litre with spawning grid. Sex ratio: 1:1 or slightly more fellas Temp: 26C pH: 6.5 eggs are non adhesive, round, glassy and incubation is 6 days. Feed fry newly hatched brine shrimp. It says a large aquarium and soft water are required with soft water particularly being a must. So looks like tap water is fine as long as it is soft. The fish are lively, chasing each other so quickly spawning is practically unnoticeable. Females are prolific and 400 fry from 1 female is not unusual! Shortly after the embryo emerges from the egg case it becomes free swimming and immediately takes food. Though the eggs are relatively large the fry are not very big and for a few days have trouble coping with bigger brine shrimp. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Wicked! Seems my tank is a bit small (40 litres) but everything else is good aside from pH. "spawning grid"? I'll stick with marbles So... what book is that, exactly, Caryl? I need a copy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Aquarium Fish of the World by Ivan Petrovicky and published by Hamlyn. It is an old book (published 1998) with line drawings rather than photos. Some of the information is out of date (regarding 'these fish have not been bred in captivity' or 'these are difficult to breed' for certain species now relatively commonly spawned) but I find it useful for info like temp, sexing, pH etc. ISBN 0 600 556600 3 By the way, the marbles will work the same as a spawning grid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 I definitely think the tank is too small for them. When moved back to the 180ltr tank, the Congos act completely normal and even started spawning and such, but when left in the small tank they look scared and uncomfortable. Will be setting up the 60cm tank for them in the bedroom (darnit) and hopefully they'll be happy enough to breed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Something you may not have considered in Caryl's post is that they will spawn 400 + eggs . If you have a succesful spawn, will you have enough space to grow the fry when they get a little bigger in say a month of growth? At a rough gess you will need a 900mm + tank to grow only 100 fry to 3cm at which time there big enough to pass on. good luck congo's are a wonderful fish to seen in large shoals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Hope you have lots of luck breeding them. It seems as though they are always in demand Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Ya know, I just got that 400+ per female thing in one of my fish books. Umm... if I put my leopard ctenopoma in a small tank for a few weeks I suppose I could use my main tank. Honestly think at this point I should give them to you (stu) or Billaney for breeding. LOL. It's a little more than I bargained for! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 LOL , thanks but no thanks, my tanks are "FULL" of SJD'S, and other killies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted July 3, 2005 Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 Yay Stew Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2005 No worries, a suitable foster home has been offered for the kids if they appear. Seems there's a lot of demand for these little guys, hope they don't really spit out 400 for each female! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2005 And the 45cm tank has been scrapped. The Congos REALLY didn't seem happy in there, so I will be trying again in a few days with a 60cm tank. Pretty much decided that if they didn' spawn this morning I'd put them back in the big tank as they weren't eating and were starting to look a bit thin.. no good for spawning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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