PWCottle Posted December 22, 2002 Report Share Posted December 22, 2002 Does anyone have any practical experience of breeding these fish? I can get plenty of eggs but they always fungus. Have tried all of the usual things like altering pH and hardness and the use of different bacterial /fungicidal chemicals but to no avail. The 'Rainbow fish on line 'site recommends pH 7.8 and hardness of 80ppm. Still no luck! I have searched the books for clues without success - fish still haven't learned to read!!! Have also tried pairs/ trios etc. Would appreciate if any NZ aquarists have bred them and can offer a solution. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year from UK. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted December 22, 2002 Report Share Posted December 22, 2002 Pete said... > Does anyone have any practical experience of breeding these fish? As far as I know, they've never been imported into NZ. G. incisus has and is not generally considered hard to breed, I did it myself several times several years ago. I'd use a long shallow tank (say 3ft or bigger with 10 or 12 inches of water). Put in a *lot* of spawning moss and use plenty of airation. Leave the fish (2 males, 3 or more females perhaps) in the tank for a week, remove them and wait. Fry should appear in another week or 10 days... Fry will (I expect) be small and slow growing. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWCottle Posted December 23, 2002 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2002 Thanks for your comments Andrew. I also have bred G. incisus quite successfully and G. multisquamatus. With all Rainbows, I use a Killie mop and find it absolutely OK. If I could only get over the problem of fungusing eggs, I am sure there they would be reasonably easy to raise.. Will persevere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CID in OZ Posted January 30, 2003 Report Share Posted January 30, 2003 Hi Pete Just a thought is the male mature enough or just starting to breed ? I would think they are the same as Multisquamatus& Incisus being Glossolepis with the only difference being Wanamensis are a lake form where the other 2 are riverine so maybe less aeration and about 28-30*C My only experience is with Goyder river Trifasciata Persistence seems to be the only course 8) Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWCottle Posted January 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Hi Chris. Thanks for your comments. The males I am using, are about 6-7 cm long so I guess that they are mature. Still getting lots of eggs and still fungusing. In desperation, I chucked one mop full of eggs into another tank. As usual and to be expected, they fungussed - all except one which has hatched out and is free swimming. It seems to me that there is not too much wrong with the breeding set up - just some fine tuning required - or bloody mindedness!!! Regards Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted January 31, 2003 Report Share Posted January 31, 2003 Try adding some kind of anti-fungal medicine or some salt to the tank? Couldn't hurt, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWCottle Posted February 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2003 Hi Ira. Have already tried the usual anti fungal treatments ( even went back to dear old methylene blue) but to no avail. In general, I am against adding chemicals to fish tanks. they dont have them in the wild (or at least they shouldn't have)so I steer clear of them where possible. I will get there eventually! regards Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 Peter said... > Still getting lots of eggs and still fungusing. Some things to consider (which may or may not be obvious). If you're getting fungussed eggs, one of two things could be happening. Either the eggs are dying after being fertilized or they weren't fertilised to begin with. Do you see any sign of development in the eggs? How long after laying are they fungussing? Infertile eggs *will* fungus no matter what the water conditions. There are several factors that can affect egg health and fertilisation success. Such as maturity of the breeders, water quality, diet of the breeders, light, water chemistry, compatability of breeders? Maybe you could try different combinations of adult fish. If there's a dominant male who is monopolising the female(s) but he happens to be infertile (for any number of reasons) then you may get a very low fertilisation rate. My feeling is, that if you're getting the odd viable fry then you're not far away from getting there... Keep at it. Andrew, with some N. guentheri fry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PWCottle Posted February 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2003 Hi Andrew. My feeling at the moment is that the males are either infertile or immature. Most eggs are fungused within 24 hours which tends to support the idea that they are infertile. I dont think the fish are immature as they are of a reasonable size. I have played around with water and temp conditions and they still fungus too quickly. I am going to purchase some more and grow them for another 2-3 months and try again. Males and females will be in separate tanks during this time and I think I may just allow a 'free for all' in May/June. One sure thing is I WILL eventually get a spawning to hatch and grow on! Will keep you posted. Good to hear that the N's are OK. regards Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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