Apisto C spawned again

[nightowl1350]

They layed eggs again today. So far the pair have eaten the last 3-4 spawns. The first few were in a tank with some BN plecos and angels (no extra tank space and they were in QT) The last 2 were in a tank of their own with 2 small guppies as dither fish. I don't know if the male was eating the eggs, so this time I pulled all but the female out and will see if she makes a good Mom. If the eggs don't make it this time I will pull the eggs and raise them myself.

 

[nightowl1350]

The eggs are gone, so Mom isn't very good at this parent raising thing either. I will steal the next spawn and see if I can do any better.

 

[aspen]

it may be the plecos doing it, no? is there a safe haven for the eggs and fry where the plecos can't get to?

rick

 

[blueblue]

The eggs are gone, so Mom isn't very good at this parent raising thing either. I will steal the next spawn and see if I can do any better.

Sorry to hear that;

if all the fish were taken out and only the mother fish was around,
and the eggs were still gone, then:
1. The eggs were not fertilized, and were salvaged by the mother fish.
2. The mother ate the eggs and fry, despite the eggs were fertilized.

Anyhow, if you want to keep the fry, you probably would like to try
the "artificial hatching" technique next time...

 

[nightowl1350]

Aspen...the past 2 spawns were with no plecos in the tank. Once the dad and a small pair of guppies (dither fish for him to chase) and the last time she was the only fish in the tank.

I've pulled angel and blue rams eggs, so I know the drill. (I don't have parent raising fish except my BN plecos) Anything I should do special for the apisto eggs or just treat like the others?

 

[Richard Brice]

What color were the eggs? Most of the time the eggs are very red if they are good, otherwise they are clear and turn white when bad.

 

[aspen]

see the little tiny dot in the middle of each of those eggs? that is the live fry growing on egg white. if you don't see this, the eggs are not fertile or died too early. they will eat their eggs if they aren't good. if they aren't any good, suspect young/infertile male or excessive water hardness. what do your eggs look like?

rick

 

[Mike Wise]

Most of the time the eggs are very red if they are good, otherwise they are clear and turn white when bad.

This is an "old wive's tale". The color of the eggs depends on the diet of the female when developing eggs. I have had viable red, pink, green, & white eggs.

 

[nightowl1350]

The eggs are a off white or amber colour, more like my ram eggs. It is hard to tell, but they look like they are viable. I've seen one egg that did turn white (kind of off to the side so maybe the male missed it) and the rest stay the original colour till eaten.

I don't test hardness of water, but our water should be the same Aspen. My ram eggs hatch out fine in it, so I hope the apisto ones will to. The next time I will pull them and if the eggs die off before willger stage I will have to look into hardness, diet, and other factors.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[Andre]

Hi Nightowl.

Good to see another angelfish forum II person here.

Hope you have success artificially raising them.

Andre

 

[aspen]

if your water IS the same as mine, you should get pretty decent hatches from a cacatuoides in plain tapwater. however i use prime to condition my tapwater due to ammonia and probably other impurities.

as for why they are consistently eating their eggs, i can't answer that. the spawns of cacs i've had were had were well taken care of by their parents. it has been postulated by people that generally only bad eggs are eaten, i can't confirm or deny this in all cases. but i do know that with the right amount of pressure from other fish, my dwarfs seem more ready to guard their eggs and fry. too much and they'll eat them before the other fish get them, too little and the parents can fight each other for them, esp with rams i've had.

i don't see the point of artifically raising apisto fry. it is more work than it is worth, and parents do a better job than i've been able to do. it is better (ime) trying to get the right result by having the parents raise them. a good pair or trio are good fry raisers. cacs make very good parents ime.

rick