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eggs- getting them to hatch

Seb

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
55
Location
Kent
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on hattching Ram eggs. I have two relativly competant egglaying rams who have spawned a few times. Sadly however corys always seem to eat all the eggs, even before the parents can! This time around though I remooved the eggs and put them in a tub floating in the tank. I've applied methlene blue, so the waters slightly blueish. After 2 days only a few eggs have surcumbed to fungus (about 10% of 150). Is there anyway to reduce the number of fungussed eggs, do parents help stop it? Also because the methlene blue is in an isloated container should I leave the nevly hatched wrigglers in it?

Sorry for all the questions, I just havent really bread too many fish.
 

T_om

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
29
Remove the fungused eggs with a pipette if you can. Keep water movement going with air set on LOW, just a few bubbles per minute is enough.

After they hatch, start changing out their water every day, say 20% at a time, with water from the tank they are floating in.

In a few days (depending upon temperature) the wigglers will become free swimming. Do NOT feed until they are free swimming. Start the fry on decapsulated brine shrimp eggs and Walter worms or microworms. Feed *small* amounts while in the hatching jar and do not forget to keep up the water changes.

After 3 to 5 days in the hatching jar, release them into a small tank, 5 or ten gallons, and continue to feed and do water changes. Do NOT put in a huge growout tank until they are large enough to recognize you at feeding time (and they will!), otherwise you will end up putting too much food in the tank just to get them to "find" it.

I grow out 150 fry hatches in 40 gallon tanks up to sell-able size.

Tom
 

Seb

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
55
Location
Kent
Thanks for the advice. I have got a 60L relatively free, with about thirty 0.5-1.4cm guppies and some 2cm corydoras hasboras (trying to get them to spawn, but I suspect I've got all males!). Would there be any problems with guppies picking on the little guys or the eggs?

Another quick point does anyone use chemicals to help stop fungus or is water flow a more important factor?
 

T_om

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
29
Seb said:
Thanks for the advice. I have got a 60L relatively free, with about thirty 0.5-1.4cm guppies and some 2cm corydoras hasboras (trying to get them to spawn, but I suspect I've got all males!). Would there be any problems with guppies picking on the little guys or the eggs?

Another quick point does anyone use chemicals to help stop fungus or is water flow a more important factor?


Do NOT put the eggs or fry in a tank with other fish. Everything that swims will eat tiny fry if they can catch them.

A good, cheap, fungicide is Hydrogen Peroxide, but you have to be careful using it as too much will kill the eggs. Do not use on fry.

Tom
 

Seb

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
55
Location
Kent
Thanks, I'll sell the guppies soon anyway and I might moove the corys to live with thier bigger cousins, spose it'd be ok. I think I'm also gonna get an air pump today aswell.
 

Seb

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
55
Location
Kent
The main reason I asked was because this morning I had given up hope. After all my attempts it seemed almost all my eggs had fungussed, dispite every effort. But this evening when I turned the light on something wriggled off! I immediatly thought it was something like a waterflea, but it was off under a rock in a flash. I can see a few tiny browny spheres on the bottom and I think tiny tails, but they are TINY are theese wrigglers? literally they are no bigger than full stop, are they usually this small?

Well I sure hope they grow to be rams, not some small bug.
 

fishgeek

New Member
Messages
980
Location
london uk
ram fry are probably one of the smallest
though the paents would usually move them from pits at this point or eat them
did you move them?
what is your water like?
 

nightowl1350

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
217
Location
Brampton, Ontario
The cory may be ok with the ram fry (free swimmers not wigglers) I know a few people who put them in with new angel free swimmers. I have used hydrogen peroxide as an anti fungal for hatching angel eggs. I use about 1.5 mls in a 10g tank every 12 hours that they are eggs. Some use more, but that seems to work for me. Good luck with the next spawn.
 

Seb

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
55
Location
Kent
Thanks.

Well I've definatly got wrigglers... Out of roughly 140 eggs, twenty wrigglers #sigh#. Well I tried. I usually get white deposits around the sides of my tanks, so I guess its alkaline(?), should get a water check but due to forgetfulness I havent. Also I did move all the eggs about an hour after they were layed (too many hungry corys in the parents tank). I put them in a suspended tub in the water and added methlene blue (which stained the stone they were on blue! Too much me thinks).
Its odd though some of my wrigglers are fine, but others sit there and look alot paler than thier more mobile siblings, are they alive or dead (or newly hatched)?

Well anyway hopefully my next spawn will go better. Firstly I'll put the parents in my baby guppy and dwarf cory tank, removing the corys first and selling the guppys. Hopefully the eggs will stank a better chance. Besides, success of failure it should let me see if my Rams really are good parents afterall. If they fail I'll just remove the eggs and use hydrogen peroxide.
 

T_om

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
29
Seb said:
Thanks.

Well I've definatly got wrigglers... Out of roughly 140 eggs, twenty wrigglers #sigh#. Well I tried. I usually get white deposits around the sides of my tanks, so I guess its alkaline(?), ....

The water deposits around your tank have nothing to do with pH. Check your water hardness.

Rams, for just one example, thrive, grow and spawn just fine in a wide range of pH and hardness. Getting the eggs to hatch at all or hatch with a descent hatch rate is a different story however.

Rams need soft water, not to spawn, but to get the resulting eggs to hatch. The harder the water, the lower the hatch rate. I'll have to do a study on this with some control pairs of known fecundity, should be interesting to quantify my anecdotal information and personal observations.

Tom
 

Seb

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
55
Location
Kent
Well I will get a water test now. Have you ever noticed a male Ram turning on its partner? Its just my male has been getting really angry at his mate. All her colour fades and she lies on hers side (submission I think). Would it be because I removed 'his' rock that they spawned on, as I think it was his main territory. Is there anyway to calm him down, or should I move him if the agression continues? (bearin in mind he is bigger then the smaller mate)
 

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