I'm gonna have baby BNs!

hyunelan2

hyunelan2

Large Fish
#1
Jun 1, 2005
684
1
0
45
Near Chicago, IL
#1
Am actually in the middle of a water change right now. I noticed yestrday that one of my BNs was hanging out over this cave opening for quite a while. Today I looked closer and noticed the fish fanning... so I looked even closer and see a pile of eggs inside the cave he's fanning.

*takes breath, calms excitement*

Now what? This is in my 46g with rainbows, killies and clown loaches. I leave the eggs alone, right? Do I need to remove the fry when they're born? Will the parent(s) protect them, or should I worry about the other fish eating them? Although the rainbows and killies are not fierce predators, if it fits in their mouth, they'll probably eat them. (I'm gonna go search all this out when I finish tank cleanings tonight).

This is VERY exciting to me... since I've started keeping fish I wanted to get some to breed with no success... not even livebearers. I was actually going to setup my 10g tonight in preparation in an attempt for breeding my killies (clown loaches eat the eggs in the big tank), but that's gonna get put on hold incase I need that 10g for the baby BNs.

Ok, pointers appreciated... I'll be back on later.
 

hyunelan2

hyunelan2

Large Fish
#4
Jun 1, 2005
684
1
0
45
Near Chicago, IL
#4
The eggs should be ready to hatch in a day or two. I am going to try to raise as many of these as possible, partly because I want to do it, and partly because there are a few of my fishkeeping friends who want some (me included).

Since doing reading on the topic, I will be setting up a bare-bottom 10g, with a spare rena-cal heater, and an already-cultured filter (Whisper 10i with sponge over intake to reduce flow) that I keep running in another tank for reasons just like this. The fry will be fed blanched zucchini and romaine lettuce, which will be changed daily along with tank cleanings and 30% water changes. I'm not too worried about that part yet.

Mainly, I'm wondering how will I get the fry out of my heavily planted (& rocked) 46g tank, into the barebottom 10g? The 'cave' the eggs are currently in is built out of rock, so it's not like a PVC pipe I can pick up and drop into the other tank. I was thinking of using a turkey-baster (with the 'sucker' opening cut a little larger) to suck the fry out of the cave before they all go swimming off in other directions. Once they hit open water - they'll be a meal for the first Rainbowfish/Killifish that sees them.

The other thing I was thinking about was using the hose from my siphon-cleaner to suck the fry out, directly into the 10g tank. This would ensure the water parameters were exactlty the same and they wouldn't get shocked on transfer.

If I go about this, how soon should I remove them? When they still have the yolk-sac attached, or after they have gone through that?
 

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Helena21

Helena21

Superstar Fish
#7
Oct 7, 2005
1,850
2
0
32
Essex, England
#7
I have bred bristlenoses before and I just left the fry with the parents and all the other fish. None of the fish ate the fry, but seeing as you have clown loaches, most probably most of them will get eaten. If i were you i would probably get the fry out as soon as possible to avoid them being eaten.
I have about 30 1/2 inch fry in my tank growing :)

Good luck with the fry *twirlysmi
 

hyunelan2

hyunelan2

Large Fish
#10
Jun 1, 2005
684
1
0
45
Near Chicago, IL
#10
I still have about +30 killies in my 10g tank. At about 2.5 weeks now, they still look like tadpoles. Over in the 46g, the male is still inside the cave, but anything beyond that is speculation. Obviously there has to be eggs/fry in the cave or he wouldn't be there anymore, but I can't see anything to be able to tell otherwise. Here's the other thread I've been updating in the breeding section: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/breeding/40711-eggs-eggs-eggs.html
 

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