Need help quick

[ishar]

MY KRIBS SPAWNED!!!

BIG PROBLEM!!! hahaha

I just noticed the female swimming against some driftwood kind of funnily, and then saw the eggs. I am SO excited... but at the same time I am moving to another house tomorrow morning! I need some advice on what to do to try to keep the eggs and yet drain the tank and get it ready to move.

I have plants in the tank, so I will have some water in there- hopefully enough to cover the eggs and keep them wet. I severely hesitate in moving the driftwood or anything of the sort. And I do want these eggs to hatch- at least a couple. Any ideas??

To move I will be putting all of the fish with some plant clippings in a bucket with a heater, and then having the tank drained to about an inch or two. I was hoping to move the fish and drain the tank (and cover it) tonight but with these eggs I don't know what to do- please help!

 

[Lotus]

I'd put the eggs in water (large jar or tupperware) with an airstone in it. I think that's going to be your best option for keeping them safe. I'd bet that the parents will eat them, if they get freaked out by having the tank broken down.

It may or may not work.

Hopefully, someone else has another idea.

 

[ishar]

How do I run an airstone when I am in the car though?? Also how might I get the eggs off of the wood? The piece is pretty large and buried deeply in the substrate.

Thanks Lotus- hopefully this advice gets the ball rolling for me haha

 

[Lotus]

Oh, if it's on wood, I think you'll have to put the whole thing in a bucket. The eggs need to stay submerged.

The eggs will be fine for a few hours without an airstone (assuming your journey isn't longer than that). But, while you're packing or unpacking other things, it would be a good idea to have the airstone on.

 

[ishar]

Yeah the car ride is only 2 hours tops.

So I think in reading the earlier posts we have a misunderstanding- the tank is not getting tore down. It is staying fully intact, but just mostly drained.

So if I leave enough water in there and then hope it doesn't splash around a whole lot (which I feel it won't- my dad will be pretty good with the brake and with all the plants and whatnot it should be decently calm water) the eggs *should* be ok?

 

[Orion]

haha, dude you got luck like mine

Right, so long as they don't get too hot I would think, they should be OK the way you are talking about transporting them. HOWEVER, once you introduce the parents back to them, I still think there's a good chance that they will end up eating them.

Sucks, sure, but not that big of a deal. If they spawned once then they are very likely to do it again. IMHO biggest thing to watch out for is if one krib 'blames' the other for the problem and then in turn starts becoming very aggressive tword it's partner.

 

[ishar]

ok sounds good. Thanks guys for the help- saved my bacon Will let you know how it all ends up.

 

[unwritten law]

That happened to my keyholes the first time the eggs got... eaten?...The male was very aggressive towards the female but after the second and third time that the eggs haven't made it they just got used to it I guess. I dont think your gonna be able to keep them a live and although it is very exciting they probably will not and its gonna be more trouble than its worth. They will spawn again in a few weeks once they get used to their surroundings again.

 

[ishar]

Thanks Unwritten- appreciate the comment.

Here are the results:
- I couldn't catch any fish but the guppies... the kribs just hid in their cave and the cories were too low and hid in the plants... I did not want to but I ended up draining the tank to a few inches and just leaving the fish in it.
- With all of the moving around the Kribs freaked I think and ate the eggs- oh well
- All fish lived except one guppy. I can't find the fourth cory but I am sure it is fine.
- I noticed a bit of aggression between the kribs after flooding the tank but they seem to have calmed down and are chillin' together again.

Thanks for the help guys- it helped calm me down and know what to do.

 

[unwritten law]

Yeah its awesome when they spawn and really upsetting when the eggs end up missing but it's almost guaranteed that they will spawn again in a bout a month or less.

 

[ishar]

great to hear I eagerly await the day I see some little Krib fry swimmin' around .

 

[unwritten law]

Too bad I'm going to need to set up another 5-10 gallon if I want mine to live... damn pleco digs tunnels better than the Japanese in order to ambush my eggs. I found a huge tunnel under my driftwood to the corner where my eggs were.