Re: Tank mate / Artificial hatching questions...

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@fgn.net>]

Tony,

Any of these fish, including the parents, are likely candidates for egg eating.
Apparently there aren't any acceptable caves for spawning or the aggies wouldn't
be spawning on an open leaf. In such a busy tank the female may feel it better
to eat the eggs and 'recycle' the nutrients for future breeding than to keep up
the effort to protect them from so many fish. You could cut the leaf and
artificially raise the fry like angelfish, but most hobbyists who have done this
have found that they get fewer, and slower growing, fry than when kept with
their mother. My suggestion is putting the parents in their own tank for
breeding purposes. Otherwise just accept that any fry coming from this tank will
be a lucky bonus.

Mike Wise

Anthony Baker wrote:

> Hi all.  Been lurking for a while but could use some help.
>
> I have a pair of beautiful double-red aggies in my 60G planted tank that
> have spawned 8-9 times unsuccesfully, most recently this past Saturday.  The
> eggs are always laid on an anubias leaf, and disappear in 1-2 days.  I
> suspect that some of the other fish in the tank are guilty, though I have
> never seen any of them actually eating eggs.  Tank inhabitants are: 8 neons,
> 3 adult black mollies, 8 juv SAEs, 3 AFFs, 6 corys (C. aeneus I think), 1
> striated/queen loach, and 4 Khuli loaches.  So, my questions, are any of
> these fish likely culprits (I suspect the loaches, and wouldn't mind
> removing them)?  I would like to keep the SAEs and AFFs if possible for
> algae control.
>
> My other question is whether it might be best to try to artificially hatch
> the next spawn?  Would the best method be to clip the entire anubias leaf
> and place it in a small container with tank water and a little methylene
> blue + an airstone?
>
> Any advice appreciated!
>
> -Tony
>
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