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we think our bristlenose has laid eggs in a cave as the male is sat in the entrence making a fanning movement with his fins and has been there doing this all day and never moved.
both the male and female have been spending a lot of time in that cave.
if we are right and there are eggs how long does it take them to hatch?

oh, just read on the profile about 5 days, is there anything special i need to do or provide for the fry if we are lucky enough to get any?

Last edited by hembo666 at 02-Dec-2005 13:15

I would either remove any other fish in the tank which are large enough to eat the fry, or place the fry in another tank. If the second option sounds likely, consider moving cave, papa and eggs now, before the wigglers hatch.

Once they've used up their egg sack, the fry will need a steady diet of veggies, weighted to the bottom of the tank. Zuchinni, cucumber, and algae wafers are good choices. The fry will also eat baby brine shrimp off the bottom of a bare bottom tank.

moving the parents and eggs is not an option, and unfortunately they are in a community tank containing fish that would enjoy the snack, (see my profile 70usg) so i will have to hope the parents can protect them and i will make sure there is sone veggi just outside the cave as soon as i see evidence of fry.

Well done mine used to breed non stop now they have just stopped completly.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tanks]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith

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You could place the eggs into a mesh breeder box but unless you place a larger DIY mesh box over that, the bold fish will attempt to suck the fry right through the mesh, and even if they do not suceed, they will mash the fry and kill them.

You might be able to section off one end of your tank using plastic eggcrate from the lighting section of the hardware store, but as the openings on the eggcrate are large and the fry would swim right through, you would have to sew plastic crafting canvas over the eggcrate.

Plastic crafting canvas is not rigid enough to use alone, and for a 70 gallon you will need to use multiple pieces to span the distance. (I would recommend using the canvas which has ten holes per inch instead of 7 holes per inch, if possible.) I created just such a divider for use in a 65 gallon tank and it worked a charm. Just be sure to attach the plastic canvas securely, as I had one smallish fish manage to get between the plastic canvas and the eggcrate where it was not tightly secured and it expired before it was discovered.

I should add that its my understanding that once the fry leave the cave, no further guarding by the parents is done. I have read many accounts of spawns being consumed as soon as they leave the cave. If you have a good deal of rubble (rockwork) and plants in the tank, its possible a few fry may be able to hide away and grow until large enough to come out again.

ok, well itlooks like the plan is going to be to leave them to it and then try and catch any fry on site and move them to a grow out tank, they will have plenty of hiding spaces when they are still very small. i think its only the cockatoo cichlids i might have a problem with, the pentazonas are still pretty small themselves.

I would leave the BN & all the eggs where they are & try to save the fry as soon as they hatch & placed in another tank with some Algae.


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Would they eat brown algea? I have a lot of that.
-NwBreeder16[img src='/images/forums/halo.gif' border=0]

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You can call me Newb too, since I'm not nere new any more.

I'm not sure about Brown Algae, but they will eat the green Algae for sure. You can also feed them a slice of Cucumber.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.geocities.com/s8xi5heh/classic_blue.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buzaqq/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

Ok cool. I grow cucumbers in the sumber. They'll be alright.
_NewBreeder16[img src='/images/forums/halo.gif' border=0]

_______________________________________________
You can call me Newb too, since I'm not nere new any more.