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Hiya,

After a week of being in my tank, my gouramis (presumably the male - I've been away for a few days) have built a bubble nest. I half-suspected that the female was gravid, but being new to this fish, I wasn't sure.

The only thing in the profile is that breeding is difficult. I have a few questions?

1) The nest is built. Does this mean that eggs have been laid?
2) The male is guarding the nest, while the female is elsewhere in the tank (and is apparently chased away, though I have yet to confirm this). Normal?
3) Should eggs hatch, what next? How many? What source of food? Will the other occupants of the tank cause problems? I'm concerned the rainbows may get interested, though they're staying well away from the nest at the moment.

I shall search t'Internet in the mean time, but I await your responses, and some babies, with glee.

C

I found this here...

Once the nest had been built the male will begin courting the female, usually in the afternoon or evening. He signals his intentions by swimming around the female with flared fins, attempting to draw her to the nest where he will continue his courting display. If the female accepts the male she will begin swimming in circles with the male beneath the bubblenest. When she is ready to spawn she touches the male on either the back or the tail with her mouth.Upon this signal the male will embrace the female, turning her first on her side and finally on her back. At this point the female will release approximately five dozen clear eggs, which are immediately fertilized by the male. Most of the eggs will float up into the bubblenest. Eggs that stray are collected by the male and placed in the nest. Once all the eggs are secured in the nest, the pair will spawn again. If more than one female is present in the breeding tank, the male may spawn with all of them. The spawning sessions will continue for two to four hours, and produce between 300 and 800 eggs. Upon completion, the male will place a fine layer of bubbles beneath the eggs, assuring that they remain in the bubblenest. At this point the female(s) should be removed from the tank.

The male will now take sole responsibility for the eggs, aggressively defending the nest and surrounding territory. In twelve to twenty-four hours the fry will hatch, and continue developing within the protection of the bubblenest. After three days they are sufficiently developed to be free swimming. The male should be removed from the tank once the fry have left the bubblenest or he may consume the young. Fry should be fed micro-food such as infusoria, rotifers, or commercial fry food for the first week. They can then be fed freshly hatched brine shrimp, and finely ground dry foods.

Do you all agree?

C

good luck and yes i agree

Damp Squib...

Nest but no eggs. And the male is rather aggressive towards his female companion. He's after it and she's not interested...

And after he went to all that trouble

C