Blue dwarf gourami has built a bubble nest! But is the other gourami a female?

[Choccybiccy]

I thought I had two male gourami only because they have never shown any signs of breeding before, but I was very surprised to discover one of them has built up a bubble nest (I had to google that to find out what he was doing!) he has ripped up a moss ball! He has always had a red line around him and is much brighter than the other but I can't tell if "she" is indeed a female? I also want to know.. They are in a community tank so he is currently doing a great job of keeping all the other fish away from the nest including clown loach and rams.. But if I were to encourage breeding I need to know what to do next! Here are some pictures of the 'female' I would appreciate any advice!


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[Lexi420]

Definitely a female.
Right is female, left is male.
You can tell because of the dorsal fin shape at the end. The males comes to a point while the females rounds off.

 

[Lexi420]

Left is a female, right is a male***
Sorry bout that.

 

[Choccybiccy]

So she's a female? This is the male - the one that's built the nest ..

So ... I DO have a breeding pair! ? eek what do I do??? Do I remove all the other fish to another tank?


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[Choccybiccy]

Here he is, with his nest! I am ridiculously excited .. how likely is it that they will have babies? Also they are due a water change .. But should I leave them alone?


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[Choccybiccy]

Omg omg omg!! I see teeny wiggly fry in the nest already!!! I took the lid off the tank and I can see them - will they survive in my community tank? I've just added a load of floating weed from my other tank for them to hide in..


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[Andy Sager]

The chances are that the other fish will probably eat the fry. That's the nature of the beast. Gourami fry are also sensitive to water movement so there's another strike against them if you have a filter going in the tank. Dwarf Gourami fry also require a first food of green water/ infusoria or micro foods in quantity. They will get some of it from the live plants but how much is in the live plants? Who knows.
At this point, if you can scoop out the entire nest into a container, in one swipe, you may have a chance at rearing them. If not, you may want to consider using a separate tank for spawning them next time. If you can, just duplicate the temperature and use the tank water they were spawned in to start raising them. They can, at this point, be put into a 2 1/2 or 5 gal tank until they pass the infusoria stage. Then they will need to go into a larger tank to grow out. No filter's or airstones necessary for them now so just a cover to keep in the humidity. You can even use clear plastic wrap for the cover as this clings to the tank and keeps the humidity in. From there dim lighting is all that's necessary.

Hope it works out for you. Keep us posted

 

[Choccybiccy]

Thankyou Andy! I have a little tank that is cycled and empty, I used it for some guppy fry, so if I switch off the filter in that tank could I carefully scoop out the nest and put it into the new tank? Or should I leave the nest in a jug with it's original water and say cling film with air holes on top?

I googled infur...thingy (the food!) I am going to put lettuce in a jar of tank water on my windowsill for a few days and hope it's not too late!

I will keep you posted!


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[Istrom]

As with a good amount of fish, you can't normally call gender by point of fins. Especially dorsal fins, which don't tend to grow back. Female Dwarfs are more gray in color than the males. Just look for breeding behavior, that's my best advice.

 

[Andy Sager]

I'd put the fry in a bare tank ( you can just empty your guppy fry tank and remove the gravel and only fill to about 3 or 4 inches of water using the water form your main tank. Anabantid fry don;t need a lot of water depth and when they start to develop that labrynth gland, the closer to the surface they are, the better. These type of fish can drown if it's too hard for them to get to the surface.
Start your infusoria and look for the fry to start swimming horizontally. ( They should be just hanging by the bubble if they just hatched.) That's your sign to start feeding.

 

[Choccybiccy]

Ok thankyou!! They have been transferred - they were all escaping the bubble nest this morning and daddy fish was frantically gathering them up and trying to put them back! They are now in shallow water in the small tank.

I made another discovery too..! My German Blue Male Ram and Female golden ram are also guarding a nest of eggs!!!! They are taking turns to guard it but will these survive in a community tank?


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[Choccybiccy]

Teeeeeny microscopic gourami fry!!!!


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[Andy Sager]

Unfortunately, fish fry in a community tank have the odds of survival stacked against them. They are a natural food source for just about any fish. How many of them actually survive to non eating size depends on the other fish in the community. Fish breeding for high percentage of survival is always best done in a separate tank with just the breeders in it. In some cases, even the parents need to be removed after they spawn because they too will eat either thier own eggs or their fry. It's a cruel world out there and fish breeding shows you why it's that way.

Keep us posted

 

[Istrom]

Surprisingly I have kept loads of fry in my community tank and at least half of them survive. It's really about hiding spots. But you are correct, the odds are against them.

 

[Andy Sager]

Surprisingly I have kept loads of fry in my community tank and at least half of them survive. It's really about hiding spots. But you are correct, the odds are against them.

As I stated, it all depends on what other fish are in the community.
When I breed fish, it's for more than just raising a few. 50% survival would be a bust spawn for me. I try to get no less than 75%-80% survival to marketable size. But that's just me lol

 

[Choccybiccy]

Quick update! I successfully moved the bubble nest into a very warm shallow tank - no filter, and cultured infusoria to feed, they are doing well and I can now see them without a microscope lol! But the next day my grumpy gourami built ANOTHER nest!!! and ... We have a second nest of fry in the tank....! But that's not all! He is now on his third nest!!!? No idea if my poor female has managed to keep up with him as it seems empty so far, but he is determined! I put my finger in to place a plastic lid onto protect the nest from the surface water and he BIT me!!! He bites your finger if you place it on the tank side much to the amusement of my kids, but he also had a tantrum one morning when I put the lights on and ripped up his nest, swimming round the tank with a clump in his mouth... then he spent all day fixing it back again... Very interesting to watch him but he can't go on forever can he? I have to set up another tank today ready to separate the fry when they get bigger, I have purchased a sponge filter to fit in as I think the water will get stagnant?


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