My GBR's spawned, dad ate the eggs.

[Burks]

After nearly 6 months of planning I finally purchased a set of GBR's about a month ago. Sadly the female died within 24 hours and was returned to the store for credit. Two weeks later I picked up another females.

Less than two weeks after that I come back from my parents (only gone roughly 24 hours) to find my male hovering over the Java Fern. He wouldn't come up to the glass to greet me so I knew something was up, he even missed feeding time!

Upon closer examination he was guarding a clutch of eggs on the leaf! Awesome! Since I had no other tanks to transfer the eggs to I was banking on dad leaving them alone. Sadly, he got hungry and ate them.

What really surprised me was the short amount of time I've had them and how young they are.

My female is starting to plump up again and her belly is becoming pink. This time, should I remove the eggs or leave them be? I can tear down my 2g and refill it with water from the 40g my GBR's are currently in. But then I'm worried about fungus. Meth. Blue would probably stain the entire tank blue since it's plastic.

Looking for suggestions here. Lonebluewolf, where are you?

Edit: Forgot the water parameters.
Water Temp - 80F
pH - 7.0-7.2 (test color is between those depending on the day).
Ammonia - 0
Nitrates - 0
Nitrite - No clue
Phosphate - No clue
GH/KH - Ditto to above.

 

[An t-iasg]

I don't know about breeding, but I have used methylene blue in my acrylic QT tank -- an All-Glass brand 2.5 gallon minibow, and the methylene blue didn't stain it at all. I didn't even need to bleach it out - the meth. blue didn't stick at all. Good luck with the new batch of eggs!

Edit - My tank is not scratched. If you have any scratches, it's possible that the methylene blue could settle into them.

 

[Jchillin]

You can take a look at the GBR profile in the articles section (just in case LWB doesn't jump in and give away all the secrets). It covers this subject extensively.

 

[bs6749]

Methyl blue WILL stain glass but if you only use the amount needed it probably won't be noticeable at all. You can try to remove the eggs yourself and place them in a separate tank. You will want to provide a current very near the eggs to keep debris and fungus off of them. I have no problem hatching out GBR fry but after about 5 days they all seem to die on me. Good luck!

 

[Gillie]

It doesn't stain glass it stains the silicone that holds it together. Most Rams will eat their first few spawns due to lack of experience, or something stressed them out to the point that they feel the eggs aren't safe. One of the coolest things about owning rams is watching them raise their young, but if they eat more than three or four spawns then by all means remove them.

 

[bs6749]

If you have ever worked with the stuff in a lab setting you will know that it will stain glass.

 

[Burks]

If you have ever worked with the stuff in a lab setting you will know that it will stain glass.

I've worked with it a few times. Wasn't sure if it would as diluted as it would be the aquarium. I've seen tanks with blue silicone, figured that's where it came from.

It looks like they might be spawning again within the next few days. I have my 2g sitting here just waiting for some eggs.

 

[bs6749]

Dilute solutions may not stain the glass all that much but over time you will notice a tint to the glass.

 

[Burks]

Well exactly 7 days after their first spawn, they've done it again. I caught the VERY end of it. Just saw the female swim away.

Haven't had a chance to pick up any anti-fungal treatments. So the eggs will be put into the hands (or is it fins?) of the parents again. *crosses fingers* Male seems to be a bit more calm this time around. He doesn't look as "jittery" as before.