I think my minnows are breeding and I have no idea what to do!

[CandyHouze]

I have 4 minnows, 3 itty bitties and one larger one, about an inch and a half.
I'm pretty sure the biggest one is pregnant. She looks like a tiny little balloon was put in her belly and its getting inflated. I've even seen the other ones chasing her, which I've read is part of mating.

But now..... I just replaced some of the water 2 days ago so it should be nice and clear, but in the last 2 hours its gotten cloudy! It looks kinda like lemonade now, it seriously wasn't like that earlier today! What should I do?

[BigJim]

Minnows? Any idea what kind?

Can you give us more information on your tank? Size, equipment, how long it's been running, maintenance schedule, stock, etc.?

Cloudy, lemonade-colored water doesn't sound good. Yellow water is usually caused by fish waste in on overstocked tank or tannins from a new piece of driftwood. Cloudy water is usually caused by overfeeding or a bacteria bloom.

[CandyHouze]

Can the bacteria bloom happen within a few hours?
I don't know what kind they are. I'm keeping them in a small 1 1/2 gallon tank (for now, and plan on working out larger probably 10 gallon home for them soon). No filter currently but I keep the water clean, I had just cleaned 1/4 of it 2 days earlier and it was clear literally hours before this sudden lemonade. The only have some decorative stones and a little plant to hide behind they look pretty confused.

[BigJim]

A 1.5g tank is small enough that a lot can happen in a short period of time, especially without a filter.

I'm guessing these minnows were caught somewhere locally, so I'm seriously doubting that they're spawning. Native fish generally spawn in the late winter or early spring. Since you're in California, it might be a little different because of your seasonal deficiency in certain regions.

I see that you have other aquariums. If you have a test kit, try testing the water parameters in this minnow tank. If you don't have a test kit, I highly recommend that you get one. It's a very useful tool to gauge tank health and help diagnose any problems. API Freshwater Master is a good place to start. Skip the strips. They're not very accurate and more expensive per test.

I'm guessing that with four fish in a 1.5g tank without a filter, they're swimming in their own waste and that's the yellow you're seeing. You'll probably have to do PWCs every day, if not twice a day, to keep the tank healthy. I'd get cracking on that 10g and really think about getting a larger tank, maybe a 20L.

[CandyHouze]

Thanks for your help I changed some of the water out already
I'm so glad they're not breeding, I'm in no way ready to deal with that!
I'm still not sure what the cloudiness is, I've had these little guys for about 3 weeks and nothing like that has ever appeared!
My intention when I got them was to have them live in the 55 gallon with my goldfish, however one of my goldies tried to eat one so I'm keeping them separated and letting them grow xD I'm giving them tiny bits of aquarium salt and doing everything I can to keep them healthy in that tiny tank. I do have a tiny filter made for that little tank, I'll get that in there for the time being

[BigJim]

Can you put the biggest minnow in the goldfish tank? The more fish you can get out of that little tank, the better.

[CandyHouze]

Hey again! I've come across something kinda astonishing since I last posted here.

So I stopped worrying about the breeding and got the water for my little minnows back to clear and kept up with keeping it clean. I did fall behind in the upkeep for about a week (The pond water they lived in was almost opaque so I know they're strong!) But promptly went to deal with it once I realized how horrible of a fishkeeper I was being.

I took the 4 guys and separated them (in a lot of their water) from the tank so I could rinse all the crud from the bottom. I was just rinsing out the rocks on the bottom without removing them, and I thought I was seeing things when I saw that some of the waste was moving around...

After 2 rinses I saw the moving again. A closer look at that particular bunch of crud revealed that it was in fact, a tiny fish. A tiny minnow, the tiniest fish I have ever seen. A little baby!! It's adorable, and it was all alone. Who knows how many other babies I murdered when I rinsed them down the sink! Because of its amazing survival, I named it Angel

So I guess my initial hunch was correct, somehow... I'm pretty sure my large plump minnow Joanie gave birth to little Angel. I can't even express how shocked I was at this.

My question now is how did this happen and what do I do about it? @-@ I'm even more confused now than I ever was.

[BigJim]

I have to apologize. I was seriously doubting that any wild minnows were breeding this time of year in North America, but I was wrong.

I can think of two possible reasons your minnows may have spawned:
1. They naturally spawn at this time.
2. You simulated the conditions under which the minnows spawn when you moved them from the pond to the tank. Temperature change, water quality change, etc.

If you really want to keep the baby, you'd be best off separating him from the adults. I have a suspicion that some of the other fry became snacks. Get a breeder net or box and keep him in there until he's big enough to not get eaten. Better yet, get a 10g or 20L for the adults and use your 1.5g as a baby tank.

[CandyHouze]

No worries x) I've actually found this experience pretty humorous!

I saved the baby and for now he's living in a betta vase, not perfect put plenty of room for the little guy just for the time being.

Do you think my female minnow will be spawning more anytime soon? Should I be expecting more babies? @3@