When your fish spawn

[BrianNY]

One of the most satifying achievements in the aquarium world, is when you set out to breed a species and it actually happens. When a spawn occurs it would be helpful if you posted the following info.

1. Tank size
2. Temperature
3. pH, GH
4. Conditioning (or what you've been feeding)
5. Fishes activity prior to spawning
6. Selection of spawning site (if any)
7. Anything you might have done to induce the spawn
8. Pics are always great

Having this info will really be helpful to others that want to spawn the same species.

 

[RoK]

Yes, that info would really be great. Nice post Brian.
Lovely discus and babies BTW.

 

[TomK2]

Platies

1. Tank size = 10 gal
2. Temperature = 78
3. pH, GH pH=7.6 GH @ 8 degrees
4. Conditioning (or what you've been feeding) = flakes, freeze dried tubifex, frozen bloodworms
5. Fishes activity prior to spawning = normal. looking swollen, can see dots in front of anal fin
6. Selection of spawning site (if any) = none, they let them drop
7. Anything you might have done to induce the spawn = no special care, just good water and good food. removed the female to divided breeding tank 5 days before fry delivered.


edit: tank backdrop is art work by my 5 and 6 year olds. Hey, they get a kick out of it!

 

[Liggs17]

Corydoras paleatus spawn

1. tank size: 30g tall
2.Temp: 70
3. pH~7 gH: don't know
4. Conditioning: lots of frozen bloodworms (thawed first, of course)
5. Activity before spawn: females appeared slightly plumper than usual. Did not observe the spawning, but have in the past and they form the traditional "T" position.
6. Selection of spawning site: glass sides of tank and leaves of vallisneria sp.
7. Anything done to induce spawn: not really. I simply began giving them bloodworms once a day during the last feeding time (night).

 

[medge00]

good idea brian!

Blue rams

1. several times in 30t, a few times in 20L and regular 10
2. temp - 78
3. pH, usually 7 or below. I've seen them do it with a pH above 7.4, but not often. kH, about 4 at the time. gH, not sure
4. Regular feedings of high quality flake and blood worms every other day.
5. Before spawning female sometimes gets a little plumper. The pink in her belly is almost always brighter. Males sometimes get more colorful.
6. on a rock, on a leaf, in a pit in the substrate
7. Extra water changes, and extra blood worms

 

[TomK2]

Hey! Anyone notice that Brian didn't give away any of HIS secrets in the initial post? C'mon Brian, fess up!

 

[anna8297]

Angels

1. tank size: 90g
2.Temp: 78
3. pH/gH: never test for the stuff
4. Conditioning: feed a variety of food, i.e. flakes, frozen blood worms, tubifex worm cubes.
5. Activity before spawn: pair became aggressive towards other fish in tank, picked at several spots in the tank to try and clean them.
6. Selection of spawning site: big driftwood log
7. Anything done to induce spawn: just put them together, angels breed pretty readily.

We have in the past put a pair in a separate tank to spawn. We tried three times to let them parent raise, but no success. Each time the eggs dissappeared before hatching. This time, we left the pair in the community tank to spawn and then removed the spawn to a hatch out tank.

 

[Lepomis]

Bettas

This is my first attempt breeding bettas but going well so far.

1. using a 5 quart bucket
2. ~ 75 °C
3. didn't test
4. blood worms
5. placed female in mason jar next to males tank for 3 days, then transferred the male betta to the 5 gallon bucket, set mason jar into bucket.
6. Place piece of styrofoam cup into bucket.
7. After he had made a bubble nest in~ 1hour poured female into bucket. Flaring and a little show for 30 minutes. Have been spawning off and on over the past hour.

 

[mumrah]

German Blue Rams

1. 10g planted
2. 83*F
3. pH:7.5, kH: 7dkH, gH: 10dgH
4. wardleys tropical pellets
5. The pair started getting fiesty with each other. Colors started to come out a lot. Then they started hanging out near one spot in the tank. Viola! Eggs!
6. In a small overturned terra cotta pot
7. Raise the temp, lower the kH, lower the pH
8. link here

 

[Elmware]

Marigold Swordtails

1. 10gal. planted.
2. 78*F
3. pH Approx 7.5
4. Nutrafin Max flakes and AquaYum frozen Blood Worms.
5. The male harasses the heck out of her. I noticed her getting bigger in the abdomin.
6. Not sure because they had their babies while I was at work and I came home to see them swimming at the top.
7. Wasn't really trying to breed them. It just came as a surprise. When the frys got about 4 weeks old, she had more and that was last night.
8. Here's some from the first run, but the camera is a cheap $20 thing I got at The Real Canadian Superstore(Loblaw Foods)

Now that I've turned them on, how do I turn them off?

 

[Skyrmir]

1. Tank size: 10 gallon
2. Temperature: 78
3. pH ~7.2-7.6, GH 9dGH
4. Nutrafin Flakes in the morning, Big Al's freeze dried blood worms in the evening.
5. Fishes activity prior to spawning: Crazy, they're danio's. Nonstop speed is a way of life.
6. Selection of spawning site (if any): All over the place, mostly sucked up in the filter though :? Fixed that now.
7. Anything you might have done to induce the spawn - Turning on the lights in the morning pretty much gets them going. The bloodworms seemed to really encourage them though.

 

[cdawson]

Apistogramma Nijsseni

Tank - 15g
Ph. - 5.5
Hardness GH - 1 KH - 0
Temp 76
Diet: Mike Reed's Angel/Discus flakes every morning, and at night they get Frozen BS, Bloodworms, Mysis shrimp and every second day in between they get live black worms.
Site : They spawned in a cave under a piece of driftwood on the underside of the wood.

Pelvicachromis Taeniatus 'Moliwe'

Tank - 15g
Ph - 6.8
Hardness 3 GH- 4KH
Temp 76
Diet : See above
Site : In an overturned Flowerpot, the female excavated the inside of the flowerpot and spawned either on the bare tank bottom or the underside of the flowerpot.
Trigger : I saw no action for weeks until I removed the heater and added a small bag of crushed oyster shells as our water here is extremely soft.

 

[mrspughster]

5. Fishes activity prior to spawning: Crazy, they're danio's. Nonstop speed is a way of life.


I have danios and my males turn almost red when chasing the females. Is that normal?

 

[maxwell1295]

GERMAN BLUE RAMS

1. Tank size -30 gallon long
2. Temperature - 82*
3. pH, GH - 6.6, 1*
4. Conditioning (or what you've been feeding) - Flake, frozen brine shrimp
5. Fishes activity prior to spawning - Pretty normal but the female was acting strange, laying on the bottom of the tank. I thought she was sick even though my water conditions are perfect (0ppm,0ppm,5ppm)
6. Selection of spawning site (if any) - Slate rock on right side of tank, away from filter current
7. Anything you might have done to induce the spawn - Leave them alone , they were spawning when I walked in the door. This is my 2nd spawn in 5 days.
8. Pics are always great - Here they are!

 

[studmaster]

TomK2,

What's the grass/plant that you have on the right side of your tank? I've seen some similar to that before, but don't know where to get it. I have a hard time because for some reason my mollies like to snack on their young after birth. I have a lot of fake plants, but I think I need more where they can hide.

Thanks.

 

[newfound77951]

"australian" rainbows (ie the common pet store variety)

30g long
pH ~6-6.5
gH ~6 dGh
temp 75
Flake food, occasional frozen brine shrimp, occasional baby guppies (I know, I know)

This was weird, I didn't even know they were spawning, until I moved some live plants from their tank to the 55 gal I am setting up...suddenly I had 4 baby fish in an otherwise fishless tank! Once I started paying attention I saw the two largest rainbows spawn shortly after the tank lights (but not the room lights) went out for the night. they spawned right on the gravel between two rocks. Lots of chasing and displaying, and all the other fish (more rainbows and 4 large clown barbs) were all hyped up too. The barbs went right in after the spawn and ate everything in a few seconds.

 

[maxwell1295]

I have a pair of GBRs in a 10 gallon tank that have been breeding like rabbits, although I have not been able to raise any fry yet. I've been letting them try on their own, but I will pull the next batch of eggs a day or two after they've been laid.

1. Tank size -10 gallon
2. Temperature - 82*
3. pH/KH/GH - 7.0/3*KH/1*GH
4. Conditioning (or what you've been feeding) - Flake, frozen brine shrimp, freeze dried bloodworms on occasion (maybe 1x week)
5. Fishes activity prior to spawning - Pretty normal but the female gets really aggressive towards me when I put my hand in the tank. She is absolutely vicious! She chases my hand completely out of the tank! She also beats up on the male or at least tries to.
6. Selection of spawning site (if any) - Driftwood, away from filter current
7. Anything you might have done to induce the spawn - Leave them alone, they are the lone fish in the tank. I did a 25% cool water PWC earlier in the day. I've read that can be a spawning trigger, but this pair has been spawning every 9 day, so they were due whether I did a PWC or not. This is my 3rd spawn in 18 days with this pair...

 

[Big Ben]

Balloon Mollies:
10 gal
some aquarium salt
feed flake food everyday and freeze dried blood worms (3 times a week)
ph 7.4
80 degrees

She hid from the other fish alot prior to giving birth. I suspect other mollies at some fry as well as maybe her as I only found 5 fry. Found fry under driftwood and in java moss. without these they woudl've all been eaten most likely.

 

[DarylF2]

Corydoras catfish

1. Tank size: 38 gallon
2. Temperature: ~75°F
3. pH, GH: pH: 6.6-6.8, GH: uncertain (alkalinity: ~80 ppm, hardness: ~120ppm)
4. Conditioning (or what you've been feeding): Tetra-Min tropical flakes as staple food for Zebra Danios, Hikari algae tablets as staple food for bottom feeders (Corydoras and Otocinclus catfish), Wardley dried tubifex worms as treat, Wardley brine shrimp pellets as treat)
5. Fishes activity prior to spawning: increased activity; males chasing female playfully
6. Selection of spawning site (if any): sides of glass tank and leaves of Amazon sword and similar plants
7. Anything you might have done to induce the spawn: spawning nearly always occurs after weekly 10% water change (water is aged 1-5 days, treated with a drop of Genesis per gallon, and a 1-3°F cooler than tank water)
8. Pics are always great Very Happy: See here.

 

[Guest]

GBRs


1. Tank size -- 20 gal high
2. Temperature -- 82 degrees
3. pH, GH -- 7.8, unknown
4. Conditioning (or what you've been feeding) -- flakes and brine shrimp and bloodworms
5. Fishes activity prior to spawning -- pairing up, chasing away other fish, picking out breeding spots
6. Selection of spawning site (if any) -- in a bowl shaped part of an ornament
7. Anything you might have done to induce the spawn -- water change, other than that, they caught me off gaurd
8. Pics are always great Very Happy -- no pics, they ate the eggs =)