Spotted Raphael Catfish eggs?

[TylerH]

Hello,
I'm new here. I have a 3" female who seemed to lay eggs under the CaribSea Eco-Complete substrate. It looks like she burrowed a hole and then is sitting ontop of them, there are quite a few. Can I introduce a male and see if they get fertilized, or am I too late? Thanks, Tyler

 

[Colin_T]

Hi Tyler and welcome to the forum

I don't think the fish will be sexually mature at 3 inches long and the white things under the substrate appear to be very small, a bit too small for catfish eggs. As to what the white dots are, that's a good question.

Do you add any plant fertilisers that go under the substrate?

Is the substrate just plain gravel or a special plant substrate?

Regarding adding a male, fish eggs need to be fertilised within a few seconds of being laid. After about 10 seconds, the eggs seal up so to speak and sperm can no longer penetrate the egg. So adding a male now won't make any difference, and that is assuming they are eggs.

 

[Andy Sager]

Hello,
I'm new here. I have a 3" female who seemed to lay eggs under the CaribSea Eco-Complete substrate. It looks like she burrowed a hole and then is sitting ontop of them, there are quite a few. Can I introduce a male and see if they get fertilized, or am I too late? Thanks, Tyler

Hi and welcome.
I'd be very surprised if these are actually Raphael eggs since there are very few reports of these fish breeding in aquariums ( https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=313 ) and according to planet catfish, the eggs are laid in bubble nests or on top of vegetation. Plecos use holes or caves for spawning but their eggs are usually in a jelly mass.

As Colin said, in order for the eggs to be fertilized, they need to be fertilized within a short time of being laid so on the outside chance that we are all wrong about what they are , it's too late for these to be fertilized.