1st Batch Of Bn's.......so Excited

[cmfoggy]

Hi all
My bn's have finally laid their first batch of eggs. It is only a small batch, but i'm guessing that is quite normal for a first time
My question is
I have a albino red tail shark in the tank as well, will he eat them (probably would if he had the chance) but the prob is i dont really have another tank to put him into.
I bought a breeders net but the eggs are up the far end of a fake ceramic log and are stuck, the log is too heavy and too big for the net.
Would the eggs be ok in a white 20litre bucket with filter and air stone? or should i go and purchase a small glass fish tank, if so what size would be ok?
Any help would be great, im very new at this egg stuff, so i am very unsure of what to do and what is best.

any way, thanks

Just thought of another question.
What is the best thing to feed bn fry, do i need to buy special fry food or will they survive on just cucumber, lettuce and algae wafers etc

 

[stiffler69]

Has the male been protecting them dont seperate the male from the eggs he keeps them safe and fans the eggs and airates them the best thing to do would be to transfer the male and eggs to another tank this way he can feed freely without the worry of predators and also take care of his young its alot easier like this cause all you need to do then is to remove the male once they have hatched and absorbed their yokes, it easier to see how many you have and easier to catch them when you want to sell/move them on, if you can afford the new tank i would go for atleast a 30-40 litre minimum the young should be fine in this.

The young will eat the same as the adults, i feed myn on algae waffers, cucumber, cat fish pellets, variety waffers, flakes, and the odd blood worm every now and then

 

[cmfoggy]

Thanks for your reply stiffler69

Yeah he has been a really good dad and been protecting his eggs very well.

I will try and buy a new tank on Tuesday hopefully, being a public holiday here today, i hope tuesday wont be to late.

When they hatch do they come straight out of the cave or do they stay inside for a day or two? And would i still be able to move them or is it best to leave them if i dont get the new tank in time?

Thanks again for your help

 

[stiffler69]

You wont see them for a while yet it takes them around 5-6 days to fully absorb their yokes during this time they be inside the cave, i would say tuesday is fine for them and it seems they will be fine until then since the pappa is looking after them all should be fine

 

[bbbls108]

hi, congratulations on your first spawn, mine keep his babies for two weeks in the cave until he let them out.i kept them in the main tank for a further 2wks then i moved them to a 2ft tank and now there are in a 4ft tank doing really well. i hope is helps.

sue

 

[cmfoggy]

Thanks stiffler69 and bbbls108 for your replies

So heres what I've done (don't know if it was a good idea or not, hope they will be ok)

I went to work today and my daughter rang me to say that she could see 2 tiny wiggly things up the back of the log.

So when i went home sure enough there were at least 2 little bn's

I cleaned out a 48litre tub, filled it with old tank water, old small filter and a small air stone, then i carefully put a net over the open end of the log and transfered eggs, fry and daddy bn to new tank.

I know he is looking after his babies well but i was concerned about the shark, i dont want the fry eaten and i dont want to get rid of the shark either so i thought if babies and dad were in a "tank" by themselves it wouldn't be as stressful on the dad.

Hope this sounds ok

thanks heaps for your help

 

[stiffler69]

Sounds ok but how are you maintaining the temperature in the 48 litre tub do you have a heater you can use at all? it will need to stay around 26-28 degrees

 

[cmfoggy]

Thanks stiffler69

Yeah sorry i forgot to mention i put a heater in, its currently set on 25 so i might go and turn it up a bit to 26.

When should i take the dad out of the "tank" that the fry is in and put back in his old tank? When the eggs have all hatched or when they have absorbed the yolks, or does it not really matter once they have hatched?

Any way thanks again.

 

[stiffler69]

Thanks stiffler69

Yeah sorry i forgot to mention i put a heater in, its currently set on 25 so i might go and turn it up a bit to 26.

When should i take the dad out of the "tank" that the fry is in and put back in his old tank? When the eggs have all hatched or when they have absorbed the yolks, or does it not really matter once they have hatched?

Any way thanks again.

Hi i would remove him once the young are all free swimming as he will keep them with him until the yokes have absorbed, once they have absorbed their yokes they should be fine on their own with daily feeding

 

[cmfoggy]

Thanks for that stiffler69

I had a quick peek yesterday and there seems to be a dozen or so that i could see, i had to move the log slightly so i didnt want to freak them out too much, but i also noticed one had escaped the log and is just sitting and wriggling his tail, I hope he will be ok.

Thanks again

 

[cmfoggy]

Hi, just thought of another question....

When should i change the water in the fry "tank", there is a small amount of rubbish on the floor of the "tank" and i feel i should clean it but i dont want to suck up any fry and kill or hurt them, they have been in there for 3 and 1/2 days so when should it be safe the change some water?

Thanks again again

 

[stiffler69]

Hi, just thought of another question....

When should i change the water in the fry "tank", there is a small amount of rubbish on the floor of the "tank" and i feel i should clean it but i dont want to suck up any fry and kill or hurt them, they have been in there for 3 and 1/2 days so when should it be safe the change some water?

Thanks again again

Well myn hatch into the main tank and i just clean once a week on my usual clean up, i would leave it another day or two and once they have absorbed the yoke they will mainly be stuck on the sides of the tank and shouldnt bother the bottom too much, as long as their is good filteration heat and the father is still around he willl keep them relatively clean.

Any chance of a couple of pics

 

[cmfoggy]

Hi all

Ive managed to get just 2 photos only of the escapee, all the other are still in the log which dad is guarding with his life.

They are not the best photos but hopefully in a few days or so when the others come out of hiding i can get some more.

This is the set up i have them in at the moment

and this is of the escapee at 1 1/2 days old

and finally of the same escapee at 4 days old

hope to add some more photos very soon

cheers

 

[stiffler69]

They look great, coming along well ive got a newly hatched batch now seen the first couple out of the cave today cute little things they are i hope to get another breeding pair soon.

The last batch i had flew out like hot cakes so i could do with two batchs a month

 

[cmfoggy]

Hi all

The latest update so far is

I lost 1 fry, found him dead on day 5 and he was the escapee

So now it is 10 days since the eggs have hatched, I've taken the dad out now and he is back in the main tank with mama, and I've put a small peice of driftwood in the fry "tank".

I've tried counting them (they are fast little buggers ) and there is roughly 20-25. Not many but thats ok.

I've been feeding them cucumber (they like), blanched lettuce (they dont like much), algae wafers (they like), fish flakes (they like, but it makes the water a bit cloudy).

Is it ok to give them frozen bloodworms or not

Was just wondering if I should try and catch the fry and put them in a fry net in the main tank or just leave them as is (the better half is getting annoyed with the fry "tank" being in the way all the time)

They are around 1cm long now, I'm trying to get some pics but because they are in a plastic tub I can only get top veiws which aren't that good, but I'm still trying.

Thats all for now hope to have some updated pics soon

cheers