Apisto eggs

[Byron]

Thanks for the tips. I will have to try the infusoria thing. I was thinking that the Cories might be a threat but hopefully it will help a little that I always feed right before the lights go off. I was not trying to breed when they spawned if I was I would have set up a tank for the pair. Also would catappa leaves be better for infusoria or would it not really matter?

All leaves decomposing produce infusoria. I do not know if catappa (Indian Almond) leaves would be faster. The main thing is the safety of the leaf species; some are deadly poisonous. Oak, beech, maple, catappa are all safe (depending where they were collected obviously, but safe as leaves). And this does make a difference in fry growth. I use oak leaves with my Farlowella vitatta and pygmy cory fry, and in tanks with other fry I may have rescued from canister filters, etc.

 

[Souperman]

Saying the fry hatches and continues to develop what would be a good time to put leaves into the tank to create the infusoria.

 

[fluttermoth]

Put them in now; the fry will need food as soon as they become free swimming, so you want it ready. Apart from water issues, starvation is the most common cause of fry loss.

In any 'breeding' tank (I know yours isn't, but to give the fry the best chance, you'll need to treat it as one), you want to keep cleaning to a minimum; and I don'tmean skimping on water changes, I mean that you don't want to clean the substrate or clean the glass; anything that will get rid of microorganisms or upset the parents is a no no. Do your water changes by taking out, and adding the new water, in a corner as far away from the parent's cave as possible.

 

[Souperman]

Okay thanks I will get some leaves prepared then. Also as of right now the eggs are still stuck to a rock and pinkish what would be the next step of development they should go through.

 

[fluttermoth]

Okay thanks I will get some leaves prepared then. Also as of right now the eggs are still stuck to a rock and pinkish what would be the next step of development they should go through.

As the fry develop, you'll see the eyes showing, if you can look that closely, then the fry will start to wriggle inside the egg. They should take only two or three days to hatch, with another four or five before the fry become free swimming.

 

[Souperman]

I was able to find some baby brine shrimp to supplement along with finely crushed flake food. What will be the best way to make sure they get the brine shrimp while limiting what the other fish get? I also picked up some catappa leaves for insuforia. I did not want to pick up leaves from my neighborhood as I am pretty sure pest control has stopped by recently. The leaves are about four inches long and I have three. Should I put them all in?

 

[Byron]

I was able to find some baby brine shrimp to supplement along with finely crushed flake food. What will be the best way to make sure they get the brine shrimp while limiting what the other fish get? I also picked up some catappa leaves for insuforia. I did not want to pick up leaves from my neighborhood as I am pretty sure pest control has stopped by recently. The leaves are about four inches long and I have three. Should I put them all in?

I would add all four leaves. The fry will be ravenous. Once the leaves sink, place them close to where the rams are guarding the eggs/fry upon hatching.

The shrimp is an issue with its swimming everywhere, which can get the other fish excited. But I used to do the pipette method and squirt them at the shoal area. Are these the eggs that you hatch yourself?

 

[Souperman]

Sorry, forgot to mention that these are frozen. Is a pipette something I would need to order online. Only thing I have ever seen similar to a pipette are medicine droppers in my local area stores.

 

[Byron]

Sorry, forgot to mention that these are frozen. Is a pipette something I would need to order online. Only thing I have ever seen similar to a pipette are medicine droppers in my local area stores.

OK, frozen shrimp would be thawed in warm water, then squirted into the shoal same as the powdered flake. Make sure the shrimp are very, very tiny. Otherwise they will just decompose on the substrate, though other fish will gobble them up probably, and cories were mentioned.

I make my own contraption. I have an 18-inch piece of stiff non-bending straight tubing, and to this I attach 2-3 feet of airline tubing (pliable). I carefully suck up a very small amount of the water/food using the stiff tube end, and gently squirt it into or near the shoal. I use this for frozen bloodworms too.

The larger pipettes like you can buy in kitchen stores work.

 

[Souperman]

Will have to see about making one of those. What I will probrably do is try to feed the Cories pellets at the same time as the fry to keep them somewhat distracted. Also would it be better to temporarily swap the Cories to a 10 gallon and swap the embers in that tank now to this tank just until the fry get some size on them?

 

[Byron]

Will have to see about making one of those. What I will probrably do is try to feed the Cories pellets at the same time as the fry to keep them somewhat distracted. Also would it be better to temporarily swap the Cories to a 10 gallon and swap the embers in that tank now to this tank just until the fry get some size on them?

No. First off, chasing the cories around the tank to net them and move them is extremely stressful to the cories and other fish in the tank. It is stress that is equal to the highest a fish can experience, being chased by a predator. The netting triggers this response in the fish's physiology.

Second, all this commotion will unsettle the rams and you can be almost certain they will immediately eat the eggs/fry themselves. Cichlids are like this...if they feel they cannot save their spawn, they are prepared to eat them rather than let something else have them.

Third, aside from the afore-mentioned stress, any fish moved to a new tank is under further stress from the different environment and water parameters/conditions. And cories do not at all like being moved, ever. Their frequent days and even weeks of more frantic stress response to being moved is typical.

If you intend to raise the fry in future, when this present spawn is gone (however that occurs), it would be better to move the pair to their own tank, prepared for them. Wood, plants, sand, etc, and with water from their present tank.

 

[Souperman]

Ok I thought that may be the case but I wasn’t 100% sure. I won’t be purposely raising any fry soon but I am sure I will eventually try to raise up a good batch when I get a tank freed up.

 

[fluttermoth]

Ok I thought that may be the case but I wasn’t 100% sure. I won’t be purposely raising any fry soon but I am sure I will eventually try to raise up a good batch when I get a tank freed up.

Yes, once you have a true pair, they'll probably spawn a lot more times, so you'll have plenty of chances to get a bit more organised

 

[Souperman]

If the eggs were layed right before I posted this thread should they still be pink? Because as of now they still look the same from when they were layed. Also can anyone give me some info on a good layout for a apisto breeding tank. Even though I won’t be doing one soon I want to know how a good one is set up. Also what size should a breeding tank be and what would be best to use as dither fish?

 

[fluttermoth]

If they weren't viable or fertilised, I would have expected the eggs to be white or fungused by now; don't forget hatching times can vary slightly, according to water hardness, temperature and some other factors, like the age of the parents.

For a breeding tank, you want something around 20 gallons, preferably with a sponge filter and lots of plants and wood; you want it to be a bit scruffy and overgrown. Not all fish need dithers; try them without first.