Dwarf Gourami Breeding?

[stevey87]

I have one male and 2 female dwarf gouramis and I think he's building a bubble nest in the corner surrounded by hornwort, he put java fern root pieces there and he's collecting bubbles and and spitting them out in that corner. He's chasing away every fish very aggressively including gourami females and other fish. Is he going to be able to actually breed or what? because he's still chasing his females around like always so I doubt the females will go along. What should I do? He turned very darker in color too.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

My guess would be that the spawnng process is over.... Look carefully, & you'll spot the eggs in the nest already!!

 

[stevey87]

i saw at one point one female was at the bubble nest and the male was leaning on his side for some reason. only time no agression. I think he's still building nest.....
They're repeating the process where the female is there checking out the nest and then the male swims on his side and then the female seems uninterested then the male chases the female like there's no tomorrow. male always chases female but nothing like this before. she might get killed.

He's definitely not taking rejection well. Maybe females don't have eggs yet???
It's weird he's doing that now. Water is all blue because of ich medication and he wants to breed? He's got fetish for blue water?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Directly after "squeezing" the eggs from the female,.... There is a moment that the male (&sometimes the female) goes into a trance state... just floating sideways whilst slowly drifting to the top.... I think this is the "trance" state that you saw.... Look from the underside up.... & tell me that you are observing the eggs in the bubbles (strengthened by plant matter)

 

[stevey87]

I don't see any eggs. I saw the male lying on side when female present but never saw the females do that. The females are afraid of the male all the time so...... and IF the legs get laid, is it safe with his ich medication water?

What color are the eggs and size? Do you have pics?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

No I have no pics... the eggs are mainly transparent, & you have to look extremely carefully to observe them..... I still maintain, after what you're telling,... that there are eggs in that nest.... look for a denser area of the bubble nest & you will see....

 

[stevey87]

I can't see them but he's still building the nest....

If I do see the eggs. What do I do with them? This is a community tank so I don't feel comfortable leaving the eggs there with other fish even tho the male is being very aggressive.

Re examining the nest, it's very small right now and sort of broken up. Maybe later when it's built better?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Do nothing for the first 2 days of observing definite signs of eggs....(the male will protect them) Late on the 2nd day,.... put a jar (of ample capacity) next to the bubble nest & slowly submerge it so that the whole of the nest (and its contents) goes into the jar.... move this to a well matured tank with a solution of 5% methylene blue in it, and put about 15 drops of liquefry (no.2) in the tank..... Leave with (not vigourous) aeration & the tiny fry will hatch the next day... Feed live brine shrimp or fry food for egg layers (the green one).. You should have a 60% success rate...(at least)

 

[stevey87]

I really only see bubbles. So, the dwarf gourami eggs look like bubbles?

 

[mattbond]

in my experience, a ripe female only mates with the male when she sneaks up on him, because otherwise he percieves her as a threat to his nest

 

[stevey87]

The nest is much bigger now and they keep doing the thing where the female goes and stays there and the male swim on his side then he starts chasing her. So maybe he wants to mate but she doesn't?

The nest was very thick so I looked for the eggs with my hand and net. Nothing....... I feel bad for the guy that worked so hard for it but maybe the females aren't ready. I read that male and female twirl around and then female lays eggs. They get to the twirling part then all sudden the male chases the female away. It looks like he's back at it, rebuilding that nest.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Yes.. in fact, he squeezes the eggs out of the female by wrapping himself around her, and as they fall to the ground, he sprays his sperm over them.... Then chases the female away, goes back and collects the fertilized eggs and places them in the bubbles.... It can take up to 15 - 20 "sqeezes" before he is happy that he has absolutely drained her of all available eggs...

 

[stevey87]

Well, I screwed it up by checking for eggs. Maybe next time. One of the females died this morning because of his aggression.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Well, I screwed it up by checking for eggs. Maybe next time. One of the females died this morning because of his aggression.

Yea!... I was horrified when I read you were looking for the eggs with your hand & net....even if there were eggs, it would then be eaten.....

Make sure you have plenty hiding space for the female to recoup, condition well, and they will be ready again in about a week.....

 

[stevey87]

The two remaining gouramis are in the corner doing nothing. I think they might be shocked about the nest or something. I'm not sure.