Fao Sylvia, Or Any Other Gourami Lovers

[TheRedDarren]

hi Sylvia, just need some of your expert advice...

my breeding tank has now cycled and my largest female dwarf gourami is in there, just need to know the best way to get her into breeding condition.
I feed her bloodworn or daphnia (frozen) every day, I introduced the male yesterday he immediatly built a nest but he harrassed her so much i took him out again today.
it's frustrating because he's obviously up for it but she's not, she's pretty much fully grown and very happy on her own, but when she see's him see freaks so bad and starts gasping, hiding etc, showing all the signs of stress, does this mean they are an incompatible pair?
any advice welcome as i love to hear the pitter patter of tiny fins!!
any other info you need to help me?




water params are: ph 7.2, ammo 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5ppm.

thanks D.

 

[sylvia]

Hi

How big is this tank and how have you set it up (filter, substrate, plants etc)?

What I do with my own breeding tanks is to keep them as simple as possible with no substrate and small sponge filter to keep current minnimal. However, I do always include some floating plants and a small ceramic cave - especialy for the female. I take ceramic pots out once the fry are free swimming as they get in the way of maintainance. It doesn't realy matter too much how you set up your breeding tank but it might help to know exactly how yours is.

The frozen foods you are providing are perfect and the female should eventualy start looking gravid (plump and full of eggs). This is when she'll be ready for breeding. It may help to also offer some live alternatives (bloodworm, brine shrimp, daphnia etc are fine) and it can sometimes help to include some blanched veggies (such as zuchini) in the diet. What temperature is the tank at BTW?

The fact that the male built a nest means your tank's conditions are likely to be good for spawning - the female just needs more time to be conditioned. She also may just need a chance to settle in as it sounds like you've only recently moved her into this tank. If you think about when you first got these gouramies, I'm sure you'll probably recall that they took a while to settle in (they can somtimes take over a week) and you need to allow for this in the breeding tank as well.

With gouramies you don't get 'incompatioble pairs' - though sometimes you can get individuals that are simply impossible to breed with any other fish (eg males that are particularly aggressive). All it will require is some patience. Also, I gather you have another female? If so, you could always try switching them around if this female doesn't show any signs of becoming more interested in spawning over the next few weeks.

If you can't get things to work no matter what you do, you could start considering introducing the male into the tank but seperating him from the female with a divider. Alternatively, perhaps move the breeding tank to beside the main tank so the pair can see each other. This may at least get the female more used to the male's presence.

 

[TheRedDarren]

Hi Sylvia, thanks for that excellent reply, heres more info for you.

How big is this tank and how have you set it up (filter, substrate, plants etc)?

60 litres (Tetra tec with the easycrystal filter, Caribsea Eco-Complete Planted Aquarium Substrate, plants are a small species of vallis (approx 10 plants) Cambomba (approx 5) various cryts (approx 6) and a piece of mopani that stretches the full length of the tank.



What temperature is the tank at BTW?

26 degrees.



Also, I gather you have another female?

Yes i have 3 atm, but the other two are very young, well... very small in comparison, i assume they are still relatively juvenile, the other two are in the other tank with him and rest of the fish, he does seem to be a lot less aggressive with one that has a large belly, but considering her size i thought this was not her being gravid, just having a healthy appetite.

Thanks again for your reply, D.

 

[TheRedDarren]

oh and also, shall i keep her alone in the smaller tank or with some others for company? and do i feed her exclusivley on bloodworm and daphnia etc, or mix it up a bit with flake and stuff incase of digestive probs? and how often, once a day or more?
thanks.

 

[sylvia]

Your tank seems to be set up perfectly and the temperature is fine so I do think you just need to condition the female for a little longer. Keeping her alone is fine but the tank is big enough for you to include the other two females if you like. Keep in mind that the larger female may act aggressively towards them when they are first introduced but, since there are two of them, this behaviour shouldn't last long. It certainly wouldn't hurt to provide her with some company - though take care to acclimatise the new fish to their new tank (particularly if the temp. is different) and remember that you'll need to return them to the main tank when you bring in the male - this movement from tank to tank may prove stressful for the two younger females. This is up to you realy; and how you think your large female is coping on her own.

In terms of feeding, you'll get her conditioned quicker if you only feed the rich live/frozen foods. She won't suffer if not fed flake provided she was healthy to begin with. Flakes have the advantage of containing all the various vitamins the fish need but they rarely provide enough protein for fish to produce eggs readily. How often to feed is up to you. If the female is alone, you can afford to feed more without over-polluting the tank. on the other hand, if she's not alone, she won't be getting as much food in the first place. Usualy, the best thing to is to feed two-three times a day but only a very, very small amount. This way she'll be getting her fill and not going hungry (which will simulate the breeding season in the wild) but you won't be over-feeding and causing ammonia/nitrIte spikes. Keeping up with water changes is, as always, crucial.

BTW, it is rare for live/frozen foods to cause digestive problems (incidentaly, flake often can). Anyhow, daphnia is excellent for sorting out constipation and keeping the digestive system going and I see that you are feeding ehr that already.

 

[TheRedDarren]

ok, an update!
the female has finally started to come into a good condition, she now has quite a lot of gold and brown on the back half of her body and fins, actually far more than i ever thought the females would get, which is obviously a good sign. however, how plump will she become if she is gravid? she is fairly plump now, her belly is the widest point of her body, i know this is a particulaly hard question to answer, but i am not convinced that she is ready yet despite her colouring. To be honest, she's been in there so long now that i've become a little bored of trying and will soon try to breed my honey's instead.

 

[sylvia]

That is tricky because it does depend on the female and they often don't produce that many eggs the first few times they spawn. I think it's worth trying it out now. See what happens. Just as a precaution, introduce the male into a bag of tank water or a breeding net to give the female a few minutes to get used to him and make sure there are some fake plants or pots in the tank for her to hide if she needs to. Having been alone for a while, the sudden advances of a male may take some getting-used-to.