Got Bn Eggs!

[geo7x]

Just came in from school and saw that the previously plump female was looking skinnier, looked in the cave the male had been in and there are a nice bunch of orange eggs! Pretty sure they were layed today but could have been yesterday as I don't see the female much so might not have noticed before.

My first ever BN eggs, and first spawn this pair has made. Male is guarding well at the moment, If they hatch then I will remove them and dad before the fry leave the cave as the tank also holds a big senegal bichir .

Good timing too, if they hatch then I'm at home off school next week and the week after!

Fingers crossed that they hatch!

 

[emma12321]

now they've started you'll most likely get loads of fry from them, mine in the 4ft tank haven't stopped yet they are on batch 3 now

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

Great stuff George. Fingers crossed and keep us updated.

I'd love some BN eggs, but only have a male.

Good luck.

 

[stiffler69]

Good stuff myn had a batch last week, its a good idea to move the fry and dad to another tank because they are a knightmare to catch in the main tank, i would suggest a bare tank for the fry, they dont take much to keep now the eggs are their i found my bn fry to be relatively maintenance free, as long as you run a tight ship on cleaning weekly then they will do fine.

They will hatch as long as dad is with them and they are orange.

 

[geo7x]

Thanks for the replies

Yes they are orange and I will be moving them into an 18x12x12 bare tank

 

[geo7x]

All going ok so far.

Considering they were laid yesterday, when do you think would be a good time to move them? When should they hatch and how long will he keep the fry in the cave?

thanks

 

[geo7x]

Can anyone answer my questions please?

 

[stiffler69]

I would move once they have hatched and he will start letting them out of the cave after around 8-10 days after hatching sometimes less

 

[geo7x]

ok, thanks. I will have to guess when they've hatched as the cave is not in a position that I can see in as it's an ornament that they tipped over themselves and used the hollow bit inside. I know there are eggs in there as I had to move it a bit to look inside and then moved it back. Luckily the male went back to the cave but obviously I don't want to disturb it again now I know there are eggs in there.

 

[dane261]

i suggest you put a fine layer of sand in the fry tank as bacteria builds up n the bottom of the glass

part of an article from shane on planet catfish

When I first started to breed plecos I used a thin layer of fine gravel in the raring tanks and I had no problems raising them, but after I read about other breeders that use no substrate I tried that technique. If nothing else, it made it easier to vacuum and keep the tank clean from waste and foods. In no time at all I started experiencing problems keeping my fry alive; one by one, with a day or so between they started to die. In the beginning I thought the problem was the water rather than any disease because there was too few dying, but the deaths never stopped how much water I changed. I can't tell for sure what was going wrong but I have my ideas about what caused the problem; after some months a bacteria film built up on the bottom glass which feels like a thin slimy coat to the touch. My thoughts about this are that the bacteria consume lots of oxygen and their end product is nitrogen which makes first, lower millimeters of water low in oxygen and high in levels of nitrogen instead. Small fry that live on the bottom practically swim, breathe and live in just this layer; their mouth and gills are, at most, 1 mm up from the bottom glass. Their oxygen level starts to decrease in their blood and the immune system weakens until they fall prey to bacteria or die from high levels of nitrogen in their blood; they are essentially “drowning”. The first symptom is faster breathing followed by the loss of fin parts as bacteria attack them. I also think that the symptoms of gas, making their bellies look like a balloon is caused by the same condition; fluid containing high levels of nitrogen fills their stomachs.




Cheers Dane

 

[geo7x]

Interesting article dane, thanks

Since I said I was going to use the bare 18x12 tank I have decided to use a different empty 10 gallon which does have a substrate for the fry

 

[geo7x]

We have wrigglers!

Just went to move them into their growout tank, and there are loads of wrigglers in there! I wanted to take dad along too as then he wouldn't wonder where they were but he swam off It's so sad to watch him trying to find them again.

Here is a pic, yes they are in the bottom of a rather disgusting ornament, it was chosen by my neice so of course I had to put it in the tank (at least only when she came round ) so she wouldn't get upset but it so happened that the BNs did like it and despite me spending hours making a slate cave they decided to turn the ornament over and use the hollow bit instead. Typical.

Anyway here's a pic of them in their new home, many more wrigglers than I expected!

stupid question:some are a lot lighter than others, almost albino looking, did these just hatch later than the others or can normal parents have albino fry I didn't think they could but...

 

[stiffler69]

We have wrigglers!

Just went to move them into their growout tank, and there are loads of wrigglers in there! I wanted to take dad along too as then he wouldn't wonder where they were but he swam off It's so sad to watch him trying to find them again.

Here is a pic, yes they are in the bottom of a rather disgusting ornament, it was chosen by my neice so of course I had to put it in the tank (at least only when she came round ) so she wouldn't get upset but it so happened that the BNs did like it and despite me spending hours making a slate cave they decided to turn the ornament over and use the hollow bit instead. Typical.

Anyway here's a pic of them in their new home, many more wrigglers than I expected!

stupid question:some are a lot lighter than others, almost albino looking, did these just hatch later than the others or can normal parents have albino fry I didn't think they could but...

I get loads of albinos from my normal bns they had around 60 albino fry along with about 150 normal ones in their last batch

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Ahh nice one mate, I havent experienced any breeding yet, so jealous XD....

Btw will you be selling these

 

[AlexAndCarmen]

Congrats Geo

Those look like cute little wrigglers . Bet you're well chuffed.

Look forward to other pics of them and their parents