How Do You Encourage Dwarf Guoramis To Mate?

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Genesis

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how do you encourage dwarf guoramis to mate? I have one male and one female and the male chases the female a lot, does this mean he'd like to mate? they also touch feelers a lot but ive never actually found any eggs in my tank, is there anyting i can do to sorta...push them over the edge? :hey: :D lol
 
There are a few factors to consider first. Is your girl old enough to be producing eggs? It's quite easy to tell if she's carrying by how round she is looking. Just don't try checking after a good meal!
You can tre raising the temp ever so slightly and feed plenty of live and frozen foods (Bloodworm, brine shrimp...). Are there plants in the tank that drape along the surfuce or floating plants? Gouramies are very fond of them and the male will use them to stabilise his bubblenest.
Hugs,
P.
 
jesus, my female is pretty round behid the gills

also i have lots of tall plants :)

is she pregnant?
 
Gouramies are egg-layers so they can't get pregnant. They can get 'gravid', which is basicaly when the female is full of eggs.

Most dwarf gouramies can be bred at purchase size as they are already old enough. However, they'll only breed if they are feeling completely comfortable and are healthy. Having only one female dwarf in with a male that does a lot of chasing is bound to cause her stress. This, obviously, won't help the situation. It's always best to keep gouramies in groups of 3 - with 2 females or more per male.

Besides lots of tall and floating plants, there should not be too much surface aggitation as this prevents the male from building his bubblenest.

There also shouldn't be any overly boisterous or aggressive fish - especialy with the more peaceful gouramies such as your dwarfs. I think, looking at your signature, that the only one that struck me as worrying was the sucking loach as these potentialy become very aggressive and large as they mature and often target flat-bodied fish like gouramies, sucking at their eyes and slime coats.

Dwarf gouramies are also a lot more likely to breed if the water temp is about 79-82 deg F so I would raise your tank's gradualy to 80. Conditioning fish seperately on lots of rich live and frozen foods such as brine shrimp, daphnia and bloodworms is also useful. Seperation is not necessary but you are more likely to get them to breed quickly if you do. Feeding them lots of rich foods, but also supplementing with veggies, is important though and should be done regardless.

Also, you won't be able to raise the fry in your community tank. It's much better to set up a seperate breeding tank with a small sponge filter, a bare bottom and some floating plants. You can then control the environment, remove the parents when it becomes necessary, feed the fry as required and be able to raise them without the fear of tankmates eating them, the fry starving or them getting sucked up and killed by a power filter. This would be the time to add that the dwarf fry are miniscule and require tiny first foods such as infusoria and later newly hatched brine shrimp, microworms or vinegar eels. They can't be raised on crushed flake like some livebearers and egg yolk (often considered an alternative) is extremely messy. Some liquid fry foods are available but most serve as food for infusoria rather than directly feeding the fry.

Before trying to breed your fish, search this forum and the internet for some more information. Google is always a good place to look and there are always books to read. The more information you can get the better prepaired you will be. Keep in mind that, though your first spawn will probably only produce 10-20 or so full grown fry, they are still a large number of fish to find homes for and you should make sure you know what you're going to do with them. Keep in mind that subsequent spawnings, if raised successfuly, can produce a lot more than just 20 fry.
 
im gettin a new tank in a few months,

so ill leave my guoramis in the old tank and let them spawn :)
 
ive put "mummy" and "daddy" in a breeding net, now what? :p
 
What do you mean? Have they already spawned?

Regardless of why you put them in a breeding net, take them out immediately. You're going to end up killing them. Breeding nets are not meant for gouramies (well they aren't good for any fish realy - but especialy not for breeding gouramies). You won't get gouramies to spawn successfuly in a breeding net. Breeding nets are made to contain fry - in particular those from livebearers - not to breed egg layers in. 2 gouramies in such a small space will turn aggressive or the male will stress the female out. Eventualy one will end up dead.

If you want to breed your gouramies, don't attempt any shortcuts. Only try to purposeful breed and raise fry when you have the necessary tanks, equipment and tiny foods ready. For the time being, let the adults do what they like. maybe they'll spawn of their own accord. the fry are unlikely to survive if they spawn in the main tank but at least you get to see all the interesting behaviour and get an idea of how they act before, during and after spawning.
 
:crazy: Holy moley please tell me you haven't got them in a breeders net still? I'm suprised they put up with that even a few minutes!! :S Breeders nets are pointless and badly named. I have only ever used mine with some livebearer fry, an injured betta (after I rescued him from a store) and a sick gourami (She is still alive and well but she doesn't live with the others anymore). Never try to get any fish to breed in a so called breeders net. It is highly stressful, even to much smaller fish and will not induce a desire for them to spawn.
Let them be content in their tank and let nature takes it's course. If they do they do. If they don't they don't, but at least the stress and strain will have been avoided.
Hugs,
P.
 
nawh, i took them out after about 4 minutes
 
Thanks for letting us know. Really was quite worried for a bit there! :lol: I take they're both ok.
My girls do get the odd nip/torn dorsal fin but it's nothing major and it's more due to being daft enough to wonder into BB's lair and not wanting to spawn. :rolleyes:
Hugs,
P.
 
how do i find out if they like each other?
 
Well, it really depends on a great deal. If you have a tank they can both be in that has plenty of plants (and I really do mean lots) and enough space to not be in each others space or eyeline then that is a good start. Pop them in at the same time and keep an eye on them over the day. If, and only IF they seem fine without aggression then leave them overnight. Alot of gourami will only spawn overnight. Mine like to get it awn in the afternoon but there ya go. :lol: Mine also live permanently together and don't eat the fry so we are talking well adjusted and exceptions to the rule there. Only they can decide if they are happy to spawn. It's not something you can force any creature into really.
Hugs,
P.
 
got my new tank, im goig to transfer the guoramis back into the old one (15gal) for now, ill plant it and add lots of plants/ornaments, and feed them on rich foods, then ill take down the water level and raise the temperature and leave them to "get it awn" :p
 
I know many suggest lowering the water level but personally, in a tank that size, I wouldn't. Nor would I make it too warm. My gouramies have a tank temp of approx 25degrees C (hard to read in the dark) and they breed merrily. They have stopped recently due to a mass medication of all tanks to prevent the spreading of a recent killer virus. :sad:
So long as it's really well planted and they feel comfy in their enviroment, the only thing you need do is feed loadsa live food if you can. Frozen is also good (brine shrimp, bloodworm) if you can't get live. And watch for any signs of aggression. If it's the males first batch of eggs he will become highly aggressive (this is assuming they do 'get it awn' ;) )so you will prob have to get the girl moved. And watch your fingers!! :lol: (I kid you not, BB attacked me when he had his first batch, bless him. :wub: )
I wish the best of luck. :thumbs:
Hugs,
P.
 
genesis,

Why do you want to breed fish so badly when you do not have room for any fry?

I have looked at your thread in the catfish section saying that you want your cories to mate aswell :/
 

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