I would like discus but is this tank too small for them?

[Fish4dawin]

If you use a reverse osmosis (R/O) unit, you could keep smaller rainbowfish like Iriatherina werneri or most of the Pseudomugil rainbowfish. They would be happy in water with a pH around 7.0 and a GH between 100-200ppm. You could get this with a 50/50 mix of R/O and tap water.

If you don't use R/O water, any of the smaller Melanotaenia species like M. praecox, maccullochi, sexlineata, nigrans or exquisita.

Pseudomugil signifier from hard water or brackish water would be fine in hard water, as would P. cyanodorsalis. P. cyanodorsalis actually need hard water and if possible, with some salt.

The following link has information on all the different species of Australian and New Guinea rainbowfishes, including the ones I listed. Have a look and see if anything takes your fancy.
rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Melano.htm

I already have 6 M.praecox was planning on 8 but didnt have enough in stock. If I were to use a RO unit, what cory or loach would you suggest for a 33 gallon?

 

[Colin_T]

Smaller loaches like Botia sidthimunki or B. lohachata.

Corydoras is up to you, what species do you like?

Don't mix Corydoras with loaches because they usually have problems. Too many bottom dwellers in the same tank. Just have loaches or Cories.

---------------------
If you already have some rainbows, breed them and increase the group that way. In fact, if you only have Melanotaenia praecox rainbows in the tank, take some plants out and put them in a hatching tank. There will probably be eggs on the plants and you will have fry tomorrow or in a couple of days.

If you have more than one species of rainbowfish in the tank, then you need to separate the species for breeding so they don't hybridise.

 

[itiwhetu]

I'll answer the first question. No smaller than a 4 foot tank 250 liters per pair. Tried in a 3 foot didn't work. These guys need space.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Smaller loaches like Botia sidthimunki or B. lohachata.

Corydoras is up to you, what species do you like?

Don't mix Corydoras with loaches because they usually have problems. Too many bottom dwellers in the same tank. Just have loaches or Cories.

---------------------
If you already have some rainbows, breed them and increase the group that way. In fact, if you only have Melanotaenia praecox rainbows in the tank, take some plants out and put them in a hatching tank. There will probably be eggs on the plants and you will have fry tomorrow or in a couple of days.

If you have more than one species of rainbowfish in the tank, then you need to separate the species for breeding so they don't hybridise.

I have always liked sids. They will probably be what I choose.

What are the conditions to breed rainbows? I don't have a spare tank unfortunately.

 

[Colin_T]

Rainbowfish will breed in any conditions that don't kill them.

If they are fed well and kept in clean water, they will lay a few eggs each day for months at a time. The eggs are laid in plants and Java Moss is commonly used. The eggs take about 1 week to hatch and the fry swim just under the surface after they hatch. The babies get fed powder fry food for egg layers, boiled egg yolk, infusoria or green water. After a couple of weeks you can add newly hatched brineshrimp and then microworms to their diet. Within 3 months the fry should be about 1 inch long and can go in with the adults.

Male M. praecox have red fins and females have yellow/ orange fins.

If you want a lot of eggs at the same time, separate males and females for 5 days and then put them together in a breeding tank. They will usually breed within an hour or so of being put together and the females will shed all the eggs they developed and kept during the past 5 days. This gives you more eggs that hatch out at the same time. The day after you put them in the tank, you can either take the parents out and put them back in their normal tank, or move the plants to a hatching/ rearing tank, or leave the adults in the tank for a week before moving them back to their normal tank.

 

[itiwhetu]

Rainbowfish will breed in any conditions that don't kill them.

If they are fed well and kept in clean water, they will lay a few eggs each day for months at a time. The eggs are laid in plants and Java Moss is commonly used. The eggs take about 1 week to hatch and the fry swim just under the surface after they hatch. The babies get fed powder fry food for egg layers, boiled egg yolk, infusoria or green water. After a couple of weeks you can add newly hatched brineshrimp and then microworms to their diet. Within 3 months the fry should be about 1 inch long and can go in with the adults.

Male M. praecox have red fins and females have yellow/ orange fins.

If you want a lot of eggs at the same time, separate males and females for 5 days and then put them together in a breeding tank. They will usually breed within an hour or so of being put together and the females will shed all the eggs they developed and kept during the past 5 days. This gives you more eggs that hatch out at the same time. The day after you put them in the tank, you can either take the parents out and put them back in their normal tank, or move the plants to a hatching/ rearing tank, or leave the adults in the tank for a week before moving them back to their normal tank.

Just out of interest, you are suggesting egg yolk as a first food. Do you know why when I suggested that on another thread I was slammed and told that it was going to cause all sorts of defects in the fry.

 

[Fish4dawin]

Rainbowfish will breed in any conditions that don't kill them.

If they are fed well and kept in clean water, they will lay a few eggs each day for months at a time. The eggs are laid in plants and Java Moss is commonly used. The eggs take about 1 week to hatch and the fry swim just under the surface after they hatch. The babies get fed powder fry food for egg layers, boiled egg yolk, infusoria or green water. After a couple of weeks you can add newly hatched brineshrimp and then microworms to their diet. Within 3 months the fry should be about 1 inch long and can go in with the adults.

Male M. praecox have red fins and females have yellow/ orange fins.

If you want a lot of eggs at the same time, separate males and females for 5 days and then put them together in a breeding tank. They will usually breed within an hour or so of being put together and the females will shed all the eggs they developed and kept during the past 5 days. This gives you more eggs that hatch out at the same time. The day after you put them in the tank, you can either take the parents out and put them back in their normal tank, or move the plants to a hatching/ rearing tank, or leave the adults in the tank for a week before moving them back to their normal tank.

Should I introduce some floating plants for the fry to hide in? Unfortunately I don't have a spare tank and as soon as I get back to my mums, I would've done the suggestion at the bottom but not got a tank free at the moment.

I think I have 4 males and 2 females.

What do the eggs look like? I'm gonna try and get a breeder tank but I don't know where I put it; I have a 4ft white table that seems to be sturdy. Should I try picking up a 5-10 gallon and putting it there. I'll buy a starter pack as long as my mum let's me

 

[Colin_T]

You can put some Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) in the display tank and the baby fish will hide among the leaves. You can then scoop the babies out with an ice-cream bucket and put them in a rearing container. You can use a plastic storage container or even a 20 litre bucket for a rearing tank.

Rainbowfish eggs are small (about 1mm diameter), round and clear when first laid. After a few days you can see black appearing inside the egg and after a week you can see the eyes and body.

The eggs have little filaments on the outside and these attach to plants or filter floss and stop the eggs floating off in the current or sinking to the bottom. The eggs sometimes stick to your fingers and a lot of people actually pick the rainbowfish eggs from plants and put the eggs into hatching containers.

If you use a gravel cleaner in the tank, you can do a light gravel clean just over the top of the gravel. Drain the water into a white bucket and let it settle for a few minutes. Then shine a torch into the bucket and see if you can spot any eggs on the bottom. I used to do this with some of my tanks before doing a water change. You suck any eggs off the bottom and leave them in a white bucket, then scoop out any babies that hatch over the next few days.

----------------------
To breed rainbowfish you want a tank that is at least 2 foot long. You can also use a plastic storage container to breed them in. Have a thin layer of sand or gravel on the bottom. Add a clump of Java Moss and some Water Sprite, or make a spawning mop from acrylic wool. Have an air operated sponge filter and heater (if it's cold) in the tank. Have a cover on the tank to stop the fish jumping out.

Put the fish in the tank, feed them, do water changes if they are in there for more than a week, and let them breed.

As mentioned previously, if you only have one species of rainbowfish in your current tank, just take some plants out and put the plants in a bucket of tank water. Leave them there for a week and see if anything hatches. Try to use a white bucket so it's easier to see the fry.

You can also put a spawning mop in your tank and leave it there for a week, then put the mop in a hatching bucket. Put a new mop in the main tank when you remove the first one.

----------------------

Just out of interest, you are suggesting egg yolk as a first food. Do you know why when I suggested that on another thread I was slammed and told that it was going to cause all sorts of defects in the fry.

Yes, I recommend boiled egg yolk as an emergency food for newly hatched fish.

Which thread was it?

I'm not sure why they slammed you or said it causes defects, it doesn't. In fact most liquid fry food for baby fish consists of boiled egg yolk and preservative so it lasts longer sitting on the shelf.

The only problem you have with boiled egg yolk is if you put too much in the tank, you can cause ammonia problems but that is it. It's perfectly safe for fish and has a similar molecular structure to fish eggs, and fish eat each other's eggs all the time.

 

[Fish4dawin]

You can put some Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) in the display tank and the baby fish will hide among the leaves. You can then scoop the babies out with an ice-cream bucket and put them in a rearing container. You can use a plastic storage container or even a 20 litre bucket for a rearing tank.

Rainbowfish eggs are small (about 1mm diameter), round and clear when first laid. After a few days you can see black appearing inside the egg and after a week you can see the eyes and body.

The eggs have little filaments on the outside and these attach to plants or filter floss and stop the eggs floating off in the current or sinking to the bottom. The eggs sometimes stick to your fingers and a lot of people actually pick the rainbowfish eggs from plants and put the eggs into hatching containers.

If you use a gravel cleaner in the tank, you can do a light gravel clean just over the top of the gravel. Drain the water into a white bucket and let it settle for a few minutes. Then shine a torch into the bucket and see if you can spot any eggs on the bottom. I used to do this with some of my tanks before doing a water change. You suck any eggs off the bottom and leave them in a white bucket, then scoop out any babies that hatch over the next few days.

----------------------
To breed rainbowfish you want a tank that is at least 2 foot long. You can also use a plastic storage container to breed them in. Have a thin layer of sand or gravel on the bottom. Add a clump of Java Moss and some Water Sprite, or make a spawning mop from acrylic wool. Have an air operated sponge filter and heater (if it's cold) in the tank. Have a cover on the tank to stop the fish jumping out.

Put the fish in the tank, feed them, do water changes if they are in there for more than a week, and let them breed.

As mentioned previously, if you only have one species of rainbowfish in your current tank, just take some plants out and put the plants in a bucket of tank water. Leave them there for a week and see if anything hatches. Try to use a white bucket so it's easier to see the fry.

You can also put a spawning mop in your tank and leave it there for a week, then put the mop in a hatching bucket. Put a new mop in the main tank when you remove the first one.

----------------------

Yes, I recommend boiled egg yolk as an emergency food for newly hatched fish.

Which thread was it?

I'm not sure why they slammed you or said it causes defects, it doesn't. In fact most liquid fry food for baby fish consists of boiled egg yolk and preservative so it lasts longer sitting on the shelf.

The only problem you have with boiled egg yolk is if you put too much in the tank, you can cause ammonia problems but that is it. It's perfectly safe for fish and has a similar molecular structure to fish eggs, and fish eat each other's eggs all the time.

I have some curly live plants. I would assume that the rainbowfish will lay eggs on them. So if I put a plant with rainbowfish eggs in the bucket, I need a sponge filter and heater and feed them infusoria?

 

[Colin_T]

It's preferable to have a sponge filter in the rearing tank to keep the water clean and remove any ammonia, however, you can change most of the water every day to help keep it clean instead of having a filter. Just fill the rearing tank with water from the parent's tank.

--------------------
If you live in a cold climate then you will need a heater. If the house is heated and stays above 24C, you won't need a heater for the rearing tank.

--------------------
If you can get infusoria that is an ideal food for the first 2 weeks of their life. It normally takes about 4 weeks to get an infusoria culture working, the same with green water. This means you need to get the cultures going well in advance of breeding the fish.

You can buy liquid and dry powdered fry food from any pet shop. These can be used instead of infusoria or green water.

If you can't get any of the foods listed above, you can use a boiled egg yolk.
The following link has information about culturing food for baby fish, including boiled egg yolk.

Back to Basics when Breeding Fish

STARTING OUT Make sure you have a pair, (1 male + 1 female). There is nothing worse than spending your hard-earned dollars buying a couple of fish to try and breed and ending up with a pair of fish of the same sex. Let's face it, to reproduce fish you need a male and a female. Two males won't do...

www.fishforums.net

 

[itiwhetu]

You can put some Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) in the display tank and the baby fish will hide among the leaves. You can then scoop the babies out with an ice-cream bucket and put them in a rearing container. You can use a plastic storage container or even a 20 litre bucket for a rearing tank.

Rainbowfish eggs are small (about 1mm diameter), round and clear when first laid. After a few days you can see black appearing inside the egg and after a week you can see the eyes and body.

The eggs have little filaments on the outside and these attach to plants or filter floss and stop the eggs floating off in the current or sinking to the bottom. The eggs sometimes stick to your fingers and a lot of people actually pick the rainbowfish eggs from plants and put the eggs into hatching containers.

If you use a gravel cleaner in the tank, you can do a light gravel clean just over the top of the gravel. Drain the water into a white bucket and let it settle for a few minutes. Then shine a torch into the bucket and see if you can spot any eggs on the bottom. I used to do this with some of my tanks before doing a water change. You suck any eggs off the bottom and leave them in a white bucket, then scoop out any babies that hatch over the next few days.

----------------------
To breed rainbowfish you want a tank that is at least 2 foot long. You can also use a plastic storage container to breed them in. Have a thin layer of sand or gravel on the bottom. Add a clump of Java Moss and some Water Sprite, or make a spawning mop from acrylic wool. Have an air operated sponge filter and heater (if it's cold) in the tank. Have a cover on the tank to stop the fish jumping out.

Put the fish in the tank, feed them, do water changes if they are in there for more than a week, and let them breed.

As mentioned previously, if you only have one species of rainbowfish in your current tank, just take some plants out and put the plants in a bucket of tank water. Leave them there for a week and see if anything hatches. Try to use a white bucket so it's easier to see the fry.

You can also put a spawning mop in your tank and leave it there for a week, then put the mop in a hatching bucket. Put a new mop in the main tank when you remove the first one.

----------------------

Yes, I recommend boiled egg yolk as an emergency food for newly hatched fish.

Which thread was it?

I'm not sure why they slammed you or said it causes defects, it doesn't. In fact most liquid fry food for baby fish consists of boiled egg yolk and preservative so it lasts longer sitting on the shelf.

The only problem you have with boiled egg yolk is if you put too much in the tank, you can cause ammonia problems but that is it. It's perfectly safe for fish and has a similar molecular structure to fish eggs, and fish eat each other's eggs all the time.

The thread was one on cory's. I setup my thread "First Food", the discussion got ridiculous, which prompted me to write the thread " Thank you and good night ". Just now I have been attacked again for suggesting that hand sanitizer may not have been the cause of a problem.

 

[Fish4dawin]

So the fry can live in a bucket with a sponge filter, and heater with infusroia as food.

 

[Colin_T]

So the fry can live in a bucket with a sponge filter, and heater with infusroia as food.

Yes, and if you can't get infusoria, use a fry food from the pet shop or use a boiled egg yolk.

 

[Colin_T]

The thread was one on cory's. I setup my thread "First Food", the discussion got ridiculous, which prompted me to write the thread " Thank you and good night ". Just now I have been attacked again for suggesting that hand sanitizer may not have been the cause of a problem.

I don't see anything in the thread where people have a go at you about egg yolk. Are you sure it is this thread?

First food

This most probably has been done before but here goes again. The best possible first food for egg layers especially gouramis and tetras etc is boiled egg yolk. First hard boil an egg, take only the yolk, put into a piece of cotton cloth like a handkerchief . Push it through into the tank. You...

www.fishforums.net

 

[itiwhetu]

I don't see anything in the thread where people have a go at you about egg yolk. Are you sure it is this thread?

First food

This most probably has been done before but here goes again. The best possible first food for egg layers especially gouramis and tetras etc is boiled egg yolk. First hard boil an egg, take only the yolk, put into a piece of cotton cloth like a handkerchief . Push it through into the tank. You...

www.fishforums.net

It was the cory thread