Leave Em Alone, Or Wreck The Nest?

[WendyinWichita]

My Dwarf Gourami has built a massive bubbble nest anchored in floating plants. He has colored up to impress his lady, and his lady has a nice fat tummy. These fish are in the top tank listed in my signature, so you can see what is also in the tank with them. I will not be able to separate them to their own tank if they do spawn- which looks likely. If they spawn, and the fry hatch, I do have a fry tank running with balloon molly fry. How long after spawn will I see wigglers (that is if the Angels don't invade). The Gourami pretty much rule the tank so I am not really worried.

 

[emma12321]

When my sparkling gouramis spawned it took about 4 days until they were wigglers. They had about 4 batches and every time the male would look after them until they left the nest then it was free food for all, even he ate them when they were free swimming. I never had one make it past 8 or so days old and the biggest threat in my tank were tetras. If you have loads of floating plants and a big tank, you never know one might make it mine were in a 15 gallon with floating plants.

Emma

 

[sylvia]

Just in case you didn't know, the balas you have need a 125 gallon tank minnimum.

Anyway, back to the point. As long as the gouramies are not being overly-aggressive towards their tankmates, there's no reason to destroy the nest. Let them spawn and enjoy the spectacle.

However, you won't be able to raise fry. Livebearer fry are extremely different to egglayer fry and gourami fry are an even more extreme example. Gourami fry are miniscule. Any power filters running in the rearing tank will suck them up and kill them. Everything in the community tank will try to eat both the eggs and fry while their in the nest - even their father who guards them will devour them once they are free swimming. Even the molly fry may snack on them. they will not eat crushed or even powdered flake. They need infusoria at first, soon after tiny live foods like newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. If you don't have cultures of these, forget trying to raise them. Moving them from one tank to another when they are just free swimming is also likely to kill the majority of the fry as they are sensitive to changes in water chemistry or temperature. Catching them is another matter - I don't know how you'd manage that as you could hardly see them if you have a dark or gravel substrate or any plants.

If you ever truly want to breed your gouramies, you have to set up a tank for that purpose - bear with just a sponge filter, heater, lights and some floating plants would do. A tight-fitting cover is also essential and you may want to icnlude a ceramic pot whilst the female is in the tank to give her a place to hide once the male starts chasing her away. Then, once they've spawned, you remove the female (and ceramic pot). Once the fry are free swimming, you take out the male (and turn on the sponge filter). Now you feed them infusoria/liquid foods/hard boiled egg yolk until they can take BBS or microworms (some can take microworms from the start but BBS usualy take a couple of days as they are a little larger than the worms). All this live food is extremely messy so water changes daily (with water at same temp) are useful. Use a white bucket so you can see any fry you syphoned out and put them back in their tank. They grow quickly but are very sensitive during the first couple of weeks.

 

[WendyinWichita]

I decided to clean up the nest. I have been trying to boost the plants with CO2 and proper lighting, and he was shredding everything in the tank to build the nest up. There is really too much agitation on the surface ot the water in any case. My fry tank is equiped with a sponge filter, so if any had made it beyond the initial stages, they would have been removed to the other tank.

I know how large Bala Sharks get.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Ddraig Goch]

Do you have an empty tank which you could put them into to breed? They will most likely just keep trying to build a bubble nest until they successfully breed. It is definitely worth watching them spawn.