Neon Tetra breeding finally!

Gemmsy

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As is the way with some things, as soon as you stop trying you succeed ha.

I have been trying to breed neon these tetra for the past few weeks. Feeding bbs, pairing off at night with a slight temperature drop, into slightly softer water etc... no use. I think they found the move and netting stressful and so no luck.

I thought Iā€™d give up for a while, go back to normal food and let them shoal in the community tan. Plan was to leave them alone in the stable tank for a few months and then maybe try again.

They had other ideas. So now I have a load of eggs hidden in the gravel and around the Valiā€™s. Thought about trying to syphon a few out but Iā€™ve decided to leave them to it and see if any survive! Tank should have plenty of life for the wrigglers if any make it that far and I have microworms in the shed for the next step etc. I might get another ball of Java moss to help them out at the weekend if there is any sign of life.

Donā€™t think I caught any releases on camera but had a go and got some of the cool behaviour!

Any tips on increasing survival without removing them would be great, although I know chances are slim.
 
Have switched off the lights and used bin bags to hide the planted area from ambient light.
 
congratulations! I hope some of them make it! I think your idea of the java moss is good, though I have no experience in breeding fish.
 
Have you taken the adults out?
The adult fish will eat the babies as soon as they hatch and start moving around.

Have you got food ready for the babies?
The following link has information about culturing food for baby fish. It has a section on Emergency Fry Food and uses boiled egg yolk. You should check that bit out because the other foods take a month or more to get ready.

When you are preparing fish for breeding, feed them 3-5 times per day for at least 2 weeks before they are bred. This lets them develop good quality gametes (eggs & sperm) and better quality young.
Make sure you do more regular water changes when feeding more often.

I usually separate male and female fish for 5-7 days before breeding them. This usually gets them more excited when they go in the tank together.
 
Have you taken the adults out?
The adult fish will eat the babies as soon as they hatch and start moving around.

Have you got food ready for the babies?
The following link has information about culturing food for baby fish. It has a section on Emergency Fry Food and uses boiled egg yolk. You should check that bit out because the other foods take a month or more to get ready.

When you are preparing fish for breeding, feed them 3-5 times per day for at least 2 weeks before they are bred. This lets them develop good quality gametes (eggs & sperm) and better quality young.
Make sure you do more regular water changes when feeding more often.

I usually separate male and female fish for 5-7 days before breeding them. This usually gets them more excited when they go in the tank together.

Adults are still in as I donā€™t have another tank big enough for them. As I said this wasnā€™t really planned hah!
Typical as soon as I give up and pop them back in the main tank they breed a couple of weeks later ha. Maybe next time.

Iā€™ve masked off the end of the tank with bin liners to make it as dark as possible on the planted side. Maybe optimistic but hoping they can stay hidden long enough to grow to a size where they are safe, fingers crossed.

Sorted for food, I always planned to use egg yolk then supplement that with a little spirulina powder then add Microworms and move on to bbs once theyā€™re easily recognisable as fish rather than fry.
Plan is to mix it in tank water solution and squirt it through airline (through bin bag) into the corner they dropped. Little and often throughout the day starting tomorrow 24 hours post egg drop.

That sounds like the best way to do it to be fair. Iā€™ve only got 8 and theyā€™re relatively young so I find it hard to differentiate the makes and females unless theyā€™re swimming along side each other, even then Iā€™m not sure. Guess it comes with experience. The whole ā€˜one with the more curved lineā€™ is not easy ha.

image.jpg
 
congratulations! I hope some of them make it! I think your idea of the java moss is good, though I have no experience in breeding fish.
Thankyou! I hope so too. Iā€™ve only ever bred standard live bearers, shrimp and bristlenose plecs so this is new ha.
 
Needless to say this didnā€™t work ?.
Never saw a peep.

Just setup a small breeding tank for a pair, going to feed them up with live food and see if I can make a proper go of it ??.
 

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