Pics Of Gourami Bubble Nest

[Fillet 'O' Fish]

Last weekend I brought a pair of Dwarf Gourami and introduced them to my planted community tank. I have mainly been focusing on the tank plants, but the conditions must be right in there as they are trying to breed like rabbits !!

The male has been frantically building a bubble nest under one of the lilly leaves, and the female visiting regularly for "you know what !"

I dont know anything about this process, but thought you guys would appreciate a pic of a bubble nest being made, with the male spitting out the bubbles. Sorry about the quality of the pic, but did not want to disturb too much.

What will happen next?

They are chasing even the angels are scared to go near! Do you think all the fry will get eaten? or do they protect their young?

Bubble nest pic:

Planted tank pic:

 

[sylvia]

Lovely pics!

How big is the tank and what else is in there? Your angels are not adults I gather? Also, what kind of filter do you have? I imagine it can't be producing too much of a current if you've got a bubblenest so it probably won't be too big a problem for fry. Realy, your main worry would be the other fish eating the eggs/fry. The male gourami should start guarding them (as it sounds like he's already doing) but he won't be able to keep track of the fry ocne they hatch and any very fast or larger fish will be able to grab the occasional egg from under his 'nose' anyway. After the fry are free-swimming (which'll probably be in a couple of days if there are eggs and they hatch), the problem will also be feeding them as they require very small foods such as microworms or baby brine shrimp. In a tank that's planted like yours, they'll probably be able to snack on infusoria - at least in the beginning - but they'll soon need to be fed something more substantial. commercialy available liquid fry foods should work if the fry are not eaten first. Your final hurdle will be providing enough space for the fry to grow out and doing water changes while they are small. I personaly use a white bucket so any that are sucked up can be spotted and returned to the tank but I also use a seperate breeding tank to breed my gouramies as that makes everything far easier. As things stand, you'll be lucky if you manage to raise many (if any) - but you never know so I wish you luck and am hoping for regular updates