Sorry! Me Again...

[missigfunk]

Before anyone starts to think that I'm just too impatient and aren't doing it right, I have heaps of pairs to breed.

The pair I'm trying to spawn now are strange.

The bubblenest is huge, the female looks eggy and is showing vertical bars. I did what netty said and let her out for a few hours before bed time and then put her back in. I let her back out again this morning and went to work all day. When I came home, the nest was bigger, the female still had the stripes, and she seems a little bit eggy. Also, I can't notice any eggs in the nest.

My question is, how will I know if they have spawned or not? The female is still showing all signs, but the male chases her away quite meanly all the time. She has heaps of hiding spots, and no major damage seems to be done to her.

I have 1 pair left to spawn after this if it fails while I'm re-conditioning the other failed pairs.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Colin_T]

when the fish have bred the female will be skinnier than she was. Also the male will usually try to chase her away from the nest. Some males don't mind the females being nearby, but others will chase and even kill a female after breeding. So quite often the female will be hiding in a corner after breeding.

 

[LauraFrog]

I find attempted breeding so frustrating as well... the males invariably attack the females and refuse to spawn even when the females are willing. Wish I could help you but I have the same problem!

 

[missigfunk]

Well I think she looks a bit thinner, but she still has her stripes. That's what's stumped me.

Do the bars go away once they are completely done spawning?

 

[MaddieJ]

I'm not sure whether or not the stripes change, however, can you see eggs in the nest?

 

[missigfunk]

It's hard to tell on the angle. The breeding tank is on the shelf under my 2ft tank. I have to get right on the floor and shine the light under the foam cup, but the glare gets in the way sometimes.

I might have to wait till tomorrow morning to see it in the natural light.


I'm also confused because I never saw them wrap. Before I left for work, the female was sort of allowed under the nest, but now he chases her away in a mean way, not a flirty way.

 

[missigfunk]

This is the site I've been looking at to see what eggs in a nest look like...

http/images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=...v%3D2%26hl%3Den


I can't see the eggs in that picture either!

 

[MaddieJ]

Using the picture from the above, I've circled some bubbles for you to take a closer look. Inside those bubbles, it almost looks as if there are more bubbles inside them, these are infact lot's of small eggs!

Have another look:

 

[missigfunk]

Wow! Thanks for that MaddieJ

I can see them in the photo, but it seems almost impossible to see them in the nest...the bubbles are so small!!!

 

[MaddieJ]

Yeah I bet, most things show up better in photos, you can study the detail without it moving it.

Try to get some snaps if you can, if not, hope for the best and see what happens! x

 

[missigfunk]

Well he built the nest NEXT to the foam cup! So it's on an even harder angle!

I tried taking the lid off to get some above shots, but then some bubbles started bursting so I put the lid back on, but didn't get any shots.

I'll try again though....lucky I have macro lol

 

[missigfunk]

I have an update guys!!!!!


According to the pic posted, and the nest in the tank......


I HAVE EGGS!!!!!!!


And according to the website posted, I swear I can see little worm looking things in a few of the bubbles. I tried taking a pic, but they still don't work out, even with macro, but I can DEF see them with my own eyes!

I assume it happened sometime yesterday because before I went to work, I let Sparkle out (and I know how much Moey loves Sparkle ). When I came home, there was a massive bublenest with Moey underneath guarding it with everything he had! He chased Sparkle away as soon as he saw her, so I took her out.

I went to bed that night and when I woke up and checked this morning, I could see (what looks like to me) little worm looking things. I'm not sure if I'm seeing what I want to see, but I really believe there are babies this time!

Temp has been at 30 degrees since yesterday, so I assume they will hatch soon.


I'll post a pic of the pair later. I'm on a friends computer because for some reason my internet isn't working....and it's ADSL 2!!!