Calliopepop
New Member
I have a pair of dwarf gurami. They're healthy and doing well, I've had both for a couple of months and I'm hoping to breed them. They're from two different places - one from Nebraska, and the other Florida, so I'm not worried about inbreeding. The female is pretty chunky, and I'm 90% sure she has eggs, although it's hard to tell without a 1:1 comparison of a female with and without eggs. They're in a community 36 gallon, along with cherry barbs, corys, and gold tetras. It's well planted. I'm aware that it's generally better to breed them in a separate tank, but I don't have one right now so I carefully designed the tank around their needs, and everything is very peaceful. I've been supplementing flakes and pellets with frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms for a couple months now, and started feeding them exclusively about 4 days ago.
2 days ago I took 48 hours to raise the temp from 79 to 82. I also diverted and reduced the flow of my filter outtake, so the only surface disturbance comes from an aerator. About a third of the surface is covered in floating plants, as well as some stem plants which have grown up to the surface. From what I've read, they should be breeding by now? I even turned off the blue lights, which normally go on for an hour each night, as I've read simulating a new moon can promote breeding.
The female does seem to be poking at the male a little more, following him around. But every time he sees her, he chases her away (just a few inches - she doesn't have any injuries). He might be slightly more colored than normal, but it's not a lot. Is there anything more I can do to induce breeding? The tank is now at 82 degrees, ph 7.4, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates 5. There is also a very small amount of salt in there - probably 2 tbsp max in the whole tank.
2 days ago I took 48 hours to raise the temp from 79 to 82. I also diverted and reduced the flow of my filter outtake, so the only surface disturbance comes from an aerator. About a third of the surface is covered in floating plants, as well as some stem plants which have grown up to the surface. From what I've read, they should be breeding by now? I even turned off the blue lights, which normally go on for an hour each night, as I've read simulating a new moon can promote breeding.
The female does seem to be poking at the male a little more, following him around. But every time he sees her, he chases her away (just a few inches - she doesn't have any injuries). He might be slightly more colored than normal, but it's not a lot. Is there anything more I can do to induce breeding? The tank is now at 82 degrees, ph 7.4, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates 5. There is also a very small amount of salt in there - probably 2 tbsp max in the whole tank.
