Clarias Eggs?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Loulou

Loulou

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 12, 2007
1,343
8
0
Mauritius Island, Indian Ocean
I am currently keeping one of my clarias batrachus in a tub until its tail injury heals... Since yesterday I noticed a strong fishy smell coming from the tub - that was weird as I've never experienced such a smell coming from my tanks... Today, while doing a large water change, I siphoned what I thought to be feces from the bottom of the tub... but, in fact, it was some strange looking round things and the strong fishy smell was coming from them... could they be eggs?

I'm attaching pictures for you to see:
 
blurock;2457982; said:
Crazy. Definitely looks like eggs to me.
You may find this article interesting though I don't think you have two right? Still interesting, I enjoyed the read
http://www.scotcat.com/articles/article96.htm
Click to expand...
Actually, I have 3 - a normal one, a piebald one and an albino one... the normal one is the one injured and in the tub... it's also the biggest one I've got... approximately 13 inches long...

Thank you for that article, my friend :) But I guess I'm not too interested into getting my cats to spawn for now... I'm just worried about the injured one... maybe later, when it's all healed up, I might consider trying to get it to breed ;)
 
After having seen the pictures in that article, I tend to say that, indeed, these are eggs... but what could I have done to induce that cat to lay eggs? Could it have been the move from the tank to the tub? That change of environment?

The tub has less water... the temperature there must be lower... and there's a lot of air due to the presence of a sponge filter and 3 airstones...

I need to read that article more carefully...
 
The temperature change certainly is one of the factors that induce spawning in most fish. Interesting catfish there! Most fish do lay eggs without a male present so oftentimes, the eggs are infertile. Glad you posted it here.
 
Lupin;2458130; said:
The temperature change certainly is one of the factors that induce spawning in most fish. Interesting catfish there! Most fish do lay eggs without a male present so oftentimes, the eggs are infertile. Glad you posted it here.
Click to expand...
I'm thinking that the temperature and the water must have been the determinant factors... anyway, I'll try to replicate that change in the tank once the cat is healed up and moved back there... we'll see what happens then...

One thing though, I do not have a thick gravel bed as shown in the article... I wonder whether that could be a limiting factor... then again, maybe not as the cat laid her eggs in a bare-bottom tub...
 
I did post the article so you could hopefully find some similarities between your circumstances and the ones in the article that induce breeding behavior. But if you do try it in the tank, you will have to start a thread about it. I have always loved Clarias and if they weren't illegal here, I would have a tank full of them! :D
Good luck, and I hope your injured one heals quickly.
 
I have seen other posts about clarias cats laying eggs after a move. stress maybe??
 
sterling_mcdaniel;2460070; said:
I have seen other posts about clarias cats laying eggs after a move. stress maybe??
Click to expand...
Hmmm... yes, I'm starting to think that stress is indeed a big factor... The fish was all alone - there were no courting rituals, etc... she just laid her eggs...
 
blurock;2459428; said:
I did post the article so you could hopefully find some similarities between your circumstances and the ones in the article that induce breeding behavior. But if you do try it in the tank, you will have to start a thread about it. I have always loved Clarias and if they weren't illegal here, I would have a tank full of them! :D
Good luck, and I hope your injured one heals quickly.
Click to expand...
Thank you again for that! Indeed it has helped me a lot... especially in sexing my cats... I now know for sure that the big grey cat is a female (afterall, she laid eggs) and that the smaller albino one is a male (due to the shape of the genital papilla)... I need to check the piebald one... ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom