Hi about 3 wks ago we got ourselves a young pair of rotkeil. They were advertised as wild caught and were very thin when we got them, but after a week with us they spawned but ate the eggs as she laid them, so now 9 days after their first spawn they've spawned again and once again ate the eggs immediatley. They're a young pair around 3.5 or 4 inch in size . I know it does take most cichlids a few times before they get it right, this pair lay a few eggs and then eat them and keep going that way untill shes finished spawning. It's the fact that they eat them straight away that concerns me. We had geos that ate their first spawn but that was after a few hours of being laid and then went on to raise fry with their second spawn.
Egg eating Rotkeil
- Thread starter maxy
- Start date
My Festae female always eats her eggs too. I'm not sure what to do.
She usually always lays them on a rock. I wonder if I take the rock out of the Festae tank and put it in a 20g tank, would the eggs die?
Anyone know?
She usually always lays them on a rock. I wonder if I take the rock out of the Festae tank and put it in a 20g tank, would the eggs die?
Anyone know?
I would give em some time and see if they work it out. Most of the times they do.
They will be fine as long as they aren't exposed to dry air. Make sure you transfer the rock using a cup full of tank water.
This is the setup you need:
Water from the tank they were laid in... Add 8 drops of methylene blue per gallon, and an airstone that circulates water around the eggs. Once they hatch, you can do daily 10% water changes until the water is clear (you don't need to re-dose methylene blue).
balton777;5156666; said:
They will be fine as long as they aren't exposed to dry air. Make sure you transfer the rock using a cup full of tank water.
This is the setup you need:
Water from the tank they were laid in... Add 8 drops of methylene blue per gallon, and an airstone that circulates water around the eggs. Once they hatch, you can do daily 10% water changes until the water is clear (you don't need to re-dose methylene blue).
Did both of them eat the eggs? I had a male sev that did the same thing. He was really bad - courting females into spawning then eating eggs as soon as they were laid. I ended up giving him away. I'd say give them a few more chances and if they still do the same thing, forget about breeding.
Balton - if the eggs are fertilized, it's not too hard to hatch them artificially. Just two things to keep in mind: 1) Make sure there's enough O2. I usually put a small air stone next to the eggs, but not too close that the current would wash the eggs off the rock. 2) Keep fungus away. You can either use methylene blue (which I hate), or pick off eggs with fungi as soon as they turn white, which is essentially what the parents do.
Balton - if the eggs are fertilized, it's not too hard to hatch them artificially. Just two things to keep in mind: 1) Make sure there's enough O2. I usually put a small air stone next to the eggs, but not too close that the current would wash the eggs off the rock. 2) Keep fungus away. You can either use methylene blue (which I hate), or pick off eggs with fungi as soon as they turn white, which is essentially what the parents do.
I've had this problem with my Rottys as well. It started with the female eating the eggs and now the male chases her off so he can eat them....go figure. Luckly for me mine gave me wigglers a couple of months ago so I'm in the process of growing them out now. I would say give yours time and they'll figure it out, or just use the methods listed above.
cacichlids;5156695; said:
peathenster;5156697; said:
Hey thanks alot. I'll have to give it a try next time around.
abarilot;5156790; said:
That's how my Geo's are, the male eats the eggs in that pair. A couple of times the female got the eggs to hatch but he beat her up and ate the fry.
First time they spawned the male tried to cover the eggs but she pushed him out of the way to eat the eggs and then he joined in, second spawn they just ate straight away. But they are young and its only their second spawn so as advised i'll give them time. Thankyou.
My Multis have spawned about three times with the same results. Once they got the fry to free-swimming and then just left them alone to the joy of their tankmates. I moved them to their own tank and they have spawned again after three weeks. The eggs should hatch tomorrow I think.maxy;5148710; said:
I have seen fish eat their eggs when they are stressed by other tankmates too. Are your Rotkeil with any other fish? I'm not saying this is the problem but its worth a look. They could just need a little time to figure things out too.
Definitely try to remove the eggs and get some fry from your pair. They both have excellent genes that should be passed on. I wish you the best with this attempt!balton777;5156666; said:
Well after numerous egg eating spawns they went a step further and waited until they were wrigglers and then ate them. We managed to save 15 wrigglers and they are now free swimming in a tank of their own
