Jewel eggs

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J

jdryden

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2007
459
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0
Bentonville, Arkansas
Well I have had my four jewels in my tank since Saturday, and I thought I might have had a couple pair off. Well I noticed one staying back behind a piece of driftwood and decided to inspect. This is what I found. I had heard they were easy to breed, but I didn't expect this. Now what do I do with them if they hatch out. They are in a 100 gallon long with bichirs and rope fish. Its lightly planted and so far the bichirs are leaving the mom to be alone and vice versa.

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They're about as prolific as convict cichlids in my experience - I used to breed them for feeder fish.

They get pretty aggressive in defending their young...not sure what advice to give you. Personally I would take the driftwood out and wash the eggs off...
 
dirtyblacksocks;1492688; said:
They're about as prolific as convict cichlids in my experience - I used to breed them for feeder fish.

They get pretty aggressive in defending their young...not sure what advice to give you. Personally I would take the driftwood out and wash the eggs off...
Click to expand...

I'd rather not just kill the eggs. After all, if need be I have an empty 20 long set up that the fry and go into (along with the platy fry I have). I've got plenty of fish and turts that would love a snack if all else fails, plus if I grow them out I can trade them in to the LFS.
 
Grow em' out then, that pair is going to breed constantly for years and years so you'll never run out of feeders after you get a decent cycle going with em'.

They grow fast, are hearty and easy to raise. As far as getting them out of a tank that size - good luck hehe.

Jewels breed a lot, though. Like I said - about as much as convicts.
 
Just an update, the eggs got eaten during the night....but they already have a new batch....
 
You'll need to either pull the eggs as soon as you see them and transfur them to a 10 or 20 gallon tank with a sponge filter or more the spawning pair....that is if you want any of the fry to survive.
 
I've got a 20 long set up thats empty, I figure I will move them to it tomorrow and see what happens. How long do the eggs take to hatch?
 
It only takes a few days for the eggs to hatch. A spawning pair can lay 200 eggs or more every 3 weeks as long as they remain in breeding condition. (Bright colors)
 
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