Noob Breeding Question

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mshill90

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 4, 2009
3,179
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Mechanicsburg, PA
Ok, so I've never really ever bred fish before.. I mean, I had JD's that had babies, marbles crays, and koi.. but there's not really much to do with them.

So here's my question..

I have a 150 gallon tank that has about 10 carpintis growing out, 2 parrot fish, a varigated shark, and a cray..

Seems that my biggest carpintis male 6", and a small 3" female got together, and she laid eggs all inside of a pot.. Lots of them.

They have been doing great about protecting them, and it's been about 5 days, and all are still the yellowish color. None are white.

I know by now, if they were infertile, they would be white.

What I am wondering is can I put the pot with the eggs in a 20 gallon? The 20 gallon is drilled, so what I am going to attach a pump in the 150 to push water into the 20 so it's the same water the eggs came out of.

Will they hatch if this is done?

And how the heck do I keep them alive?
 
I would personally let the babies hatch inside the main tank, turn into wigglers, and then into free swimmers. Then set up the 20 gallon with water from the main tank, does not have to be an extensive set up as you mentioned, but that might work well. They should be hatching any time soon if your 5 days is correct. The parents may move the wigglers into a pit they dig into the gravel, so don't freak out if they go missing. After 3 days they will become free swimming and you can feed them baby brine shrimp almost immediatly after free swimming, goodluck!
 
I want to move them because for sure they will get eaten by all the other fish in the tank.
 
Texas parents are pretty good defenders...but yeah give it a shot, just feed BBS when they are free swimming. If you move before they hatch, make sure they have really good circulation over the eggs so they dont fungal over, allthough it sounds like yours are about to pop. Also with a green texas pair, the hardest part is getting them to pair...now that you have a pair expect 500-1000 eggs on a regular basis, goodluck :)!
 
if you plan to do it before they hatch that's fine. but make sure you leave an aerator under the eggs to help them break free. most of the time the parents would free them from there egg shell. without there parents, you have a chance of that shell hangin on to the fry and water moss take over. not a pretty site.

if you dont want to deal with that, let them hatch like probassfisher010 suggested. that day they are free swimming, they tend to swim in a pack. your chance to suck em out into a container and transfer them to a tank. don't use a net. get a tube and gravity pull them out.
 
tommyleeduong said:
if you plan to do it before they hatch that's fine. but make sure you leave an aerator under the eggs to help them break free. most of the time the parents would free them from there egg shell. without there parents, you have a chance of that shell hangin on to the fry and water moss take over. not a pretty site.

if you dont want to deal with that, let them hatch like probassfisher010 suggested. that day they are free swimming, they tend to swim in a pack. your chance to suck em out into a container and transfer them to a tank. don't use a net. get a tube and gravity pull them out.
Click to expand...

Wow, did you make this up yourself? LOL. This is false.

@OP: Whats the temp of the tank? 5 days is a bit long for eggs not to hatch.. IMO, Leaving the eggs in the main tank would mean the other fish having a chance to pick the fry off once they're free swimming.

Move the pot to the 20gallon, add Anti Fungal medication to prevent the eggs from being fungled over. Adding an airstone next to the eggs would help since this would mimic the parents behavior of fanning the eggs to prevent the eggs from fungasing over. I've done it plenty of times, I'd rather let the parents raise them if they were in a tank of their own, but they're not.

To keep them alive after they're free swimming, you can feed them a bunch of things. Hikari First bites is a great product that I use until they can start eating crushed pellets. You could also feed BBS, crushed flakes etc. Clean water, good food and higher temps will make them grow faster. Good luck.
 
5 days is on the longer side for regular texas cichlids, but the average for carpintis, is 5 days. And the anti fungal medicine will not work with the setup she plans because she wants to connect it to her main tank...which could possibly kill all her bio. I still think she should let them become free swimming until she moves them.
 
Water said:
Wow, did you make this up yourself? LOL. This is false.

@OP: Whats the temp of the tank? 5 days is a bit long for eggs not to hatch.. IMO, Leaving the eggs in the main tank would mean the other fish having a chance to pick the fry off once they're free swimming.

Move the pot to the 20gallon, add Anti Fungal medication to prevent the eggs from being fungled over. Adding an airstone next to the eggs would help since this would mimic the parents behavior of fanning the eggs to prevent the eggs from fungasing over. I've done it plenty of times, I'd rather let the parents raise them if they were in a tank of their own, but they're not.

To keep them alive after they're free swimming, you can feed them a bunch of things. Hikari First bites is a great product that I use until they can start eating crushed pellets. You could also feed BBS, crushed flakes etc. Clean water, good food and higher temps will make them grow faster. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I noticed the eggs on Saturday morning. So today would be the 5 day mark if they were laid the same day I noticed them. I don't recall them acting protective the day before or any other days prior to this. The temp of the tank is 80F. this is the general temp of most of my tanks, as they are in the basement, and heaters aren't needed until late January.

I can use a 20 that won't be connected if needed. I could add maybe a mesh type screen divider to the 150 maybe, but I think the wigglers may be able to get through it.

Is an antifungal needed if an airstone is provided? Is antifungal needed if left in the 150?
 
If the eggs haven't fuzzed over yet, and it is the 5th day, don't remove them they are about to hatch anyways. I personally like letting the parents hatch them and get them into free swimmers for two reasons, when they first become free swimmers they get their first meal off of the parents slime coat, and the parent will bring in some mouthfuls of stuff lying on the bottom, not 100% sure if carpintis do this, but lots of cichlids do. Also they are the easiest to transfer imo at this stage. However, leave about 10-30 fry (which will happen probably from missing them) so the male doesn't blame the female for them dissapearing and attacks her. goodluck and keep us updated!
 
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