Should I remove the male?

[Dispatch273]

I know BGJDs aren't everyone's cup of tea but I have a question about them...As I posted lastnight(http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?445449-After-two-months-of-patiently-waiting.....) my blue gene pair finally spawned. I know it is normal for them to guard the eggs but the issue that I am having is that the female is not letting the male go anywhere near the eggs. She has him isolated to one side of the tank and while she is not being super aggressive with him in terms of injuring him, she is going after him every time he moves closer to the eggs. Should I remove him from the tank? He's still eating well and doesn't really seem to be bothered by the attacks. He simply moves out of the way when she goes after him. What would you do?

 

[HokieFish]

You could always remove the eggs and put them in a 10 gallon to hatch. Just remove whatever object they laid the eggs on. This will keep them from eating the eggs as well

 

[Aquatic Aggression]

Normally I would suggest adding some kind of dither fish to strengthen the pair bond and give the male something to do. If you are removing most of the fry anyway maybe just throw a divider in the tank when they hatch.

 

[CAaddict]

this is what happened when my midas n parrot spawned. but if you isolate the eggs in a 10G then you have the benifit of knowing that the eggs wont get eaten

 

[Dispatch273]

Ok so I think I'll do is remove the rock that they laid on and put it into an already established 20 gal. Would that work? The only 10 gal I have is filled with plants, neons, and ghost shrimp(my sons tank) so I can't put them in there obviously. The only problem is that the female not only laid eggs on the rock, but on the bottom glass of the tank. I can't really remove those lol Also there are some giant danios as dither fish in the tank already.

 

[HokieFish]

You'll at least be able to save the ones on the rock. You could try to remove the ones on the glass with a gravel vacuum.

 

[Gruff Master]

Since this is their first spawn, I wouldn't do a whole lot to stress them. I would leave the eggs alone and let the female tend to them. This is their first spawn and so they may need time to learn how they should act as a pair. If the male tries to eat the eggs, drop in a divider for a while. Once the fry are free swimming you can remove some and raise them in an aerated tank by themselves. Try to leave enough fry for the parents to raise. It will help them learn what to do and strengthen their bond.

 

[Madness]

+1 on what Gruff said. The rest of you, OMG!!!!! Never, I repeat never remove the eggs. Several reasons. 1) high risk of not surviving the change to a diff tank. 2) male blames female for eating them and male kills female. 3) parents never learn how to brood fry. And so on.

Let them be, like Gruff said, if the male tries to eat, separate HIM. I have a male RD that wont let the female near the eggs. Its just there way of protecting, leave them alone and let them learn and figure it out. Once the little ones are swimming in a group, now is a good time to remove most of the fry.

But from what I know about EBJD, aren't they very delicate and not near as hardy as a regular Dempsey? If thats so, just like my Festae, leave the babies with the parents in their original tank. If you have to, remove the parents.

 

[peathenster]

^ What Alex said.

I'm strongly against removing the eggs. Don't do it unless you are absolutely certain that the eggs will be eaten. And if you do, read up on how to aerate the eggs and keep fungi from growing.

Females keeping males away from the eggs is normal. It doesn't necessarily mean the male wants to eat the eggs. The two parents have different functions - usually females guard, clean and aerate the eggs, and males defend the perimeter (roughly 2' in diameter). You female is probably just pushing the male to do his job.

Once the fry become free swimming, both parents usually stay closer with the fry. You can remove fry then if you want, but leave some with the parents so they won't break up and fight.

Remember, just because something makes sense intuitively doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Try to get it from people with actual experience.

 

[peathenster]

But from what I know about EBJD, aren't they very delicate and not near as hardy as a regular Dempsey?

Good point. For EBJDs, their biggest threat is their BG and regular JD siblings. Try to separate the EBs out from the rest of the brood as early as possible.