Sick of them

[Kaza]

Well I have had 5 batches of wrigglers from my golden snakeskins and each time they get to free swimming the parents eat them and then lay again within 24 hours. This time I though they might make it as the babies actually found mum and dad side and were feeding, but bugger me went outside a couple of hours later and they were both eating them and cleaning the breeding cone again. I have tried to take dad out but mum still eats them.

They are very attentive to the babies when they first hatch but as time goes by they seem to lose interest and want to breed again. This time I will take the cone out as soon as the babies are free swimming, but maybe they are just bad breeders?

[Trebs]

There are a few things that can cause pairs to eat their eggs. I have a pair of turks that are great parents but they eat their eggs/fry ever since I moved them to a tank right next to the laundry door. Feeling insecure can cause this behaviour.

Could too much traffic around the tank be a problem? How high off the ground are they?

[Merrilyn]

Kaza, how annoying. I'd split the pair up for a few weeks before trying again. They will eventually get there, but it can be soooo frustrating while they learn.

[goldenpigeon]

1 of the main problems is you may be feeding them to much. i dont mean you are overfeeding them but by the time the babies are free-swimming, they eat them, the lay again! this is about 5 or so days. the more you feed them and the more regularly they are fed the quicker they will lay again. once they have babies on them at least 3 days then i would start feeding them more so they will keep the babies healthy. if they are very good parents they might actually get so attached to the babies that the wont lay again untill the babies are talken out by you! i have a pair atm who have about 9 7mm babies and it has been 3 weeks since they have hatched. the parents have laid again twice since their hatching and every time they have eated the newborn babies but not their big babies! what are you feeding them?

[Kaza]

Thanks for the quick answers, well at the moment I have 2 pairs eating eggs/fry. Like trebs, I have one pair who are great parents however when I moved their tank they have been eating their eggs/fry ever since.
At first I know they were feeling insecure because there were another pair next door, so I put a white divider up so they couldnt see each other. At the moment these fish have wrigglers.
As for the golden snakeskins, I've never seen this behaviour before, lovingly look after the eggs and then first couple of days after they have hatched. However from that point they seem to lose interest eventually eating the fry day 1-2 free swimming.
These fish are outside, so get very little traffic, they are about 4 foot off the ground.

I find my fish dont tend to be interested in food whilst they are breeding so they only get 1-2 feeds a day.

I think you are lucky junior, most people I know have found that they eat their older babies to protect new fry.

Anyway the GSS have eggs due to hatch tomorrow, once they have hatched I will take dad out and they when free swimmming the cone and hopefully that will work.

One last problem, often they eat the babies after a water change (insecure) however they are only in a 2 foot tank and so I feel need daily water changes. But maybe it is a good idea to do WC every second day may spook them less?

[goldenpigeon]

what you could do is leave the water changes out for the first 3 days after hatching then resune doing a little more than normal every second day for the first week and a half. then you need daily. i do twice daily W/C on my breeding pair (when with fry) because they are only in an 80L tank (if any1 wants to donate a larger 1 :D). but what ever suits best. when the pair are more experienced you could W/C more often.

i am lucky now but i had to go through about 25 spawns to get them to just raise a couple! they were mass egg eaters!

[Trebs]

I don't do a w/c for the first 10 days. I am them able to tap them straight into my bank of tanks which means I don't have to fiddle to much with the tanks. I'd suggest leaving them for the first 10 days or so then start the w/c's. Feed very sparingly maybe once every two days with dried food. As long as your filter is cycled you shouldn't have any issues.

[Kaza]

Thanks Trebs, they both are fry now, the first lot are due to go free swimming later today and the GSS fry were hatched this morning. I have left them completly alone, fed them lightly once a day, I have had no lights on and no one appart from me have looked at them. Fingers crossed this time. I have noticed the male GSS still making mock runs at the joint glass walk, even though he cant see the pair next door he knows they are still there. I think if this lot of fry are eaten I will move one pair to another tank.

[leanne31]

If they get eaten Karen let me know and I'll set my 2 foot up to put the other 3 month old babies in and you can put a pair in their tank but dont you give up like your've been saying your gonna do or else my baby supply will cease and that will be no good.

Leanne

[Kaza]

Leaane I am doing my best, wouldnt want to stop your supply of babies!
I woul'nt giveup just because they are not rearing their young, its a number of things including my $750.00 power bill and uni just keeps on getting more and more demanding. However if you want to come and do all the WC I might rethink my plans.

[Kaza]

Ok, I have all my fingers and toes crossed, one lot of babies have been free swimming since last night. The parents are covered in fry, I have not changed the water or even fed the parents. I only look at them for short periods of time and have NO lights on. So far so good, this morning fry have grown overnight.

The gss are both looking after their fry, the water level is low and as soon as the fry free swim will take out cone. Any other suggestions???

[Merrilyn]

Kaza, you are doing everything perfectly. Just keep going.

A small table lamp left on in the room overnight will help the fry stay in touch with their parents.

[Kaza]

Well this morning all are alive and doing well, this afternoon I want to do a small WC but will not clean bottom just refresh water. I have left a small light going I noticed that before I added the light when I checked at dawn the babies were all over the tank, now they are all on the parents.
The GSS are due to free swim some time today, so fingers are crossed if things dont look good I am going to move them in with the other fry.
As for food, I was thinking of live blackworms for the parents I know a lot of people have had problems but I never have and they dont mess up the water.

I have had fry before but never in such large numbers, it is cool watching them, I love the way one parent will do a little flick and they all go to the other parent. Hopefully Leanne can take some pictures for me to post.

[goldenpigeon]

sounds good karen. i would wait 3 days and then change 25%of the water. with so many babies conditions have to be kept clean.

when i w/c on my breeders with fry i only stick the pipe (without siphoner) about 2cm into the water and use a lage (not huge) hose so the w/c is done quickly. i dont siphon the bottom for a fair while but if it gets to dirty i just do a quick siphon and leave it at that.

Good luck!!!!!! :D

[Merrilyn]

Hey Kaza.................



I'M E X C I T E D !


U go girl. :mrgreen:

[leanne31]

Your excited Merrilyn I must be twice as excited as I get to pick which ones I want gees its great when a family member is into breeding things that I want. :lol: Keep up the good work Karen and I'll be round in a couple of days to check on them all. :wink:

Leanne

[goldenpigeon]

leanne that is so mean! :lol: hehehe im glad i dont have my bro'z and sis'z sucking off me............. much... :lol: lol

karen have u had many batches before this?

keep up the good work! :D

[leanne31]

Thats not mean or sucking up its called sharing when mine start breeding I'll share back thats fair. :roll: She hasnt had a lot of batches well she has but the eggs either get eaten or the fry do, she does have I think 8 babies at the moment that are about 10 weeks old which she said I could have but shes a little attached I think she said I can have a couple and I reckon she'll keep the rest they're her first lot and she loves them. :lol:
And Junior your just jealous your bros and sisters dont breed them :twisted:

Leanne

[goldenpigeon]

i dont want my bros and sis's breeding em because if i had 5 other people to compete for tank room with then i would have to rent my own joint. lol also i have plans to turn my shed/garage into a fish room (its more of a grany flat) so that would go out the window. my older sister (16) hates my fish, my younger brother supposedly keeps discus apart from the fact that i feed them and do all the tank maintanence (and when his friends come over and say how nice the tank is he will start talking how expensice everything is and how much knowlege he has of them ect.), the other 3 are just to young to appriciate it. so im on my own.....

[leanne31]

Might be different when your all grown up and have your own houses if they all bred them then just think of all the babies you could scam from them then. :lol:

Leanne

[goldenpigeon]

lol doubt it...............

[Kaza]

Thanks Ladyred I am excited, thats if I get to keep any, with Leanne around you never know, however can't say to much as she is looking after them when I go away, "so fairs, fair".

Well did my water change yesterday, the female attacked me. I also transferred some of the baby GSS over to the other pair, who immediatly started feeding. This morning that lot are all well, I can see the baby GSS as they are slighty smaller than the other fry. But all are looking good. I am feeding them once a day with live blackworms.
So thats all good, however this morning the GSS had eaten their remaining babies, this may have been my fault as I mucked around yesterday catching their babies, so I am not really surprised.
But they are cleaning the cone so should have eggs before long.
last night my red turks laided on the filter inlet tube (don't you just love them) the other times they have eaten the eggs but they are looking after them this time. Well I will just love watching the wrigglers get sucked up the hose. Once these eggs have gone I am going to cover the hose with filter floss and hope they will use the cone.
So alls well, I am getting ready to start hatching BBS. The timing is well not quite perfect, exams are coming up, but Discus seem to be contrary creatures.
PS as Leanne has said, JUNIOR I have older fry maybe 9 weeks old, I have had plenty of eggs and wrigglers but in my limited experience Discus take a while to get it right. First they eat their eggs, then the wrigglers, ect. ect. Even then you are not home, the fry can get gill flukes and all die or something else can happen.
However thats all a part of why I like breeding discus it is challenging.

[goldenpigeon]

yer i know wat u mean as my pair have only recently gotten it right and now supprisingly i have left the fry with them for over 3 weeks now and they are happy just looking after them. it took me well and truely at least 25 goes at it but in the end it all worked out and i am looking forward to getting the next batch of fry