I can't take any more!!
- Bill (Bill Hunter)
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19 Aug 2017 11:47 #1
by Bill (Bill Hunter)
I can't take any more!! was created by Bill (Bill Hunter)
I have a holding tank in which I keep a group of wild Trichopodus trichopterus (Three-spot Gourami) from Vietnam which I bought 12 months ago. I select a male and female from the group for spawning then put them back into the holding tank when done. I've had two spawnings from them doing this.
A strange thing has happened. I selected a pair in late May/early June which had developed very nicely, nice markings etc. and I had high hopes of keeping a few youngsters for further breeding and improvement. Two months later, they still haven't produced anything, just a half-hearted attempt at a nest from the male. I noticed a couple of days ago that a nest had been blown in the holding tank which held the other 5 fish of the group. I checked it out and could see some wrigglers in the nest. I got a plastic container - one of those that Chinese take-away come in - and scooped out the nest and floated the container in the tank. Searching the tank, not easy with 5 Gourami going crazy in it from my disturbance but couldn't see any other fry, they were probably eaten by the other fish in the tank. I counted about 26 wrigglers. The next morning a male was busy blowing another nest, by that evening it was full of wrigglers, yes, very fast! The nest must have been full of eggs already when I saw it early that morning, around 6 am. The eggs must have hatched in a little over 12 hrs!! I got another container and scooped out the nest again, this time there was about +/-200 wrigglers saved. This morning, I checked out the fish room, a bit later than usual about 8am and saw two nests had been blown, one in the same place as the others had been and the second at the opposite end of the tank. I have no more containers, and quite frankly, I wouldn't have the space to rear all these fry at the moment - at least until I manage to put up the rest of my shelving for my other tanks.
I've no idea what's going on, so far I'm putting it down to all this thundery weather we're having here and the even lower pressure system creeping in for tomorrow. What I don't understand is, why the pair in the breeding tank have just refused, point blank, to spawn
I also can't understand why they are hatching so fast, they seem to hatch in a little over 12 hrs, my experience with these fish is, they usually start to hatch in 24 - 36 hrs. The temperature hasn't risen.
Bill
A strange thing has happened. I selected a pair in late May/early June which had developed very nicely, nice markings etc. and I had high hopes of keeping a few youngsters for further breeding and improvement. Two months later, they still haven't produced anything, just a half-hearted attempt at a nest from the male. I noticed a couple of days ago that a nest had been blown in the holding tank which held the other 5 fish of the group. I checked it out and could see some wrigglers in the nest. I got a plastic container - one of those that Chinese take-away come in - and scooped out the nest and floated the container in the tank. Searching the tank, not easy with 5 Gourami going crazy in it from my disturbance but couldn't see any other fry, they were probably eaten by the other fish in the tank. I counted about 26 wrigglers. The next morning a male was busy blowing another nest, by that evening it was full of wrigglers, yes, very fast! The nest must have been full of eggs already when I saw it early that morning, around 6 am. The eggs must have hatched in a little over 12 hrs!! I got another container and scooped out the nest again, this time there was about +/-200 wrigglers saved. This morning, I checked out the fish room, a bit later than usual about 8am and saw two nests had been blown, one in the same place as the others had been and the second at the opposite end of the tank. I have no more containers, and quite frankly, I wouldn't have the space to rear all these fry at the moment - at least until I manage to put up the rest of my shelving for my other tanks.
I've no idea what's going on, so far I'm putting it down to all this thundery weather we're having here and the even lower pressure system creeping in for tomorrow. What I don't understand is, why the pair in the breeding tank have just refused, point blank, to spawn

Bill
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- paulv (paul vickers)
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19 Aug 2017 19:14 #2
by paulv (paul vickers)
Replied by paulv (paul vickers) on topic I can't take any more!!
Great story, bit of a head scratcher for sure. Just my thoughts. Maybe with the group tank, it's the natural competition between the fish that's pushing them to spawn, more natural environment.
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- Bill (Bill Hunter)
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20 Aug 2017 08:15 #3
by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic I can't take any more!!
That's a thought, Paul, I wondered if it was a sort of breeding frenzy, all those hormones spilling into the water from each other. The fry in the two nests that I couldn't rescue are now free swimming and none of the adult fish appear to be bothering them at all now. One entertaining thing is, the two males leave their nests and meet in the middle of the tank, After a second, perhaps two, they bump bodies and turn and go back to their nests. Perhaps that's their equivalent of human's fist-bump
There appears to be no aggression at all in the tank.
Bill

Bill
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20 Aug 2017 10:20 #4
by paulv (paul vickers)
Replied by paulv (paul vickers) on topic I can't take any more!!
Fish that openly breed and entertain, what more can you ask for.
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- Bill (Bill Hunter)
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21 Aug 2017 08:03 #5
by Bill (Bill Hunter)
Replied by Bill (Bill Hunter) on topic I can't take any more!!
Not a lot more, Paul

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