A question for F. Gardneri EXPERTS related to hatching eggs
Hello F. Gardneri Experts!
I moved some plants from one of my tanks containing a killie pair into a betta spawning setup I had going on. The tank had indian almond leaves in it and was about 80f. After what I was convinced was a failed betta spawn, I removed the bettas but notice 2 fry several weeks later. I assumed these were betta fry and that I had gotten impatient! Weeks later it became clear that these were actually killie fry!
I setup some spawning mops and the F.g. pair are producing eggs regularly. A quick google search on information made it seem like they are easy to raise, but my success rate is currently at zero other than those first 2 random fry.
Here are the methods I have tried or am currently trying, and the results.
1) Cup of water. Some sites suggested they would simply hatch on their own without intervention. Eggs turned fuzzy.
2) Cup of water with Methylene blue. Eggs all look milky but not fuzzy
3) Egg tumbler with Methylene blue. Most eggs look milky but not fuzzy. 2 look amberish but no eye spots as the web suggested would appear.
4) Cup of water with java moss and a few small cherry shrimp. So far the eggs look normal amberish so fingers crossed here. Also, no eye spots.
5) Cup of water with a clipping of indian almond leaf and air stone. Just started this yesterday based off my original experience in finding the killie fry.
Other info:
Using Utah tap water which is moderately hard water and about 7.4ish ph. Temp of the cups are about 74F. I do have the means of increasing this temp if required.
Any advice would be awesome! :help:
I moved some plants from one of my tanks containing a killie pair into a betta spawning setup I had going on. The tank had indian almond leaves in it and was about 80f. After what I was convinced was a failed betta spawn, I removed the bettas but notice 2 fry several weeks later. I assumed these were betta fry and that I had gotten impatient! Weeks later it became clear that these were actually killie fry!
I setup some spawning mops and the F.g. pair are producing eggs regularly. A quick google search on information made it seem like they are easy to raise, but my success rate is currently at zero other than those first 2 random fry.
Here are the methods I have tried or am currently trying, and the results.
1) Cup of water. Some sites suggested they would simply hatch on their own without intervention. Eggs turned fuzzy.
2) Cup of water with Methylene blue. Eggs all look milky but not fuzzy
3) Egg tumbler with Methylene blue. Most eggs look milky but not fuzzy. 2 look amberish but no eye spots as the web suggested would appear.
4) Cup of water with java moss and a few small cherry shrimp. So far the eggs look normal amberish so fingers crossed here. Also, no eye spots.
5) Cup of water with a clipping of indian almond leaf and air stone. Just started this yesterday based off my original experience in finding the killie fry.
Other info:
Using Utah tap water which is moderately hard water and about 7.4ish ph. Temp of the cups are about 74F. I do have the means of increasing this temp if required.
Any advice would be awesome! :help:
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I had quite a few survive to adulthood in my main tank w/ the parents--in other words I did nothing. Any time I tried putting eggs in a still standing cup of water, I got the same results as you. But, I also had good luck putting the eggs in a net and propping the net on the tank rim in a corner. Seemed the water flow helped w/ the success rate.
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its been a number of years since I was raising killies and selling them but I seem to remember the most important thing was to keep the water the eggs were in clean and fresh. I think I was changing half of it every day. I never used any of the suggested treatments and did fairly well with just clean water. Sometimes an airstone helps.
But like I said, it's been a few years. On that note though, I am preparing some Killie breeder tanks so I can order a few killies as soon as the weather is better for shipping.
But like I said, it's been a few years. On that note though, I am preparing some Killie breeder tanks so I can order a few killies as soon as the weather is better for shipping.
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Thats the next thing I want to try, however I read that the eggs are light sensitive. Did you have any issues with lighting and egg development?
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It's also been a few years since I kept them last, but light wasn't a problem for me. But, I might have found the eggs a bit later in development too, always stuck to my hands when trimming the tank, etc., so they were usually a bit amber colored already. Not sure if that would matter as far as light sensitivity, but my main tank was high light & CO2. As jrill mentioned, clean water is likely the key, and keeping them in the main tank would be the easiest way to get that.
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That makes sense to me! I'll try a few 'in the tank' methods and see how it pans out.
Thanks!
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Not a bad option! Im going to try a 'breeder' net used for fry and put the eggs in that with some najas grass to cut the direct light. Should also help with water quality and micro food.
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I also raised quite a few in my main tank with the parents - no intervention whatsoever on my part. I honestly didn't even know there were eggs until there were fry. This was a medium light tank and I obviously wasn't doing a darn thing different since I didn't even know I had the eggs in there to begin with 
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Thanks for confirming your results.I also raised quite a few in my main tank with the parents - no intervention whatsoever on my part. I honestly didn't even know there were eggs until there were fry. This was a medium light tank and I obviously wasn't doing a darn thing different since I didn't even know I had the eggs in there to begin with
Its seems the more intervention I put forth in hatching, the worse my results. Im going to back it up and try some in tank methods!
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Just a couple of thoughts….
1 . If you're keeping them at 80F.. , get the tank temperature down between 70-73 . Eggs should be clear or yellowy and remain so if they're fertile . Suck out the cloudy/fuzzy ones .It seems that most of your eggs are just not fertile . lowering the temperature should help .I use plastic petri dishes with tank water and just a bit of acriflavine ….. just enough to tint the water in the dish very light green . It's just there to minimize fungus spread from bad eggs to good . Figure on at 10 days to 2 weeks to hatch . Never tried your steps 4&5 , although 4 might be promising, don't know anything about the leaves though . Keep an eye on the good eggs , if you have a decent magnifier you can see stuff going on before the eye appears , like spinal development .
Once and a while developed fry will get 'stuck' in the egg . Sometimes they can be persuaded to hatch by , 1…putting a few micro worms in with the eggs.
2 take the stuck eggs , put them in a pill container with some water , exhale into the container,seal it and carry it around in your pocket . The theory is that the increased C02 from your breath and the temperature increase from your body heat will force a hatch . Sometimes this works , sometimes it doesn't .
I've killed my share of eggs this way.
Anyway whatever fry you get will take baby brine shrimp , micro worms ,Cyclopeeze, and First Bites . Don't overfeed , keep some java moss in with the fry, and maybe a snail and you're good to go .
Kinda late post but hope this helps .
1 . If you're keeping them at 80F.. , get the tank temperature down between 70-73 . Eggs should be clear or yellowy and remain so if they're fertile . Suck out the cloudy/fuzzy ones .It seems that most of your eggs are just not fertile . lowering the temperature should help .I use plastic petri dishes with tank water and just a bit of acriflavine ….. just enough to tint the water in the dish very light green . It's just there to minimize fungus spread from bad eggs to good . Figure on at 10 days to 2 weeks to hatch . Never tried your steps 4&5 , although 4 might be promising, don't know anything about the leaves though . Keep an eye on the good eggs , if you have a decent magnifier you can see stuff going on before the eye appears , like spinal development .
Once and a while developed fry will get 'stuck' in the egg . Sometimes they can be persuaded to hatch by , 1…putting a few micro worms in with the eggs.
2 take the stuck eggs , put them in a pill container with some water , exhale into the container,seal it and carry it around in your pocket . The theory is that the increased C02 from your breath and the temperature increase from your body heat will force a hatch . Sometimes this works , sometimes it doesn't .
I've killed my share of eggs this way.
Anyway whatever fry you get will take baby brine shrimp , micro worms ,Cyclopeeze, and First Bites . Don't overfeed , keep some java moss in with the fry, and maybe a snail and you're good to go .
Kinda late post but hope this helps .
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I set up a pair in a 5 1/2 a few days back . If I see something I'm doing that's not been gone over in this thread , I'll drop a note . Sometimes you just overlook something obvious .
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I have my killies setup in plastic containers with spawning mops. I try and change water weekly and collect eggs before water changing. I put the eggs in a separate container with aged water and some salt. I try and put random plants or mops so the fry don't eat each other. I do get cloudy eggs from time to time, usually from a young pair. I sometimes keep red rams horn snails with the eggs and fry to eat left over foods and beverages things.
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Yes all room temperature. I sometimes switch mops or move the eggs to another container so I can pick out any bad eggs. I've had one or two eggs hatch and grow with the parents but you'll get a better turn around by separating. The pic above shows my aphyosemion australe gold but I have the gardneri setup the same way.
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