[n25philly]

I'm 99.99% sure on this one. Found this when I got home tonight. Wasn't there this morning. I know the one male is in breeding colors. I read the the ornamental stains don't get the black throat, but he actually does do a degree. I wish I could get a cute pic as it's pretty cute as he looks like he's been on a 5 day bender. He's been hanging around this spot for a couple of days now, but I've been clearing away overgrown floaters so I've either been disrupting him or he didn't have space for it.

 

[Diana]

Sure looks like it!

 

[jaliberti]

It looks scattered. Put half of a cup over that to help it stay together and encourage more building. A styrofoam cup cut in half lengthwise, place it concave side down directly over the center of nest. It'll float there and serve to anchor and protect the nest, and he will build it more, from one side of the cup to the other. Also, placing a cup like that on the water surface when there is no nest will encourage nest building underneath it, especially in the corner farthest from mechanical aeration/filtration (if that exists) and over plants (if they exist).

 

[n25philly]

Ok, I'll have to pick a styrofoam cup up. It is on the far side of the tank from the filter and over a huge wad of hornwort. I think the problem is the floating plants. They are spreading so fast, it looks like they have already broken it up some more by growing all over it.

 

[Nordic]

lol, he will be doing this all spring long... more than enough time to practice... just leave him, he has more than enough building materials there.

by starting his nest he is already approving of conditions.... don't change stuff now.

 

[n25philly]

I don't what it is with this tank as it doesn't seem like anything special but it must be like the fish disneyland. The bolivian rams already bred once, now the honey gouramis are getting in the mood and the female cherry barbs are gravid to the point where they look like they are going to burst.

 

[Nordic]

All those floating plant roots are teeming with microbes and food for baby fish, parents know it, and are maximising the amount of offspring that will raise maturity.

 

[jaliberti]

... It is on the far side of the tank from the filter and over a huge wad of hornwort. I think the problem is the floating plants. They are spreading so fast, it looks like they have already broken it up some more by growing all over it.

Quick growing plants are not a problem. That gourami, Trichogaster chuna, can thrive in neutral water, so plants are part and parcel of its breeding. Makes perfect sense that it's on the far side of the tank from the filter and over a huge wad of hornwort

lol, he will be doing this all spring long... more than enough time to practice... just leave him, he has more than enough building materials there. by starting his nest he is already approving of conditions.... don't change stuff now.

I agree whole heartedly that by starting his nest he is already approving of conditions. That's one reason why I always want to breed whatever species I happen to have, it's the clearest indication that ideal conditions have been provided. Your gourami are doing this all Spring long, what about Summer, Autumn, Winter? Seasonal spawners in the wild normally become perennial spawners in captivity, unless we drop their temperature, decrease the food supply, etc. I once had a Macropodus hongkongensis that maintained a nest for >3yrs and may have maintained it longer if we hadn't had to relocate. It's a territorial marker and breeding site in one.

I don't what it is with this tank as it doesn't seem like anything special but it must be like the fish disneyland. ...

The best tanks for propagation IME are not special, they're just simple, basic set-ups.

All those floating plant roots are teeming with microbes and food for baby fish, parents know it, and are maximising the amount of offspring that will raise maturity.

For that species and for all neutral/alkaline species maybe yes. But there are nearly 100 blackwater species that breed in sterile water completely devoid of plants and microbes. In fact, when they're brought into our high pH planted tanks not only do they not breed but they succumb to infections within days.

 

[Nordic]

absolutely, but we are not dealing with chocolate gourami's etc. now...