After breakfast in the 40g Blackie started chasing Precious around. She started laying eggs, they didn't all come out at once, she probabley expelled some about 8 times. Blackie was so excited he forgot to do his part so none of them were fertilized and they have all been eaten by the other fish.

This is just as well, even though there would have been some pretty babies.

He's still chasing her full on, it's been an hour, how long does this continue? She is a big strong oranda and seems to be managing Ok but I will keep an eye on her.

Aww.. I would love to have lil baby fishy's but I don't have the room and have no idea how to take care of them so as soon as I'm able to sex my fishy's they're getting split up.

What kind of fish is the father?? Yeah, it goes on for a long time! If she gets to flustered and worn out, you can seperate her or him into a breeder box or something of the like.

After 5hrs of continuous chasing by up to as many as 4 males I moved Precious to a holding container to get some rest. She seemed to be managing Ok but I didn't want her worn out.

She is still swollen on one side, does this mean she still has eggs? She released quite a few but I wouldn't say hundreds.

Ooohhh how exciting!! I would say to watch her and when you think she is ok, release her back. She could still have eggs left if you think she is swollen. But keep an eye on her, even though she may look strong...........4 boys all on the prowl would make a "tough girl" weak.

Poor lil girl, but that is exciting. I wish I could see it just once! And I wish I had four men chasing me. <_< I think I'm jealous of your fish.

aw. thats so adorable and also sad. i hope you have better luck next time!! cheers!

Sorry Errika, we posted simultaneously. Blackie is a large black moor, Precious is (was) a tri-colour oranda but her black has faded. They are both around 3"+ in body size (without tail).

Sandy, I don't think you'd want 4 men chasing you this way. It would be just like cave men but without the club.

She was getting a bit tired in the main tank, I spotted her trying to rest behind a plant, that's when I took her out. She doesn't like it in the holding container, it's way too small at only 5g but I have the HOB filter from the main tank running in the container. My hospital tank has not been cleaned after Newcaps death and is full of Tetracycline Hydrachloride.

I will put her back in the main tank tomorrow, hopefully she will get a good night's rest.

Boy have I been busy. I moved all the small fish from the 20g, did a 20% water change and put Precious in there because she wasn't comfortable in the holding container.

After she settled in it was soon apparent she was quite energetic so I moved Cutie-Pie in with her in case she has anymore eggs.

Well, you'd have to see it to believe it! She's all over him like a rash, as soon as he hit the water, before he even got his bearings.

Cutie-Pie is the oldest male at approx 2 1/2 yrs. The other males in the 40g were 12-18mths old. It's just like wildlife TV where the females reject all the males until she finds the one she likes. Cutie-Pie is a very quiet natured fish and is still settling in after the move. So far he is friendly but not amourous and Precious has quietened down.

Now they can have a romantic, private courtship and perhaps spawn. I'd love to see their babies too but atm fry would be too much to handle.

nb. they look so nice together I'd like them that way forever but they have totally different feeding styles. Cutie-Pie would starve and Precious would explode.

Oh, I bet they would have adorable fry. Trying to keep them healthy is a lot of work though. It's fun watching them. Adam and Eve get so rough, and they splash water all over. Sometimes I worry Eve is going to get hurt but she never does.

It's a long story ... Nothing was happening in the 20g so I put Precious back into her 40g. She was really happy to be back. I watched them for an hour and there was no chasing so I proceeded to put Cutie-Pie back into his 30g and the small telescopes back into the 20g. phew (again)

After a couple of hours it was on again. Poor Precious just never got a break with 4 males chasing her, even my husband was concerned. At this stage I'm tired of tank shuffling and wondered if the stress of moving her again was worse than the stress of being chased by 4 males.

In the end I moved her into the 30g with Cutie-Pie, Pandagirl and a couple of small pearlscales, hoping none of these would start to chase here. So are so good, all is peaceful ... until the next instalment.

I want fry so badly But I don't have the space nor the knowledge of how to take care of them.


Congradulations, Futer Grandma!