Well, they finally did it. Houston, we have eggs.

I woke up thi morning and there are little white /clear things all over the bottom of my tank and I can only assume that they are fish eggs. They are a lot smaller than i expected though. Of course the fish would wait until 2 weeks before we move to do this...I know they planned it this way!

So crap, now what to do? I know I need to try and get the eggs out if I have any hope of saving them but how do I do that? I did not have abreeding mop or anything so they are just all over the bottom of the tank.

For now should I just grab some tank water and put them in a Tupperware and see what happnes? They may not even be fertilized. I have a spare 10 gallon tank I can set up if fry happen, but if someone could lead me down the right path that would be awesome.

Step one needs to be getting the eggs out of the tank!

As far as I know, there is no way to get them successfully out of the tank once they are stuck to the bottom. Your best bet is to put the adult fish into another home until the fry have successfully hatched. This will give you the opportunity to truly clean the water out (90% or so) and lower the level and remove the filtration.

There are sometimes some eggs that are not stuck solidly to surfaces - but in my experience, these are usually not very fertile. The fertile ones stick. If you attempt to scrape them off, you can damage or kill the developing fry.

What about dropping your adults into the tubs you have prepared for them to travel in - set the filters going and all will be good. That way you can leave the eggs in place in the spawning tank. Your fry should hatch out in about 4 days (at 70F) - feed them - and just before you move, you can scoop them out carefully with a container or bowl or spoon and place them in their traveling bucket. When you arrive, you can put the adults back in the big tank, and set the fry up in the smaller one.

Edit: there is another possibility - you can set up mats of plastic or real grass to totally cover the bottom of the tank and the eggs. This can protect some of the hatching fry - so the adults do not eat them. After they are free swimming, take a turkey baster or a spoon or bowl and gently remove them from the tank and place them in the 10 gallon. Be careful - do not damage the fry - they are VERY VERY tiny and delicate.

Oh thanks Daryl....of course I did not get the tubs for moving the other fish yet, totally unprepared! I don't know if I am ready for this yet anyway. All I have available is a ten gallon and these are my four gigantic guys that spawned (of course!) Maybe I can find something that will work in the house, some sort of tub, but then I will have to make the tubs cat-proof.

They are still chasing like crazy...is it possible they are not done? Is there anything I could make a breeding mop with really quick-like with stuff I might have around the house? I can;t go to the pet store for at least another hour (not open yet). Would those shower scrubby net things that are made for body wash work? If they are brand new and have never had soap on them?

So where can I get plastic grass mats? Do you mean like Astroturf?

Also, if the fry do hatch it would be good for me to set up sponge filters in the fry tank right?

And there is bubbly stuff at the top of the tank, does that possibly mean they did fertilize them?

THANK YOU SO MUCH Daryl, I am freaking out. I want to try and save the eggs but i am woefully unprepared.

To add to my millions of questions in the last post...

How do I know they are done? Is it possible they will have more eggs? I put a DIY breeding mop in there just in case.

How long should I wait before I change the water? As I said above, I want to make sure they are done spawning before I mess with anything and since there are two females in the tank I don't know for sure if both are done.

Thanks!

Ok, take a deeeeep breath. All is good. All is fine.....

Now - most likely your fish will spawn again today, tomorrow or the next day. They may wait a week and have at it again. The first time out does not mean much. I have one female who gave me over 100 fry, and 2 weeks later gave me over 1000 fry. The next month, she gave me 1000 more! They spawn over a number of days/weeks.

So - if you have missed this batch all is not lost.

I like these for spawning - they stay flat - are soft enough for long finned fish, and are easy to transfer. The eggs stick nicely, etc. You can use string, yarn, ripped up pieces of rags, or ...... any plastic plants you may happen to have. Even a plastic piece of screening - the soft kind that is sold for needlepoint would work. Anything that you can cover the bottom of the tank with during spawning will gather the eggs as they fall, and then you take it out and place it in the soon-to-be fry tank.... Your scubby things would be fine too. You might even snip them open so that they cover more of the tank's bottom....

Let's see if I have answered your questions....


Here is the type of mats I like for spawning: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_det...lants&N=2023693

Yes - you will want a sponge filter for the fry. It is best to set it up going as soon as the eggs are laid - this will start the cycle going. Since the fry eat and produce to little in the beginning it is possible to slowly lay in a cycle as you go with no large spikes along the way. I start them on the day of spawning.

You will also want a small bubbler going also at the other end of the tank from the sponge filter to stop any stagnant "scum" from forming on the water's surface. The newly hatched fry will make a dash for the surface on about day 2 - gulping a gulp of air for their new swim bladders. They have to be able to make it to the surface and the skum can prevent that. Without this first crucial gulp of air you will have bottom sliders.

The "bubbley stuff" youa re seeing on the surface of your tank is left over biological matter - milt and the other matter that is created when fish spawn. It is rather stinky - and because it it biological, will create a HUGE ammonia spike in your tank. You will need to do a large water change when the fish are done for the day..... Spawning fish are messy and STINKY! This is one of other good reasons for moving the eggs to another tank - you can leave behind all that ammonia and waste in the original tank - with a strong cycle to handle it and strong fish to handle a good water change.

It does not hurt to change the water at the end of the day. They may/will STILL spawn again the next dawn - or next week or whenever. Water changes actually encourage spawning! Cleaning the water is essential - a messy tank like that can drive you out of the house with the odor and the water quality is very poor!

Put the eggs/spawning mats into shallow water when you move them.

Edit: Do not forget - you must be planning NOW what you are going to feed these fry. IF you are going to hatch out brine shrimp you need to set up your shimpery tommorrow or so.....

Well, things were crazy this morning, my daughter was sick and did not go to school plus I had two other babies to watch. So most of the eggs got eaten. I just couldn't pull off cleaning out a tub and moving the fish fast enough.

BUT, I did try and save a few just to see what happens. There were about 50 eggs stuck to the filter intake, and provided they were not damaged from the filter and got fertilized perhaps I will get to see a baby or two, but I know chances are slim. I have an extra intake screen so I pulled the one with the eggs on it off and placed it in a bowl of tank water. I realize it probably won't work, but just in case I will get a bbs hatchery tonight. Do you think there is a chance with only 40-50 eggs on a filter intake?

I feel bad letting most of the eggs get eaten, but hopefully they will spawn again. I am very pleased that they are heappy and healthy enough to spawn...these are the giant fish that were once crammed in a 10 gallon tank and lived the first year of their lives hardly able to turn around. :-)

Thank you Daryl for all of your help!

Now that I have a breeding mop and will have a bbs hatchery and a sponge filter as of tonight, and lol, since I am prepared they will probably never spawn again hee hee. But I will hope they do!

Hey Jen how's it going? Congratulations on the goldie eggs! 50 eggs saved is a lot of eggs! And they will probably hatch out within a week!

If you keep a heater in there at around 72 or so they will hatch even faster. My eggs started to hatch in 3 or 4 daysat a high temp. You wont need the bb hatchery set up yet. The fry sit around the tank for 2 or 3 days before they are free swimming which is when you can start feeding. Before that they absorb the little egg sac that sits over their heads and they eventually wriggle out of . They don't get mouths till the second or third dayafter hatching.

And the sponge filter can be later too because there should be no turbulence the first few days while the tiny threads climb slowly to the surface to fill their air sacs.

If you see any fuzzy eggs you should remove them fast. I had plenty but still some good ones hatched.

I hope some hatch for you. I know how you have cared for and done everything for your goldies- spraying eggs is a kind of thankyou I think!

So...any hatched?

There were a few white eggs last night but I only take them out if they are fuzzy? The other eggs look clearish with maybe an orangish/brown tint.

Now, how much water should I have my filter intake thing in? I know no more than 6 inches deep but can it be a small container or should I have it in a big one?

Chauncey Huffcat (my betta) will lose his heater for a few days if I put them in something bigger so the water will be a little warmer.

No more eggs yet, but this time i am more ready! :-)

good luck hope they turn out like very nice fish

The possible moms are the white fish in my signature (one is a common and one a comet), and the dads are the two orange fish. Who knows...only a few eggs turned white and I plucked them out. We shall see...

Congrats and good luck! My fish have spawned a couple of times, but due to my unpreparedness, my fish then ate the spawn they created. 50 eggs is a lot! Keep us posted...

There is probably at least 30 eggs that are still clear looking, I *think* I can see black dots in them but it may just be my imagination in combination with wishful thinking. Plus the eggs are stuck to a black filter intake screen, so it is hard to tell. I just keep pulling out the white eggs.

One of my females is looking pretty plump so I am hoping they will spawn again, now that i am somewhat more prepared. Just what I need, more fish to move with, lol!

I will finally be able to go out tonight and get a sponge filter and bbs hatchery...just in case.

Well, good news...on some of the eggs I can see the EYES!

So it looks like a few took, so far so good. The egg are moving into a 10 gallon tank tomorrow (filled only 6 inches) with a sponge filter and a slow bubbler, on Daryl's advice.

We shall see if they keep developing...my fiance is calling me "fishmomma"!

Sounds exciting Jen.You'll have to keep us posted on how things go.Hard to believe that you're here after starting with a couple"carnival fish",no? GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Devs, I can't believe it either! I adopt 4 huge "carnival" (the smallest one was 5 or 6" when I got them, but less than a year old) fish that were crammed in a 10 gallon tank thinking they were stunted for life and now look at them! I have to say I am very pleased that they are healthy and happy enough to try and breed...I guess I really am a proud "fishmomma".

And it all started here at Koko's...

Yeah well, I had to remove the diy breeding mop...the fish WERE TRYING TO EAT IT! Cherry had a frigging string in his mouth! Durn fish.

But only two more eggs got fuzzy, and the rest look good and I can still see eyes! :-)

Where can I buy brine shrimp eggs? Would Petsmart/Petco have them?

I suck and started a new thread...ssee above for Omg my fish hatched!

Which they did...after only three days! I have about 10 fry right now. I am terrified. If you have good advice check out my other post, thanks!

Here is the linky http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=59858