Honey Gourami Eggs

[LoganKarl]

Hey there! My two honey gouarims just spawned yesterday morning. I watched as them all morning and when the female seemed to be done releasing eggs I pulled her out. She kept going back and messing with the bubble nest and the male would chase her off. I could see a lot of egges in the bubble nest and the male was constently tending to them. I wake up this morning and I couldn't see anymore eggs in the nest. I was worried he might be eating them so I pulled him out this morning as well.

I just came home again to check on the nest and look for eggs. I found a couple but a lot less than I seen before.

My questions are, could i just not be seeing them because they are hidden in between the bubbles? Or did the male eat some over night. I made sure he was well fed before I turned the lights out last night.

Also, I see about 4 or 5 eggs on the bottom glass. They look to be fitilized because it looks like they are darker with a black spot in them. Not completely pale like when the female first released them. Will these eggs be okay on the bottom like this?

That is for any advice!

 

[Demeter]

Bubble nesters need to have the male with them till they are free swimming. It’s really a gamble to see if the male will be a good dad. Eggs are tiny and hard to see, fresh eggs appear as a white area in the best when viewed from above, developed eggs and fry usually look darker from above. If the make ate them you should be able to tell easily by his big belly.

You probably shouldn’t of removed the male. It is better to just try again rather than removing the dad. Wait a few days to see what happens, but the eggs on the glass will likely die as would any fry that hatch and fall.

 

[LoganKarl]

I see. And it’s probably not going to work if I put him back I’m guessing?

I knew I was likely to make a few mistakes as this is my first attempt at breeding.

If none of the fry make it to free swimming stage and I have to start over again my pair be able to spawn again right away?

 

[Demeter]

Putting him back won’t do. He’ll probably eat whatever is left or leave them for dead. Give your pair a couple weeks before you spawn them again.

 

[LoganKarl]

Thanks for the advice! Came home again and took another look. I can now see more eggs (I think) when looking for the darker bubbles from above as you had mentioned. We will see what happens!

 

[chromedome52]

The eggs and wigglers of Honey Gouramis float, and may be hard to see because they float to the top of the nest. There is a drop of oil in the egg yolk that keeps them at the surface, so the male is not a necessity. Within 24-48 hours the eggs are hatched, and you probably would have a harder time finding the wigglers than you did the eggs. Once they start swimming a couple of days later, they will drop down a bit below the surface and the nest, then it will be time to feed them.

 

[LoganKarl]

The eggs and wigglers of Honey Gouramis float, and may be hard to see because they float to the top of the nest. There is a drop of oil in the egg yolk that keeps them at the surface, so the male is not a necessity. Within 24-48 hours the eggs are hatched, and you probably would have a harder time finding the wigglers than you did the eggs. Once they start swimming a couple of days later, they will drop down a bit below the surface and the nest, then it will be time to feed them.

These guys don't seem to be floating. The bubble nest has pretty much all popped. I have been using a pipette to gently pick them up and put them on leaves close to the surface. There is about 30 of them! They don't really move at all but I know they are alive because when I put them at the surface they wiggle a bit then kinda stay put.

Iv made my first infusoria culture 3 days ago and started a new one each day after that to make sure I have a steady supply. But I'm worried it wont be ready in time. Would egg yoke mixed well with aquarium water break it down enough to feed the new fry? Or maybe another suggestion?

Update! Seems like most of the fry made it to free swimming stage! They don't move around much but are getting more active.

Feeding with my infusoria culture. I'm pretty sure it's ready because when I pull some out in a syringe i can definitely see specks moving around. Even after letting it settle for 10 mins.

Hopefully i can keep these fry alive through the next few weeks!

 

[12Cin12]

Wow! Following! I love Honey Gouramis!

 

[LoganKarl]

Another update. I was finally able to get a picture of the fry! They are doing well. The most iv been able to count is 13. There is a lot of hornwort in the tank so I'm sure there is a few more hiding. Feeding 25ml of infusoria 4-5 times a day and a daily 50% water change.

Hopefully I can avoid any more mistakes and keep them alive into adulthood!

Wow! Following! I love Honey Gouramis!

Defenitly my favorite that ive kept so far!

Update.

Well mistakes have been made... i got back Thursday from a business trip where I was gone for 4 days. They didn't have a water change the entire time I was gone. I set up the infusoria on a drip siphon and for some reason it stopped (I think the clamp I had holding the hose in the container slowly pinched it off) and they only got 1/3 of the food they should have. I lost at least 5-7 fry because of this.

Then tonight I did a water change but used a little bigger hose than I usually do and siphoned up 5 fry. They must have got thrown around to much because 4 of them are not doing well.

I'm probably down to 5 or so strong fry.

 

[FishMommer]

Wow. All the best to you. Just caught this thread. So cool!

 

[FishMommer]

Curious. How is it that the male layed eggs? Does it have to do with the hornwort? I have a pair of HG and never any egg nests. Just wondering. How long have you had your fish?

 

[LoganKarl]

Curious. How is it that the male layed eggs? Does it have to do with the hornwort? I have a pair of HG and never any egg nests. Just wondering. How long have you had your fish?

It's the female that lays the eggs. The male will build a bubble nest then when ready he will encourage the female to follow him to it. When they spawn the female drops her eggs and the male with fertilize them at the same time. Then the male will chase the female away from the nest so he can gather up all the eggs and put them in the bubble nest. This will repeat a number of times until the female has no eggs left. At that point you pull the female out because she will start to eat the eggs.

I put the hornwort in so the fry would have good hiding spaces and a source of natural infusoria.

I have had these to Gourami for about 4-5 months. I didn't see any breeding behavior until I made the right conditions for them in a separate breeding tank. I wasn't even sure I had breeding pair. Once they were in the breeding tank it was only 2 days befor they had a bubble nest and laid eggs!

 

[LoganKarl]

Update.

After 2 months and a few mistakes I was able to get 3 fry to survive this long! They are now feeding on mix of fry starter and bug bites. They are getting upgraded to my 45g community tank today!

This was my first attempt at breeding and iv learned alot. My next attempt should produce a lot more surviving fry. I'm going to try again in a week. I will be trying to breed ember tetras at the same time in a different setup.