Raising Peacock gudgeons fry?

Long story short I got a pair of peacock gudgeons from Aquatic Arts along with some dwarf rainbowfish. They came in on Friday so they are brand new. Don't even have names for them yet haha. The peacocks are about to spawn, the females belly is bright yellow and huge. They have picked out a spot under my mopani wood piece as a "cave" for the eggs. I have raised fry before but anything specific for these guys? I assume they are settled and happy. I already ordered a fry basket too save the ones I can.

 

You’ll need live food for the fry and possibly frozen for the parents. How did you manage to get them to spawn so quick?! I have a male and a female but no eggs yet. But, just so you know, a bright yellow belly doesn’t mean she’s about to breed, mine always has a bright yellow belly.

 

You’ll need live food for the fry and possibly frozen for the parents. How did you manage to get them to spawn so quick?! I have a male and a female but no eggs yet. But, just so you know, a bright yellow belly doesn’t mean she’s about to breed, mine always has a bright yellow belly.

I honestly didn't do anything. Well the male is hiding in the wood cave so I think they are about to breed or already did. I read the males fan the eggs and guard them and stay in the their chosen "nest" which is what I think he's doing.

 

I honestly didn't do anything. Well the male is hiding in the wood cave so I think they are about to breed or already did. I read the males fan the eggs and guard them and stay in the their chosen "nest" which is what I think he's doing.

Well it sure sounds like they bred! If the male is guarding the cave it’s a good sign.

 

Well it sure sounds like they bred! If the male is guarding the cave it’s a good sign.

Yeah I don't see him anywhere in the tank and the female is hiding under plants so he must have kicked her out. Should I lift up the cave and see if there are eggs because I cannot see the male. I need to make sure there are eggs though so I can try to time when they hatch and pull the babies before the other fish eat them. But I dont want to disturb them too much at the same time.

 

Yeah I don't see him anywhere in the tank and the female is hiding under plants so he must have kicked her out. Should I lift up the cave and see if there are eggs because I cannot see the male. I need to make sure there are eggs though so I can try to time when they hatch and pull the babies before the other fish eat them. But I dont want to disturb them too much at the same time.

When did he first start guarding it? I would check 7 days after he first began guarding. If there are eggs, great! That means you can remove them and they should be either about to hatch and become wigglers or just hatched If not, then it sounds like he was considering this spot and in the future he may use it.

 

When did he first start guarding it? I would check 7 days after he first began guarding. If there are eggs, great! That means you can remove them and they should be either about to hatch and become wigglers or just hatched If not, then it sounds like he was considering this spot and in the future he may use it.

He started guarding last night/yesterday afternoon. Okay, will definitely check after 7 days and will post here if anything changes! I'm excited.

 

Congrats on your gudgeons!

Mine have been breeding like clockwork - approximately every two weeks! I wouldn't be surprised if yours do the same now that they've gotten started.

My gudgeons were the same in that they opted to use driftwood as their nest site. If you're able to, the easiest way to save the fry would be to move the driftwood shortly before hatching into the fry basket. Otherwise if you can't move the nest, I'd try to catch the fry ASAP. Most gudgeons end up eating the fry once they're free-swimming - there's a reason I've dubbed my female Ms. Piggy (though in all fairness to her, I also call the male Glutton. He doesn't chase fry much, he just loooooves to eat).

Mine always take about 11-12 days to go from eggs being laid to fry being free swimming. That was a lot longer than I expected based on what I'd initially read online, but it's been about the same every time for my pair. I'd start checking after about 7 days like jkkgron2 mentioned, in case yours are quicker to hatch.

Definitely plan on infusoria and other live foods if possible, at least at first. They fry typically aren't big enough for BBS until they are a few days old. You may be able to use prepared foods, but I've had much more luck using live foods for at least the first few days and then adding prepared foods into the feeding rotation (Hikari first bites, golden pearls, etc). Once they're a bit older, you can likely switch completely to prepared foods if you prefer.