Surprise! Peacock Gudgeon Eggs

Hello,
I bought a male and a female peacock gudgeon from my LFS just 10 days ago. I desperately need to do a water change (that has also been 10 days), but I found a cluster of eggs underneath an Amazon Sword Plant leaf and a very angry gudgeon daddy! I thought they were too young to breed, so I assumed he was just shy when he disappeared and only came out a few times to eat. He is fiercely defending his brood from a tank full of giant, hungry mouths.

My questions are:
Can I still change the water, or should I wait until they hatch? The Ammonia test kit shows pretty close to 0 ppm. Does it work to suck the water out of one end of the tank and simultaneously add new water in at the same time? I don't want the leaves to droop and squish the eggs.

If the eggs do hatch, can I put the fry into my mesh livebearer breeding cage so they don't turn into snacks?

Thanks for any help!

Tank Setup for: 3 years
Size: 20 Gallon Tall
Fish: 1 male peacock gudgeon, 1 female peacock gudgeon, 1 male neon swordtail, 2 female swordtails, 3 khulI loaches, 3 nerite snails, 2 bamboo shrimp, and 1 female crown-tailed betta
Plants, etc: moderately planted w/ Amazon sword, java fern, java moss, floating wisteria, and some more, 2 caves, driftwood, rocks
Water: ph ~7.4, nitrates/nitrites ~0ppm, 1/4 weekly water changes w/ Ultimate Water Conditioner, Flourish liquid plant food, and vary amount of salt up to 1tbs

 

I have Peacock Gudgeons and they are young! I don't think mine are old enough yet to have eggs/fry. Congratulations on your eggs and good luck. Not sure about the water change and I am sure someone with more experience will respond to your post. Keep us updated on the progress!

 

I also have peacock gudgeons so I'm excited for you! My male and one of my females got together the day after I put them in the tank. Not sure if they ever had eggs - the male kicked the female out of their love nest after a day or so. He stayed another day (presumably guarding eggs), but he emerged another day later with a big belly so I assumed he ate the eggs (which I've read often happens). Hopefully someone will soon come along who can actually answer your questions, but congratulations and good luck!

 

Thanks guys! They're supposed to breed in caves or pvc pipes, so I don't know why they chose the Sword plant. I doubt my eggs will make it -- I don't know how long such a tiny fish can fight off my big male swordtail. Here is a kinda blurry pic of him vs the swordtail:


The nest is in between two leaves in the back where you can't see it.

 

I waited too long and the eggs were gone and the dad was out and active in the tank again. At least now I know the eggs take about 6 days to hatch. Next time I'll move them to a safe place and hopefully have better luck.

 

They're at it again! This time they've chosen some leaves where I can see them. For the past view hours they have been busy in their love nest.