# Eggs already!



## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

I was was the lucky one who ended up with the Thorichthys that was terrorizing Tabatha's tank.

I went to pick her up on Sunday and added her to my work tank around 4:00pm. Sometime Tuesday night she spawned with my male. She is less than an inch long and was carrying an unbelievable amount of eggs. There are TONS!

Time will tell if the male did the deed. He is quite young as well so I'm not sure.

Here's the best pic I can get of her...










and here is the male..










Things are about to become very interesting in this tank


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## gunnerx (Mar 20, 2008)

Wow, very nice fishes! Congrats!


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

She looks sooo happy. New boyfriend, new house, what girl wouldn't be happy!

Thanks for adopting her, I'm so excited for you! 

Tabatha


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

nice. Love their colouration. Here's hoping the deed was done.


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

Pretty sure the spawn was successful. Most of the eggs are gone this morning with only a few white ones left on the rock. There were no white ones yesterday so I assume they hatched and she has tucked them into 1 of 3 pits she dug out under the rock pile. 

They are hidden well so no pics 


EDIT: caught her moving them to a different cave. With a flash light, I can see a huge ball of wiggly little tails


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## fishlover93 (Feb 25, 2008)

what will you be doing with all of those little babies if they survive?


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

These ones won't for sure. Too many other fish in the tank. I don't like to pull fry from parents until their 3rd or 4th spawn. I find letting them try and fail makes them better parents in the long run. Also it helps solidify the bond.

Eventually, I will pull a spawn and raise them in another tank.

I do have a spawn from my original pair in a tank at home. They just went free swimming yesterday and it looks like there is about 50 -75 of them. Hard to tell for sure since the tank they are in is fairly well planted. Who knows how many are in there 

Those ones will be for sale once they are about 1" or so. I will likely keep a few of those to to eventually spawn with the offspring I pull from the pair above.

Here are some shots of my original pair. I just traded them to Mike @ Finatics last weekend. He has them in one of his show tanks.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

awee how awesome! :3 I thought that fish was just adorable..


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

Babies are getting close to free swimming. I see them hopping along the sand in their hole. 

The ones at home are doing well. The current is a little strong so I think I've lost some.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

How about an update? Did any of the free swimmers make it?


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

There are still tons. The pair are doing an amazing job! Much better than any first time parents I've had before. 

I had to pul my 2 extra females last night as they were getting HAMMERED! The pair would have killed them for sure. They are keeping my Blue Dempsey away but are not being as aggressive with him. He is of course 3 times their size as well. 

There has to be at least 100 fry left.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

OMG!!!  That's terrific news! What great parents


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

It's funny, the Blue Dempsey has no problems going toe to toe with the male who is half his size. The female, who is 1/3rd his size (if that) sends him flying from one end of the tank to the other just to get out of her way 

Another reminder that you just don't F-around with a mother and her babies


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

When the fry are big enough....interested in trading for a couple of male Jacks?


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

We'll see if the fry make it long term. I have my doubts. Once they really start to swarm, the parents have a hard time protecting them. 

If they make it, we'll talk. I really need females though


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Yeah I know. I've got more matureish males and the females are still maturing. Let me know.


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

As much as I hate pulling fry from a first spawn, I may do it in this case. Just have to find some tank space at home.


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

BAD NEWS!!!

I got in this morning and was very excited to see the male still had a large group of fry huddled in the corner of the tank. My timer had not turned the light on yet but I found it odd that I couldn't see the female anywhere. I thought she must have another group somewhere else in the tank that I could not see. After an hour, the light came on and I saw that the female had wedged herself between 2 rocks and was dead 

By the look of her, she likely died on Saturday as she was not "fresh" at all. Really sucks! She was awesome and I was really looking forward to watching her grow. 

The only consolation is the fact the male had done a great job over the weekend protecting the fry himself. I know he would eventually not be able to keep them safe so I syphoned about 40 or so out and I will bring them home to raise on my own. I left him about 20 or so.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Awe, that is so sad, I'm sorry to hear that. I've had gouramis get stuck behind the heater and bubble ladder, lost one, managed to save another.

And yes, the positive side is that you still have her fry so her genes live on! I hope they grow up beauties!


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

Me too. I am not sure what happened. I don't know why she would have done that. She was the boss so I don't think she was bullied into a hiding spot. I have had males kill their mates before but she had tons of room to hide. It's a 90 Gal tank with lots of rocks and plants.


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

Well, all the babies in the main tank are now gone. I saw 2 yesterday but can't find any today.

I counted 33 in my tank at home though. Got some pics of them as well....


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Awe, the babies are soooo cute, they look like your side of the family!  Good job rescuing fry from the tank!


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## twoheadedfish (May 10, 2008)

so. freaking. cool.


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Any updates on the grand-fish???


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

It's baby mania at the MacFish household!

I have 13 fry at about 1/3" from my original pair. I have about 30 fry from this pair. They seem to be growing slower but everyone seems healthy. 

I just got into work and see that the eggs from my EBJDxJD pair have hatched! Good news but now I am running out of fry tanks!


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

Your hands are full! LOL! Get out that camera daddy, I want to see baby pictures!


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

I will be taking some shots of the BGJD fry today but getting pics of the Thorichthys is tricky. They are so zippy that my camera just doesn't cut it. If I can borrow my co-workers camera again sometime, I will get some new ones.


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## Grey Legion (Mar 20, 2006)

Sorry to hear about the loss, glad to hear about the fry.

Hopefully you'll pull a nice female out of the fry and get another great parent.

good luck !


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## MacFish (Jun 15, 2006)

Grey Legion said:


> Sorry to hear about the loss, glad to hear about the fry.
> 
> Hopefully you'll pull a nice female out of the fry and get another great parent.
> 
> good luck !


Thats the plan. I am hoping to raise both spawns and keep the top 2 males and females from each and breed them together. All this requires tank space though. This is priority # 3 on my project list so it may get bumped for a while


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