JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 Erin, changing the water - say 50% shouldn't hurt the eggs so even 0.1% and excellent water should be ok to keep bacteria to a minimum and the eggs healthy (if you want to keep salt in the water). Methylene blue is an antifungal med and from what i've read, people place a few drops in the water with their eggs to avoid cross contamination but if you don't have many 'furry' white eggs in there, then it's not necessary to go with additives. I didn't and got one heck of a massive hatch rate - it was their survival after they hatched that was in question 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 Ok, Ill only change 50% then. Should I go ahead and pick out what white eggs I see? So I should worry about the blue drops then? That would be OK because I cant find it anywhere! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 Well, you can do what I did and pluck any furry ones out - but I bet you most of them have been fertilized, especially with that strapping big fellow you have And if you want to keep the water excellent - small, daily waterchanges won't hurt, even if you use a big cup. This is what I did while I was waiting for them to hatch, I was a bit anal about the water being perfect for them so did daily waterchanges up to and after they hatched 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) Thats great info! I was wondering about that. I hate having those algea infested things in there. lol. I will do daily water changes then. Perhaps it's a good idea to leave a bucket of water out to "breathe" so I dont have to use tap water everytime? Edited January 7, 2007 by glitterfish 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 That sounds like a great plan And for what it's worth, I can't wait for these little suckers to hatch... if only they knew the planning and worry involved for their entry into this world 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 Thanks a lot Jen! I am off to do a waterchange now! I really appreciate the help. How long does it take for the eggs to turn white if theyre going to? PS.. My fiance thinks Im NUTS!! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 From my experience, not long. Usually within 24-48 hours they go from being opaque/white to sporting a nice ring of fungal fur - you won't be able to miss it Do you see many unfertilized ones? PS. If your fella thinks you're nuts, get him to sign in and take a look around... he'll soon see we're all from the same tribe of 'goldfish nutters' 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 I just got done doing the 1/2 water change and I didnt see any white ones! I thought I did earlier but once I had them in the light they all looked the same. Its been nearly 48 hours now since I took the eggs out. I could see black dots in some of them too... is that normal? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 Ohhhh yeahhhh - that's the best sign. Those little black dots are the eyes So how many do you think you have? What's the temp of the water? They should start to hatch in the next 2 - 3 days 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 Yay!! Im guessing there are around 80 eggs in there! The temp in the tank is around 78 degrees. Stays hot in the apartment and doesnt help when its so nice outside and the heat is on. When should I put in the sponge filter? I assume it will be here early in the week. So when they hatch, how long should I wait to take out the driftwood? Im assuming its probably better to leave a couple of the plants? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 I had a similar setup - one massive lump of driftwood where most of the eggs were housed along with a whole lot of leaves and once they hatched, I removed them all only because they were leaves and not the actual plant. I had them in the outside tub with sponge filters and and airstone but found a few would die each day and then it got to the stage where I wanted to keep as many as I could so I moved them inside into a 15 gallon tank with hangon filter and airstone. I had 11 left by then and they're all still alive and healthy today (touch wood). I did have to place a piece of filter foam around the intake and by this stage, they were about 1cm so handled it well but I guess the thing that worked here was keeping their water perfect... so I incorporated daily waterchanges using some thin tubing (not too thin otherwise the waterchange would take all night) and making sure I never sucked where they were swimming. You'll notice in a couple of weeks the poop level will be high. They are constantly pooping so I would suck all the poop out daily and refresh their water at the same time I think the simplest way of putting it is excellent water and don't worry too much about having things in the tank - so it stays a nice sterile environment 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 Ok, so once Im sure theyre all detached from the things, Ill take everything out. I hope to move them to a 10 gallon eventually. I was planning on just using the sponge filter for awhile while they were really tiny. How many eggs did you start with? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 A sponge filter is actually the best but unfortunately I was desparate for some sponge one day to clean the inside of my tanks during weekly waterchanges so guess what I used? The sponge from my sponge filter So in desparation, I rigged up the small aquaclear I have I had about 50 - 55 eggs to start with - that was all I could remove without squashing them and ended up with 11 Although I ended up with 3 from my first batch but only started with 11 eggs 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) I felt so bad, when I was doing that waterchange, I was trying to get an egg off a leaf that wanted to stick out of the water and I squashed it. I didnt know they were so squishy. Yesterday they were more solid. And LOL! at using the sponge for cleaning your tank! Oh and I guess Im finally off to bed!! Its almost 5:30AM! The eggs have me excited. Thanks for all the help tonight. Edited January 7, 2007 by glitterfish 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JenW 1 Posted January 7, 2007 Yeah, they stick to the surface real well - I'm sorry that happened 5.30am? When do you sleep? I'll look forward to tomorrows news 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 7, 2007 Im up now!! Slept till 3. LOL. I had left some eggs in the tank on the back wall near the filter intake and I see gold spots in them. I feel bad because those will probably be eaten. I post an update on the eggs in the tank when I do a water change later. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 8, 2007 I just found more eggs in my QT tank! I had a crown pearlie in there who passed away right before I noticed them, a calico ryukin and a orange/white oranda. I dont know who they came from or if theyre even fertilized. Can eggs come out without prompting? I removed a few into a small container just in case. There is Maracyn 2 in the water. A lot of eggs are still in there and the fish are eating them. Also on my other eggs, there were a few white ones I took out. Otherwise most still look the same. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maceo 13 Posted January 8, 2007 Good Grief, what are you feediing them? Love is in the air in Brooklyn! I have no sage advice to offer but this is seriously exciting! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 8, 2007 It's exciting for me too Maceo! I never thought Id be a Grandma! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dana 0 Posted January 8, 2007 I just wanted to stick my head in to say that you sound like you are doing a wonderful job! And Jen sounds like she's being a great support. I love reading all about how it's going for you, and i hope you come out with lots of healthy babies! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marsha 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Good luck and hope you'll get many beautiful babies glitterfish... also you're getting great advise from JenW who's raised some lovely fry...keep us posted on the news 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
small_ranchu 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Good Grief, what are you feediing them? Love is in the air in Brooklyn! blink.gif I have no sage advice to offer but this is seriously exciting! oh yeah, Brooklyn rock.. Erin, Hiro might give you some present b4 he/she left... 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vmlola 0 Posted January 8, 2007 Hiro might give you some present b4 he/she left... Well, that would be the best memorial for Hiro! Leaving behind a legacy! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glitterfish 0 Posted January 8, 2007 The eggs hatched!!! I see babies all over the place. A lot of fuzzy eggs too though so now I have to figure out a way to get them out without hurting the fry. Thank you everyone for the nice words, youre all great! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vmlola 0 Posted January 8, 2007 I see babies all over the place. Oh, how exciting! Are you nervous????? I would be frantic! Good luck with them! This is just to exciting! Hope to see pics when they are big enough! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
