Pop Eye on Tetra  2/18/06
I have a 100 gallon tank with 2 magnum filters going on. One of my tetras has a bubbled eye. What do I do? I need help. I have put him by himself in a small
tank 10 gallon with half water which is 5 gallon water & did put that tablet fungus clear tank buddies. Do I have to add Epsom salt with it.?. Kindly
respond. thanks. Godfrey
< Treat the tank with the sick tetra with Metronidazole. The original tank may have elevated nitrate readings and so check the levels. They should be under 25 ppm although some fish like them lower.-Chuck>

Tiny Unidentifiable Fry  12/03/05
Hello WWM crew, want to start off by saying again think you for all the help and information your site provides. I wrote to you before and now want to say I have a sparkling clean tank that gives me lots of relaxing enjoyment. 
I have included my previous emails to you so you will know what was going on before, so I wont need to retell you what my tank includes again. Only changes in livestock would be that I now have 6 Danios, 5 Guppies and 8 Neon
Tetras. I have spotted several babies ( Platies and Guppies) swimming freely and it seems with very little danger of being eaten by anyone, except of course by "George" the Gourami. His hobby is looking for food. LOL 
I  have not tried to catch any of the babies because I want the tank to be as natural as possible and hold fast to the thought that "The strong (and smart) will survive" besides I know if I try to catch every single one I will need to get another huge tank to house them in when they are bigger and I don't really want to do that. 
Now for my question. I have spotted over the last week some other kind of fry in the tank, I would say about 15 of them. The thing is I have no Idea what they are. They are so small that I cant make out any shape or markings on them to match them with the other types of fish in the tank. I do not think that they are a platy or guppy because I know their size when they are born and these fry are so small that I think a platy or guppy fry could possibly eat them. Would you
have any idea what they could be? My guess is either Danio or Neon Tetra but I wanted your thoughts.
< In a well planted tank with plenty of food these fish could be reproducing.>
The second issue though is that the only reason I was able to see them is because they are swimming around inside the lift tube of my underground filter. (Its turned off of course) I have not seen them any where else in the tank. Could be because they are so small. Only thing I can tell you about them is that they have large heads and skinny bodies they look like tadpoles only much much much smaller and they are dark in color. Any Ideas? Thank you, Jennifer
< If you have an undergravel filter than the two species you have could be scattering their eggs in the gravel and the hatching fry are being pulled through to the undergravel filter plate and showing up in the lift tube.-Chuck> 

Taking Care Of Little Fry  12/03/05
Chuck, Thanks for responding. Do you think it best to let them be down there? ( I don't know about feeding them) I turned off the UGF about 3 weeks ago, I assume there is probably a lot of gunk under there. Or do you know of a good way to get them out and keep them safe from being eaten? I have a breeder net but I am not sure if the holes in the netting is small enough to keep them in it. Jennifer
< Newly hatch egg scatters like tetras need very small food like infusoria. When they get larger they can handle baby brine shrimp and microworms. Much of that infusoria can be found in the junk under the filter plate. If you try to catch them they will just go back down under the filter plates. You could try to replace the airstone and air lift the fry out of the tank while holding a brine shrimp net over the opening. Once you can see them you can determine if a breeder net will work. If it is even close then I would put them in their own container so they don't get sucked through by hungry fish.-Chuck> 

Spawning George Albert's toothy tetra
hello, How and where would I go to find out how to breed and rear
gar. Specifically the Spotted Pike Characin (Boulengerella Maculata).
Thanks, Andy
<You should make a trip to a college library and ask a reference librarian in the life science section to show you how to run a computer-based search of the pertinent literature. An article on the topic: http://wetwebmedia.com/litsrchart.htm
You can make a preliminary search on www.fishbase.org with the scientific or common name (under references)... Do expand your search to include other Characoid fishes that actually have accounts of captive or wild spawning, reproductive biology. Bob Fenner>

Hey guys, my Silver Dollars are mating.
I don't know if you remember, but a couple of months ago I had questions about diseases that were in an  80 gallon tank that included a very large Red Belly Pacu (pic. included) four silver dollars, a couple Balas, a Jack Dempsey, a Large Gourami, some Corys and  a very large Pleco. Now I know this is bad to have all these fish in this tank and it's really crowded. But somebody had to adopt these fish from the family that wasn't taking care of them. They were riddled with Ick, fin rot, and hole in the head disease and they also didn't have adequate filtration ( a pitiful old Penguin 300 that looked like it hadn't been cleaned or changed in months) But I've added a Magnum 350 pro kit with a Turbo Twist UV Sterilizer which is taking care of all the Ick and fin rot beautifully. Also, a couple days ago I picked up a used 90 gallon tank with every thing I need except the adequate filtration for $150, although this time there's no fish in it When all this first started, the Silver Dollars were in the worst shape, I thought they would surely die. But I've nursed them back to the point where their mating! Believe it or not, these people just happened to have one male and three female in there, and they decided to mate right in front of my Grandparents during thanksgiving dinner. That was really embarrassing let me tell ya.
         So my question is: how can a set up a breeder tank for these larger fish (6 inches long) so that when they are ready to lay the eggs the eggs are protected. Also, how does this work with Silver Dollars? I've successfully bred over forty sword tails in three batches now, but I've never bred an egg laying species. Please help!
< Silver dollars are egg scatters as are most characins. The male and female do a little dance and will swim side by side. As they do this the female releases the eggs while the male fertilizes them. The eggs drop all over the bottom of the tank and ornaments. They are quickly eaten if they are not removed. The key is to set up a tank that is big enough for them to spawn by you need to keep them separated from the eggs. Go to the hardware store and get some lighting panels that resemble egg crates. Cut them to fit your tank and suspend them off the bottom. Next time the fish spawn the eggs should drop below the egg crate where the fish cannot get them. ^Then remove the adults. Another method would be to cover the bottom of the tank with glass marbles. The eggs would fall between the pore spaces between the marbles. They prefer to spawn over tuffs of plants some java moss or an artificial spawning mop would help. The eggs are very susceptible to fungus so the tank must be kept clean. Water temperature hardness and pH are all critical to get a successful hatch. Water should be clean, warm , soft and acidic for the best results. When the fry become free swimming they can be fed. depending on what species you have the adults may not eat the fry. They should be fed infusorians until they get big enough to eat baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food. Females will be plumper than the males. Some species do not eat the fry at all! Breeding these fish is not that common . Good luck.-Chuck>   

More Silver Dollars!
My silver dollars spawned again! I didn't have them in a tank setup for this, I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time to protect the eggs from swordtails with a net and managed to siphon out about ten of them. I don't have another empty tank so I'm attempting to hatch them in a hanging net within the tank the parents are in, and I figure that since the water parameters were good enough for them to spawn, I will touch nothing.
<Good idea>
The eggs are still currently clear a couple of hours later with a spot in them. My question is: what color will they turn, and how long should it take them to hatch?  
<Should remain clear except for the growing juvenile, their eyes... about four days to hatching in the low 80's F... you should be culturing food for them NOW... read about this on the Net... "Rotifer Culture">
-the pacu kid.
(am I just good at keeping the water nice? Or did I just get lucky? I never really do tests on water parameters, I just watch the fish and go with the feel.
<Given passable circumstances almost all life will reproduce itself... a high priority eh? Bob Fenner>

Pregnant Blackskirt?
I have a Blackskirt tetra. I have had her for almost a year and her tummy has become quite enlarged.  I noticed also she is reddish under her back fin.  Could she be pregnant or sick?
<Could be either or neither... this species does get quite round... from over-eating as well as egg maturation>
That is assuming it's a girl.  I have two other Blackskirts with it, a yellow gourami, 5 danios, 4 tiger barbs, 2 albino barbs, 1 clown loach, and 4 rose barbs  located in at least a 40 gal tank.  I treated the tank for gut worms a month ago.  What could it be?
Sincerely
Melissa Lee
<Might even be just resultant from the treatment... I encourage you to feed your fishes a type of food that has a laxative effect... like brine shrimp or Daphnia... once a day for a few weeks. If your Black Skirt is "full of eggs" it may release them (they will be consumed by the other fishes unless you place it, the other Black Skirts in another system). Bob Fenner>

Black Neon Spawning 3.16.05
Hey... just came across this site by chance, LUCK! Hoping you could help. 3 of 5 black widow tetras have huge bellies, the other two are smaller in size. They all seem to have slight blood streaked abdominals.
<Keep an eye on this, it could be nothing, or it could be a sign of poor water quality.>
Do you think this is due to the shark chasing them a lot (maybe hurting them?
<Doubt it, unless the shark is actually catching them.>
Or that they are having little tetras of their own??
<Could be constipated as well.>
If they are pregnant, then how can I tell when they are ready to burst? Last time my guppy had babies she went crazy on her own, so I felt bad and put her back in with the other and the poor little babies only lived for 2 hours. 
<Try to remember the good times you shared.>
HELP! Thank you....thank you, thank you :) Debbie x
<Hi Debbie, although I have never tried to breed them I'm a big fan of the black neon myself. Unlike your guppies which are live bearers, Neons are egg layers. If your fish are getting frisky you will notice the male's colors will be enhanced and the females will be larger and rounder as they are full of eggs. If they do spawn, chances are they will eat all of the eggs. If you want to breed them, search the web for "Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi" you should find plenty of info on breeding techniques. Best Regards – Gage > 

Pregnant/fat black widow neon - Bob's Response
Hey... just came across this site by chance, LUCK! Hoping you could help.... 3 of 5 black widow tetras have huge bellies.. the other two are smaller in size.. they all seem to have slight blood streaked abdominals...do you think this is due to the shark chasing them a lot (maybe hurting them)...
<Maybe>
...or that they are having little tetras of their own??
<Doubtful>
If they are pregnant, then how can I tell when they are ready to burst? Last time my guppy had babies... she went crazy on her own, so I felt bad and put her back in with the other... and the poor little babies only lived for 2 hours. 
Thank you....thank you, thank you , Debbie 
<Please read through the freshwater site: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwsubwebindex.htm re tetras, feeding... Bob Fenner> 

Surface-dwelling Swordtails and Sexing Tetras 
Hello. I first want to thank you for the previous information. It was very helpful. I still have the swordtail that looks pregnant. Lately (like the last 24-36 hours) she has been staying near the surface. Does this mean something?
<Livebearers have been known to hang out near the surface when they are about to drop young. Keep an eye out.>
She eats and has regular bowel movements, but if she is starting to develop a disease or something, I want to catch it soon. What do you suggest I do?
<Well, if she looks and acts healthy in all respects other than this abnormal behavior, I really cannot pinpoint what (if anything) is wrong with her, as hanging near the surface is a symptom for many things. I assume it may be due to her pregnancy that you mentioned, but it could be a host of other causes. Low oxygen, being bullied, disease, stress, just to name a few. I would recommend your watching her closely, and taking action if you notice anything else out of the ordinary.>
All the other fish in the tank swim around. The water is fine.
<When you say that the water is "fine," it is about as useless to me for determining if your water is of concern. The readings you get from your test kits are magical in that respect. Something could be wrong and you may not even know about it, and it could be hidden within the readings. Don't be afraid to send them along if you think something is wrong.>
Oh, and another thing, I have a couple of tetras. How can you tell what sex they are and when they are pregnant?
<Depends on the tetra :-) >
I know they cannot be as easy to sex as swordtails; is there something that an amateur, like me, can see that will
let me know if the fish is male or female? Thank you so very much!
<Again, depends on the species. Some species are sex-able, but most are not. Check the following page for tetra species identification.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/CharaciformFishes.htm 
Hope this helps, Mike G> 

Neon tetra breeding 7/17/05
I am trying to breed my neon tetras (yes I know this is difficult but that's
why I am trying).  I have three tanks set up, one for my males, one for my
females, and a breeding tank. I've done a lot of research, and have access
to every scientific journal, but there is more I seek.  I am curious as to
your opinion of the best technique to sex neon's and in particular the
'candling' method where you shine light through them and look for ovaries (I
have yet to try this myself).  
<There are slight coloring differences between the sexes... handling them, moving them to where a bright light can be shone behind is not recommended. The folks in the orient who breed this species just condition, time the spawnings...>
Also, regarding water GH.  For the right
breeding conditions I need to get my water down to about 1-2 dGH.
<Yes, the lower the better>
  I have
yet to get below 3 dGH and I'm using RO water with 1tbsp/10 gal. salt added
back
<Leave the salt out>
and tetra black water extract (We have pretty hard water in our area).
I'm also using a phosphate free acid buffer to help with the pH which works
very well.  Any advice is appreciated.
<The 3 dGH should not be a problem. What has been your difficulty thus far? Getting the fish to spawn? Raising the young, growing sufficient food? Bob Fenner>
Jeramie Abel

Re: neon tetra breeding 7/18/05
Thanks for your quick reply.  My difficulty thus far has mainly been with
the dGH.  In just about every literature I've read it suggests dGH of 1-2.
But if you say 3 should work I will try.
<Not much difference in the hardness between 2 and 3>
  Sexing them so I can separate them
will be accomplished once my second tank is done cycling (still have high
ammonia at this point... waiting for the bacteria to become established
through fishless cycling).  I have not tried any of the subsequent steps
although I've had females become gravid, I just haven't tried to separate
them into the breeding tank because it too has not been ready yet so if they
have spawned, I have not paid much attention to it because I knew I could do
nothing with the eggs and they would be eaten.  Currently I have a gravid
female who is hiding out in an ornament (covered stump that is pretty
secluded) but I haven't seen any mating rituals, however I'm not sure I know
exactly what to look for with neons.
<You will see... there is a discernible fixed action pattern of orientation, dance, release, separation...>
  My plan, should I see some behavior
that is unmistakable, is to move the male and female to the breeding tank
with a nice piece of java moss and turn out the lights.  My conditions in
the breeding tank are pH=6.4, temp=74, dGH=3-3.5, ammonia & nitrate =0, no
gravel, and it has an established sponge filter.  I plan to feed newly
hatched brine shrimp at approximately 3 days old or when the yolk sacs are
depleted but at this point I've yet to get the opportunity to try and raise
any fry.  Thanks for any advice.
Jeramie Abel
<Artemia are too big for a first food... do read re "Infusoria" culture... on the Net, in "old" aquarium books... Look for the name William T. Innes. Bob Fenner>