View Full Version : HELP!! My puffers laid eggs!!
All I know is that the store calls them red-eyed puffers.
They are a light green color(when happy), with dark green to black spots on them, depending on mood. On the very top, just behind the head is a large dark spot.
Well, they laid eggs and eggs are fertilized. One puffer is guarding them (I'm assuming this is the male). Does anyone know how long gestation is?? Should the other puffer be removed from the tank?? And should the guarding puffer be removed after the fry is born??
Please help!!!!!
Sincerely,
Lila
cdawson
01-15-2003, 12:45 PM
it sounds to me like you've got green spotted puffers, red eye puffers are light to dark brown with "red eyes". Anyhow, lucky you to have had them spawn. Theres very little info on puffer spawning out there. Other than for dwarf puffers, hopefully for you someone out there has had some experience. Wish I could be more help.
Thanks,
I found a little info on the internet..though not for these particular puffers, but, hoping they are about the same habits.
The male is gaurding them. I'm thinking of removing the female for safety reasons.
I want to do a set up for freshly hatched brine shrimp for fry, do I need a tank for that, or will something else work?
The eggs should hatch in approx four to seven days. Guessing they were laid about three days ago.
I will let ya know how it goes.
Oh yeah, they do tend to turn a brown like color when they aren't happy. Infact...the male had turned pretty dark when he 'puffed' at the female, before we discovered the eggs.
OrionGirl
01-15-2003, 1:09 PM
For her safety, remove the female. Otherwise she might be attacked and hurt.
I would remove the male as soon as the eggs get to the eyed stage (you should be able to see the individual eyes of the fry). The fry should be free swimming within 24 -36 hours of hatching, and ready for food. Brine shrimp nauplii would be fine. You cna raise these in a separate tank, or in a soda bottle. I would use a series of three tanks, so you can always have some hatching, and so you can heat the water (they hatch quicker at higher temps--82 is great). You should pick up some invert food, or use activated yeast to feed the brine.
If you can get microworms locally, those would work for the fry for a few days as well.
Oriongirl....
I'm not questioning you, but, I wasn't expecting this, so:
a couple sites I've read have said that the male will protect the fry also. I was thinking of removing him/them once they become free swimming.
Is there a good chance he will eat them.
We can already see 'black spots' in the eggs now.
Thanks for info on brineshrimp.
OrionGirl
01-15-2003, 3:41 PM
There isn't a big chance that he will eat them, but why risk it? If there isn't anything else in the tank that will eat them, the eggs will be fine on their own, and you will be safer when doing maintenance in the tank. I'm basing my advice on dwarf puffers, and they tend to be less aggressive than the green spotted ones.
You might want to look into covering your filter intake with a sponge as well--baby dwarf puffers tend to get sucked in to them (the curious little buggers follow a drifting bit of crud, right up to the intake). I lost several before I got smart.
Thanks Oriongirl...
We have a sponge filter in there now, and will be turning off the bigger ones.
Pufferpunk
01-15-2003, 8:11 PM
Congrats! You have target puffers (t lerius) sp?. I suggest you post this question to pufferfish@yahoogroups.com. I believe there are some folks that have bred thes fish at that site. Good luck, Puffergranny! ;)
pulldownyrpants
01-15-2003, 9:24 PM
Originally posted by Pufferpunk
Congrats! You have target puffers (t lerius) sp?. I suggest you post this question to pufferfish@yahoogroups.com. I believe there are some folks that have bred thes fish at that site. Good luck, Puffergranny! ;)
Target puffers????
How big are these guys anyway?
Pufferpunk
01-16-2003, 12:32 AM
Ok, correct spelling: t leiurus.
See: http://www.pufferfish.co.uk/aquaria/species/pufferfish/types/tetrleiu.htm
http://chunkypuff.net/projectpuffer/t_leiurus.htm
No, I don't think they are target puffers. They are green with red eyes. Dark green to brown spots on the body. White , yellow belly, and a larger spot just behind the head.
Those pics don't look like my puffers.
I wish I could get a pic on here for you to see. But, I have to figure out how to use my new photo program.
Pufferpunk
01-16-2003, 10:17 AM
The fish you described is exactly as a Target looks. Maybe the photos aren't very good, but I've seen several Targets. My lfs had 3 that they let die over several months. I went in to check on them & feed them 3x a week. The only puffers I've heard of breeding in captivity is: target, red-eyes (t. lorteti) & dwarfs. I don't think you have the other kind. I'm sure they are targets which have red eyes. spotted to brown or olive greenish & a black spot on their side.
Looking at both pics...mine have spots all over them, cept the belly. And the body is mainly green. Just with darker spots and big ones too...and not with just one noticable spot near the tail. You could be right, you would know better than me. I'm just looking at both pics (which I see are the same, just one is darker than the other), and they don't quite look like mine.
I'm gonna try to get a pic in.
Pufferpunk
01-16-2003, 10:46 AM
Yes, targets are a drab, olive green-brown & spotted, w/ a darker spot on each side& red eyes. Like other puffers, their colors (& spots) can fade.
Thanks Pufferpunk. I really do appreciate your responses. I was hoping to 'chat' with some one who knew about them.
The email addy you gave me, wouldn't work!
Another thing,,,the female was moved to another tank..she is going to the surface alot and splashing abit..her color looks good and she did eat. Is there any concern with this behavior?
T. suvattii and T. palembabgensis have also been capitive bred.
Well, last I counted....there were 8 babies swimming around!
Pufferpunk
01-16-2003, 9:18 PM
Oh boy, how exciting! :D What are you going to feed them? You can try some egg yolk in a dropper.
Really? Egg yolk is okay? Cuz, I was supposed to get brine shrimp eggs from the LFS..but he couldn't get them yet. So, I was gonna rush out after the school bus stop tomorrow morn and get some.
So yolks will work? That's nice to know.
Pufferpunk
01-20-2003, 1:42 AM
Hey Lila, How are the baby puffys? :)
Well, I have counted over 40 of them. There have been some fatalities. We removed the female before they hatched. Then the male afterwords.
Guess what....THEY LAID EGGS AGAIN!!!.
We found them last night. I was wondering cuz of the way they were behaving during the day, and cuz how she was looking.
I'm doing water testing and noting conditions and so on for my brother. He wants to know everything.
The babies are looking good.
Thanks for asking!!
Pufferpunk
01-22-2003, 11:40 AM
What are you feeding them? Do you have a large enough grow out tank? You're going to have lots of puffers!
Well, the first batch of babies are in a 40 gal. alone.
The parents were moved into a 20 gal temporarily til we could get the babies out of the 40..we were gonna put the babies in the 20.
But, we had another fish unexpectedly lay eggs and brood them. So we put her in that twenty. Now, she appearantly dropped the unfertilized eggs (we couldn't tell yet). So, we can get her out of there, and put the babies in. I don't quite know when we can get the parents moved again yet.
I didn't think they would lay eggs again so soon!
Well, we normally feed them live feeders, crabs , snails and crayfish. Once we fed them bloodworms(frozen).
Pufferpunk
01-22-2003, 6:14 PM
Actually I meant, what are you feeding the babies? How big are they now?
OH! DUH!
Well, we were trying freshly hatched brine shrimp. My husband just put egg yolk in this morning cuz I prodded him too.
They look like littel tadpoles. Were clear with eyeballs at first, but now they are starting to darken a little. They are still quite small.
The male ate the eggs they just laid yesterday. We just couldn't get him out fast enough.