In my 10 gallon tank, I have set up a sort of breeding environment for my 2 female and 1 male Dwarf Gourami. The reason for two females is that I simply dont disturb the tank when they breed, seperating the M from F, so the second female draws half the bullying. I have gotten them to lay eggs twice now. In the tank I also have a 3 inch royal pleco and two baby bristlenose (1 inch). To keep things as clean as possible, I also have 10 ghost shrimp. I have the philosophy of whatever happens happens in that tank, because I like viewing those fish regardless of whether they propagate. The first spawning was an unsuccessful hatching because the HOB filter caused problems for the gourami with its strong inlet current so I had to switch it off or risk all the eggs sucked into the filter. I switched to a sponge filter and added the "cleaning crew" to help things naturally stay clean. The gourami have laid another batch 3 days ago and I have yet to see any fry lingering at the surface. For the most part, I notice the eggs are in the same locations and look intact still. The male keeps busily nipping pieces of hornwort to spit into the nest areas. I'm wondering if I can expect anything from this hatching or if there is some variable I have grossly overlooked? Any assistance is much appreciated.
