Hi everyone! I'm a first-time fish owner with my wife. She takes care of most of the general Aquarium care and such while I just kind of tag along and help her when needed; however, I do care a lot about our fish. Please keep in mind I am a first time fish owner, I know little to nothing about them, and that you might need to explain things to me as if I'm 5 years old.
We have a very large tank in which we house Cardinal Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Loaches, Shrimp, and a pair of Honey Gouramis. This tank has a heater and a filter. We also have a small plastic tank that does not have a filter or heater; we mainly use it as a place to keep our fish for about an hour while cleaning their tank. Today while cleaning their tank we noticed what we assumed was a bubble nest, as we had seen our male Gourami making one, but upon closer inspection we found these were actually eggs. We really believe that these eggs belong to our Gourami couple because our male is the only one who builds bubble nests actively, and he was also spending a LOT of time in the little corner he built it in as if guarding the nest.
Anyway, we transferred the eggs from our big tank into a tiny bowl while we cleaned their tank (since their big tank was dirty and we had to put the actual fish in our only other tank, the small one, while we cleaned it.) Once the big tank was clean and all of the fish were back inside of it, the small tank was free, and we put the eggs and the male Gourami in the small tank with some floating plants just as a quick google search suggested. He seemed a bit confused and shocked at first but after a few hours we checked on him again and he has his eggs neatly assigned in a little cluster in a corner.
The issue is, even though he seems ready, we... well, aren't. I've read that you should keep the male and his eggs in their own tank until the eggs hatch and then become free swimming, and then remove the male and raise the fry on their own; however, I'm very worried because the small tank we will have no choice but to keep the fry in doesn't have a filter. I really want these babies to make it, they mean so much to me and I want to keep a few, but I'm scared they won't make it.
I've tried to google search these things and I can't find anything on my circumstance; everything I can find is just "If you want to breed your Gouramis, place them in their own special tank and do the following..." But in my case, the fish bred in the wrong tank, and we only have one other tank to house the fry in. It doesn't have a filter and from what I understand, the fry have to live by themselves until they're big enough to not be eaten. What should I do? We really don't have the money to buy a whole different filter or heater this time, and we never put aside money for it since we didn't expect anything like this to happen. I'm worried that the fry will get sick and die without a filter and I'm also worried that the lack of filter for a few days will affect the male Gourami. Also, I have no clue what to feed Honey Gourami fry once they hatch, or what to do.
My wife and I were thinking that once the Gourami eggs hatch, we should place the male back into the large tank, keep the fry in their small tank, and then wait until the fry become free-swimming. Once they become free-swimming, we were going to poke some holes in a plastic water bottle, put a nylon stocking over the water bottle, put them in the water bottle, and then put the water bottle in our large tank and feed them fine crushed flakes and egg yolk. Would this be okay? And how long should we wait until we just let the babies swim free in the big tank with all the other fish? How should we go about transferring them from the small tank to the water bottle without damaging them?
In general, I just don't know what to do and my wife and I are puzzled and worried. We don't know what to do about the tank, the fry, the male Gourami, or how to raise them, what to expect, etc. Please help quickly, from what I've read these things can hatch in 24 hours.
Thank you!
We have a very large tank in which we house Cardinal Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Loaches, Shrimp, and a pair of Honey Gouramis. This tank has a heater and a filter. We also have a small plastic tank that does not have a filter or heater; we mainly use it as a place to keep our fish for about an hour while cleaning their tank. Today while cleaning their tank we noticed what we assumed was a bubble nest, as we had seen our male Gourami making one, but upon closer inspection we found these were actually eggs. We really believe that these eggs belong to our Gourami couple because our male is the only one who builds bubble nests actively, and he was also spending a LOT of time in the little corner he built it in as if guarding the nest.
Anyway, we transferred the eggs from our big tank into a tiny bowl while we cleaned their tank (since their big tank was dirty and we had to put the actual fish in our only other tank, the small one, while we cleaned it.) Once the big tank was clean and all of the fish were back inside of it, the small tank was free, and we put the eggs and the male Gourami in the small tank with some floating plants just as a quick google search suggested. He seemed a bit confused and shocked at first but after a few hours we checked on him again and he has his eggs neatly assigned in a little cluster in a corner.
The issue is, even though he seems ready, we... well, aren't. I've read that you should keep the male and his eggs in their own tank until the eggs hatch and then become free swimming, and then remove the male and raise the fry on their own; however, I'm very worried because the small tank we will have no choice but to keep the fry in doesn't have a filter. I really want these babies to make it, they mean so much to me and I want to keep a few, but I'm scared they won't make it.
I've tried to google search these things and I can't find anything on my circumstance; everything I can find is just "If you want to breed your Gouramis, place them in their own special tank and do the following..." But in my case, the fish bred in the wrong tank, and we only have one other tank to house the fry in. It doesn't have a filter and from what I understand, the fry have to live by themselves until they're big enough to not be eaten. What should I do? We really don't have the money to buy a whole different filter or heater this time, and we never put aside money for it since we didn't expect anything like this to happen. I'm worried that the fry will get sick and die without a filter and I'm also worried that the lack of filter for a few days will affect the male Gourami. Also, I have no clue what to feed Honey Gourami fry once they hatch, or what to do.
My wife and I were thinking that once the Gourami eggs hatch, we should place the male back into the large tank, keep the fry in their small tank, and then wait until the fry become free-swimming. Once they become free-swimming, we were going to poke some holes in a plastic water bottle, put a nylon stocking over the water bottle, put them in the water bottle, and then put the water bottle in our large tank and feed them fine crushed flakes and egg yolk. Would this be okay? And how long should we wait until we just let the babies swim free in the big tank with all the other fish? How should we go about transferring them from the small tank to the water bottle without damaging them?
In general, I just don't know what to do and my wife and I are puzzled and worried. We don't know what to do about the tank, the fry, the male Gourami, or how to raise them, what to expect, etc. Please help quickly, from what I've read these things can hatch in 24 hours.
Thank you!
