The fatheads/rosy reds (can they actually be rosy reds if they aren't red?) spawned over the weekend. I took the pvc pipe that the male had been guarding out of the tank and saw that there were a couple dozen eggs sticking to the inside surface. I took the pipe out, moved it to a half-filled 5 gallon tank, stood the pipe on one end, and put an airstone down in the middle of it.

All the minnows are wild type, but I'm hoping some or all of them are heterozygous for the xanthic morph.

Anyway, I had been wanted to breed them for years--but always had something else going on and never had the free tank space.

The male didn't seem too upset by the loss of the eggs. I replaced the pvc with a flowerpot resting on its side. He took up residence right away, and this morning there was a female in there with him.

Congratulations!

Be careful not to rip the young apart with the airstone once they hatch. I did that to brine shrimp a couple times before I figured out what was happening.

Thanks, Erica. I have the stone adjusted so that the air flow is pretty slow. Would that take care of it?

Congratulations!

Be careful not to rip the young apart with the airstone once they hatch. I did that to brine shrimp a couple times before I figured out what was happening.

Thanks, Erica. I have the stone adjusted so that the air flow is pretty slow. Would that take care of it?

I don't have any experience with fry and airstones, just with brine shrimp and air stones, so maybe minnow fry can handle turbulent flow and it'll be no problem. Some species of fish even need fast current over them as eggs so they don't fungus and die.
But when you see fry already hatched and swimming around it wouldn't hurt to make sure there's at least one part of the tank with very little current for them to escape to if the current in the main section is too strong for them.

Edited by EricaWieser, 14 February 2011 - 11:40 PM.

It seems to have worked out. About half the eggs fungused over, but the other half hatched, by the time I got home last night, in fact. They really absorb their yolk sacs fast after the leave the surface they were attached to as eggs. I added some infusoria last night, and some green water/infusoria this morning. They seemed to be eating, so, so far, so good.

Thanks, Erica. I have the stone adjusted so that the air flow is pretty slow. Would that take care of it?