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Any ideas how I can collect Harlequin Rasbora eggs in my Zebra tank?

Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:11 am
by Fish Fin-atic
I have a group of 10 Harlequins which spawn regularly in the roots of the Pothos plants I have in the tank. I am watching one pair right now repeatedly spawning. If I try to catch the pair, I will disrupt the tank, plus the likelyhood of actually catching those particular 2 fish is pretty low (they school up tight when scarred). So I was wondering if I could put something in there to catch some eggs, and raise some baby Harlequins; has anyone done this before? I know that they are supposed to lay eggs on the undersides of leaves, but mine just seem to scatter them in the current under the roots. Any ideas, or actual experience in this area from anyone?

Re: Any ideas how I can collect Harlequin Rasbora eggs in my Zebra tank?

Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2018 4:19 pm
by TwoTankAmin
I do not know if this will work, but you could try adding a spawning mop to the tank. Maybe they will place some eggs there. Then you can pull the mop and hatch them in their own space. They are very tiny fry and will need infusoria to eat at first.

If you are serious about wanting to get fry that survive, then you need to think about a species tank. Harlequins also love to eat their own eggs. Ypu need to remove the parents fight after they spawn. In addition, most fish consider eggs to be on the menu. My Montezuma swordtails loved cory eggs for ex. I would often see a sword with a cory egg still stuck to its lips before it sucked it down.

Re: Any ideas how I can collect Harlequin Rasbora eggs in my Zebra tank?

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2018 11:34 pm
by Fish Fin-atic
Thanks for the reply; I was considering the spawning mop as well, but I'm worried that it might tangle up the BN plecos I have in there (I've seen them get pretty tangled in the green nets when I net them out) not sure if that's an actual concern or not, but I may just hunt them down and remove them for a few weeks while I try the mops?
I almost always do species tanks when attempting to spawn, but in this case, the tank houses my Zebras and the Harlequins are there as a calming top-water fish for the Zebras to feel more at ease, so to remove them to their own tank would defeat the purpose of having them around. I just thought I'd be able to have them in there, and save some of the eggs to hatch out as a fun breeding project.
I do see them fight quite violently at times, but I assumed that was male/male rivalry and not the pairs fighting - the tank is large enough, with enough hiding space, and enough Harlequins to spread aggression, that I think it should be alright if I leave them in there. And thanks for the tip on infusoria, I didn't know the eggs/fry were that tiny, but I have plenty of green water, each time I feed the BN pleco breeding tank with cucumber or zucchini, the water goes slightly green, so I'm covered for infusoria.
Anyhow, thanks for the response, I will give this a try after I make up a few mops.

Re: Any ideas how I can collect Harlequin Rasbora eggs in my Zebra tank?

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2018 10:55 pm
by TwoTankAmin
Sorry, for the slow reply.

Almost all plecos get caught in nets. It's their odontile growth that gets caught. I use a brine shrimp net for fish that fit, it has a finer mesh cloth than standard nets.

I doubt bn would explore nets unless algae is on them. You can also try floating plants, Especially ones which get decent root growth. These are not threat to the bn but will snag eggs. The problem is you need to be pulling the plants to a hatching tank or the eggs are likely to be lunch.

My first newborn fry to survive ammonia I was dosing into a tank to insure it was cycled were zebra danios. i had moved floating plants from the tank with the adults into the new tank. One night I opened the lid to add some drops of ammonia and I saw movement in the plants. It was tiny danio fry. Needless to say the dosing ceased.