length of gestation???

shoura

Premium Member
Hi people!
My male Banggai has been holding eggs/fry for 28 days now---is this within the normal range of gestation length?? should I try and stimulate him somehow to spit them out? :confused:
Thanks for your help! (This is my first experience of fish reproduction!)
 
thanks for the responses!
I have actually searched many articles including yours and they mostly say 21 to 24 days, I read of one person whose fish held on for 29 days. Mine started holding on Wed 14th May so it's been 31 days so far!!!
Is this a record???
More importantly can it be detrimental to the fry to be held too long?
 
Further question: I plan on removing the male and fry into a separate tank--either before he spits them out or soon after. I want to keep the male away from the female for a while to feed him up and give him a chance to recover before she gets him pregnant again!! Is there any risk of the male eating the fry if I keep them together? Would it be better if I keep the male in the sump for a while---although it is a bit on the small side?
Thanks !
 
At this point I'd be inclined to get the male to spit them out. Keep the fry separate from the male.
 
He doesn't open his mouth much so I can't really get a look inside!
How do I get him to release the babies???
 
Netting him usually is enough to get him to release. I would set up a fry tank immeadiately and then net him, expecting him to release the fry during the transfer. If that doesn't work, let him sit in the fry tank until he releases or chase him around the tank with a net. There are other ways to get them to release, but these methods have worked for me in the past and are not as stressful as the others.
 
well I spent a frustrating day chasing him round the display tank and failing to catch him----so I tried the "lights out for an hour then switch back on" trick and that worked great, caught him immediately and transferred him to a bowl of tank water then to the small tank. He spat out 2 babies in the process but hasn't shown any interest in feeding yet so maybe there are more to come.....we'll see what tomorrow brings....
 
Well, no further babies during the night----all this for only 2 babies (neihter of which I can see this morning, but there are rocks in the tank so they could be anywhere)
The female is full of eggs again I think, which would explain why she was doing the shivering dance against the male yesterday...How long will she keep those eggs inside her without the male being around? And how long before she produces another batch of eggs if I reintroduce the male???
 
Hello again....
The male Banggai was very quiet and still for a few days and hardly ate at all but now he seems to be perking up a lot and is back to being the little glutton that he was pre-pregnancy!:lol:
I have seen it written that he should be kept away from the female for about 1 month---is this correct?
The female is full of eggs and looks fit to burst!!! What will happen to these eggs---she was doing her shimmy at the male just before I separated them 4 days ago and was obviously full of eggs at that point....Do you think they will just get resorbed into her system or will she let them go and they will be fish-food?? she can hardly carry them until the male reappears!!
 
Usually they will get reabsorbed. It's important to get some weight back on the male. Folks doing serious breeding will generally get several males and add a different male in with the female while the first male is recovering.
 
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