Looking for some information

[mjgolds]

Hi! I've got a 150 gallon with community fish like tetras and 7 discus. Over the past year there have been eggs and there are atleast 2 breeding pairs. Friday we noticed a wild pair defending wigglers. Eggs have never made it to this stage in the tank. Each day they move the wigglers to a different location and they are doing very good defending them.

My questions are - the wigglers are atleast 3 days old - when will they become free swimming? How long were they eggs before becoming wigglers? Should I remove them at any point? I know my chances of having baby discus are still slim but is there a chance any of these guys will survive?

Update - just w/in the past hour the wigglers have gone to free swimmers (or atleast most of them) ... they are attaching to the Mom. I've read other posts and plan to leave lights on for them.

What are their chances of survival??

[Hollowman]

The chances of raising fry in a community tank are slim, they make tasty snack for the dither fish. Early free swimming is probably the most dangerous time. Getting wilds to breed is excitng anyway, so if you want to take it further, I would invest in a breeding tank just for them.

Time line for laying is, once he eggs are laid you are looking at 3 days until they hatch, another 2.5 - 3 days to become free swimming.

Photos please

Hollowman :)

[mjgolds]

So, this is the most dangerous phase ... free swimming. I can now understand why. There have been a couple that have ended up getting away from the parents and the neons are trying to snack - luckily those 2 have found their way back - but I'm still hoping for that slim possiblity that just one or two survive. It seems each time they spawn they get alittle further along - so to have free swimmers for the first time is exciting! I'll see what type of photos I can get.