Sick of them

[Kaza]

Well I have had 5 batches of wrigglers from my golden snakeskins and each time they get to free swimming the parents eat them and then lay again within 24 hours. This time I though they might make it as the babies actually found mum and dad side and were feeding, but bugger me went outside a couple of hours later and they were both eating them and cleaning the breeding cone again. I have tried to take dad out but mum still eats them.

They are very attentive to the babies when they first hatch but as time goes by they seem to lose interest and want to breed again. This time I will take the cone out as soon as the babies are free swimming, but maybe they are just bad breeders?

[Trebs]

There are a few things that can cause pairs to eat their eggs. I have a pair of turks that are great parents but they eat their eggs/fry ever since I moved them to a tank right next to the laundry door. Feeling insecure can cause this behaviour.

Could too much traffic around the tank be a problem? How high off the ground are they?

[Merrilyn]

Kaza, how annoying. I'd split the pair up for a few weeks before trying again. They will eventually get there, but it can be soooo frustrating while they learn.

[goldenpigeon]

1 of the main problems is you may be feeding them to much. i dont mean you are overfeeding them but by the time the babies are free-swimming, they eat them, the lay again! this is about 5 or so days. the more you feed them and the more regularly they are fed the quicker they will lay again. once they have babies on them at least 3 days then i would start feeding them more so they will keep the babies healthy. if they are very good parents they might actually get so attached to the babies that the wont lay again untill the babies are talken out by you! i have a pair atm who have about 9 7mm babies and it has been 3 weeks since they have hatched. the parents have laid again twice since their hatching and every time they have eated the newborn babies but not their big babies! what are you feeding them?

[Kaza]

Thanks for the quick answers, well at the moment I have 2 pairs eating eggs/fry. Like trebs, I have one pair who are great parents however when I moved their tank they have been eating their eggs/fry ever since.
At first I know they were feeling insecure because there were another pair next door, so I put a white divider up so they couldnt see each other. At the moment these fish have wrigglers.
As for the golden snakeskins, I've never seen this behaviour before, lovingly look after the eggs and then first couple of days after they have hatched. However from that point they seem to lose interest eventually eating the fry day 1-2 free swimming.
These fish are outside, so get very little traffic, they are about 4 foot off the ground.

I find my fish dont tend to be interested in food whilst they are breeding so they only get 1-2 feeds a day.

I think you are lucky junior, most people I know have found that they eat their older babies to protect new fry.

Anyway the GSS have eggs due to hatch tomorrow, once they have hatched I will take dad out and they when free swimmming the cone and hopefully that will work.

One last problem, often they eat the babies after a water change (insecure) however they are only in a 2 foot tank and so I feel need daily water changes. But maybe it is a good idea to do WC every second day may spook them less?

[goldenpigeon]

what you could do is leave the water changes out for the first 3 days after hatching then resune doing a little more than normal every second day for the first week and a half. then you need daily. i do twice daily W/C on my breeding pair (when with fry) because they are only in an 80L tank (if any1 wants to donate a larger 1 ). but what ever suits best. when the pair are more experienced you could W/C more often.

i am lucky now but i had to go through about 25 spawns to get them to just raise a couple! they were mass egg eaters!

[Trebs]

I don't do a w/c for the first 10 days. I am them able to tap them straight into my bank of tanks which means I don't have to fiddle to much with the tanks. I'd suggest leaving them for the first 10 days or so then start the w/c's. Feed very sparingly maybe once every two days with dried food. As long as your filter is cycled you shouldn't have any issues.

[Kaza]

Thanks Trebs, they both are fry now, the first lot are due to go free swimming later today and the GSS fry were hatched this morning. I have left them completly alone, fed them lightly once a day, I have had no lights on and no one appart from me have looked at them. Fingers crossed this time. I have noticed the male GSS still making mock runs at the joint glass walk, even though he cant see the pair next door he knows they are still there. I think if this lot of fry are eaten I will move one pair to another tank.

[leanne31]

If they get eaten Karen let me know and I'll set my 2 foot up to put the other 3 month old babies in and you can put a pair in their tank but dont you give up like your've been saying your gonna do or else my baby supply will cease and that will be no good.

Leanne

[Kaza]

Leaane I am doing my best, wouldnt want to stop your supply of babies!
I woul'nt giveup just because they are not rearing their young, its a number of things including my $750.00 power bill and uni just keeps on getting more and more demanding. However if you want to come and do all the WC I might rethink my plans.