The Puffer Forum

Homer wrote:Thanks for the advice, i'll try and see what i can do about separating them since i'm a little short on tank space atm, but if worst comes to worst i guess i can put him at my friends lfs for a week or two since i know he has some tank space, just need to give him a heads up...

Dan if your reading this; have you got any advice on how to remove the eggs without taking out the whole piece of driftwood? since the piece of driftwood they've laid their eggs on is really big, and basically the center piece of the tank which they use to hide in and around so i don't think i'll be able to get it out and keep all my fingers

Also, what chances do you think the eggs have if i leave them in the tank to hatch? and how long would you expect it to take for the eggs to hatch roughly???

Thanks in advance for all the advice...

the eggs will be stuck to the wood i would suggest let this batch go and place a flat peice of slate in they should spawn on that if my two are anything to go by 10days - 3 weeks between spawnings then should be a lot easier to remove

Martin Hi. wrote:hi,

puffertt77 wrote: Why don't you get a baby box that floats at the top of the tank and put them in there. I cannot see why that wouldn't work

what is ab baby box that floats? something like this?

if yes: do never use this for puffer-larvae!
martin

Hey Martin

Yes that's exactly what I meant but with the partition and divider taken out

Would the puffer larvae injure it's self?

Martin Hi. wrote:hi,

puffertt77 wrote: Why don't you get a baby box that floats at the top of the tank and put them in there. I cannot see why that wouldn't work

what is ab baby box that floats? something like this?

if yes: do never use this for puffer-larvae!
martin

Thanks for all the help and input every ones given me... its been extremely useful and has definitely put me at a bit of ease... so a big to you all!!!

Martin, its lucky you i read this reply of yours, since i was this close (<------>) to trying and get the eggs out and put them into a hatchery that looked almost identical to that!!! so just a quick question, what makes these bad as a hatchery? is it the design or something else?

Dan, thanks for the heads up, i'll be sure to try and get a piece of slate into the tank for them so that if they decide to go at it again then "hopefully" they'll lay their eggs there instead... then it will just be a matter of me sticking my hand in and trying to get them out while keeping my hand safe...

Homer, I can't believe no one directed you to this article in our library:

library/puffers-in-focus/suvattibreeding/

Different species, but extremely similar behavior and care for the young.. hope it helps you some!

I wouldn't worry too much about this batch of fry, from what it sounds like if you want to raise them it is a LOT of work and they'll produce a ton, so better to be prepared for the next go-round.

Thanks for the link Myaj, and yeah, i do realize if they ALL make it then i'm going to have a hell of a lot of work on my hands, since trying to bring up that many would be next to impossible atm... On the other hand (as mean as this may sound), my other plan was/is to try and only save a few of the eggs (if i can get them off the driftwood without damaging them) and trying to raise them... since i'll be getting my 180G+ tank in under 2 months now, so maybe i can raise a few of them and then give them away to the few friends of mine who really wanted palembang and haven't gotten one yet...

Your LFS might buy them (if you trust them to actually take decent care of them).

^ there have been a few LFS's that have offered to take some of the babies off my hands if they survive, but from my perspective there is literally only 2 LFS' that i would trust with my puffers, the one thats really close to where i live and i actually know the owner of, and another one which specializes in puffers and rare fish, although sadly i don't know the owner of this shop.

But the shop which i know the owner well, has said he'd be willing to try and help me sell them if the time came, so at least that backup plan kinda works... as long as there aren't too many juveniles that survive?

the 2 suvs in the breeding guide are my two i had them off ian..... the male is one horrible puffer female is a darling always saying hello although she does try to get my hand all the time

hi,

Homer wrote: Martin, its lucky you i read this reply of yours, since i was this close (<------>) to trying and get the eggs out and put them into a hatchery that looked almost identical to that!!! so just a quick question, what makes these bad as a hatchery? is it the design or something else?

these hatcheries are only for bigger fishlarvae like guppies, platies and so on. pufferfishlarvae are much smaller and will just swim out of the hatcheries through the gabs on the side.
as pufferfish-larvae are very easy to raise on the one hand, you will probably loose them all if you don't get them out soon.
i wonder that they are still allive!
martin

^ Hey Martin,

Surprisingly its now day 3 since i've spotted the eggs (with no signs of the male wanting to eat them???), and i must say Homer (the male) is still guarding the eggs, and fanning them accordingly making sure they are getting enough oxygen??? As for the female, shes just been hanging out in her usual corner, although shes also been exploring a little bit (possibly looking for a new chill out area )

Dan, just wanted to say great article, definitely gave me a lot of insight into the breeding pattern etc, and i must say it seems a lot of what you said about your suvatti's seems to be true for the palembang as well, down to mating ritual, spawning, even the male blowing sand and inviting the female to check out the space after each time hes been cleaning...

As for latest update: i gave them a mussel to share last night (since i feed them every 3- 4 days), although the male only took a small slither, while the female basically polished off the rest of it as i was putting it in the tank... so i take it the male plans on possibly fasting till the fry are born? (Dan, did you male ever do this while guarding his eggs?)

Martin Hi. wrote:hi,

Homer wrote: Martin, its lucky you i read this reply of yours, since i was this close (<------>) to trying and get the eggs out and put them into a hatchery that looked almost identical to that!!! so just a quick question, what makes these bad as a hatchery? is it the design or something else?

these hatcheries are only for bigger fishlarvae like guppies, platies and so on. pufferfishlarvae are much smaller and will just swim out of the hatcheries through the gabs on the side.
as pufferfish-larvae are very easy to raise on the one hand, you will probably loose them all if you don't get them out soon.
i wonder that they are still allive!
martin

Wow I never realised they were that small!

Martin Hi. wrote:hi,
these hatcheries are only for bigger fishlarvae like guppies, platies and so on. pufferfishlarvae are much smaller and will just swim out of the hatcheries through the gabs on the side.

I've had bristlenose fry managing to swim out of them, so some of them can't hold bigger fry either.

Homer wrote: Surprisingly its now day 3 since i've spotted the eggs (with no signs of the male wanting to eat them???), and i must say Homer (the male) is still guarding the eggs, and fanning them accordingly making sure they are getting enough oxygen???

Yes it's making sure they get enough oxygen. Catfishes do the same (and here too, it's the males guarding the eggs).

Homer wrote: Dan, just wanted to say great article, definitely gave me a lot of insight into the breeding pattern etc, and i must say it seems a lot of what you said about your suvatti's seems to be true for the palembang as well, down to mating ritual, spawning, even the male blowing sand and inviting the female to check out the space after each time hes been cleaning...

Actual Ian (Rocker) wrote the article.. what Dan's saying is he bought the mated pair from Ian after Ian had raised several batches of fry.

^ oops, my bad... i guess i've really gotta learn to read between the lines

Troender wrote:

Martin Hi. wrote:hi,
these hatcheries are only for bigger fishlarvae like guppies, platies and so on. pufferfishlarvae are much smaller and will just swim out of the hatcheries through the gabs on the side.

I've had bristlenose fry managing to swim out of them, so some of them can't hold bigger fry either.

Homer wrote: Surprisingly its now day 3 since i've spotted the eggs (with no signs of the male wanting to eat them???), and i must say Homer (the male) is still guarding the eggs, and fanning them accordingly making sure they are getting enough oxygen???

Yes it's making sure they get enough oxygen. Catfishes do the same (and here too, it's the males guarding the eggs).

Ahhhhh, i would have thought considering the size of the eggs, the fry might have been big enough to avoid slipping through, but evidently not...

Any way, i was also wondering, is there any way to tell weather or not the eggs are fertile? i only ask coz i think i may have saw something wriggle around in one or two of the egg sacks today, but can't be 100% sure either since i could just be getting too excited and starting to see things