Belly slider parents produce belly slider fry

[turaco]

I had raised some Austrolebias duraznensis(1 healthy male & few slider females) & have managed to collect some eggs & hatched them. The result: Most fry turned out to be sliders other than a few healthy ones . Anyone experienced these before?

[TyroneGenade]

Austrolebias are notorius for giving belly-slider problems. Using COLD water to hatch them is the best way of dealing with the problem.

I do not beleive that belly-sliders will lay eggs that will hatch to yeild belly-sliders. There is no evidence for that.

Regards

[whuntley]

I agree with Tyrone, that the tendency to produce belly sliders probably is more environmental than inheritable.

In addition to colder hatch water, other factors may be just as important. I suspect belly sliders happen more often with eggs that have been held a bit too long or stored too warm.

I have had a few adult-onset cases of belly sliders, but almost never see the phenomenon in newly-hatched babies. Maybe just lucky, but also maybe because I am so impatient that I rarely push eggs beyond a proper hatch date. I usually base hatch decisions on when at least 2/3 of the eggs I can find have the complete gold ring around the iris, and I rarely rely on the calendar alone to determine hatch time.

Wright

[stormhawk]

Gan, did you do the usual cold-water with O2 tab wetting method?

By the way, the water plays a role as well. If we use water straight from the tap, the levels of chloramine present can be lethal for the hatching fry.

I use water that has been kept in the fridge for my own consumption. I basically leave a bottle of water in the fridge to be cooled and then I use the cold water and O2 tablets to hatch out the fry. Thats what I usually do.

[whuntley]

It is very interesting that no one around here uses oxygen tabs (they are not even available, AFAIK) yet most of the time we get quite good hatches.

I learned a long time ago not to use anti-chloramine treatment, as it kills all infusoria and can starve the smaller babies quickly. [Most killies have no residual yolk sac.] Our bottled spring water at the grocery store is an excellent source of non-chloraminated water, but I'm now on an untreated well and don't need it.

About 90% of the time when I have a major sudden loss of babies, I can put the bodies under a microscope and find evidence of Velvet around the gill area. It is never visible to the unaided eye on small babies, killing them long before the skin ever shows any sign.

The problem with most Velvet (of the less virulent forms) is that the adult fish can carry sub-clinical infections for a long time, and never show a symptom until badly stressed. I like to take some Java Moss from a tank that has been cleared of any signs of Velvet (no fish for a few weeks, or a good recent dose of salt and acriflavin) and add it to the baby container with one drop of Liquifry No. 1 to get the infusoria to bloom.

I often add an airstone with a tiny trickle of air to the hatching container, too. The purpose is to induce very gentle currents and to break up any tendency to form a surface film.

Wright

[turaco]

Jian Yang, I hatch the eggs in air conditioned room. The water should be cold enough. Didn't use oxygen tablet as it wasn't available at that moment.

[stormhawk]

Gan, if you still need the O2 tabs the shop at TB still has them. I bought several the other day.