Fundulopanchax Deltaense ( Help )

[Rhody Fish]

Hi all,
I have a pair of wild Deltaense that after a couple of months of maitaining I've decided to put to work. I had noticed the eggs would get fungus a lot so I decided to condition them for a month separately then try to breed them. I set up a 5g with a layer of peat and a drop or two of Methylene Blue. I left them in this set up for a week and only feed them a couple of black worms every other day. At the end of the week I removed the fish and the peat. I had at lease ten eggs and they all looked really good and none with fungus. I collected these about a month ago and have no idea how long to store them.

I have two questions: Is this a good set up to breed this SP
and can you spot eyed up eggs with a 5x
magnifying glass.

Thanks in advance for any help
Peter

[keehoe]

Hi peter, i have not kept F.P. before but i suppose its egg would be similar to any other species except bigger and easier to see. The light source is very important when you are checking for eggs (or verifying the condition of the egg). You will find it much easier with natural sunlight or full spectrum FL light.

I suppose if it works for you, it is a good setup.

[KillieOrCory]

Hi Peter,

You should be able to see eyed up eggs without needing strong magnification. All you are looking for is the eye ring, which is quite clear to see agains the fry's dark body.

It will look something like this:


Depending on the temperature I would imagine they'll take 6-8weeks to hatch (faster if you were water incubating). Though this is based on how long my sjoestedti takes to hatch. I never bred deltaense.