rosy barb

Question
QUESTION: hi
i am aeon from philippines.
    i have a pet fish which is a red jewel fish and i have pair of them.i put them in a tank with a 200 liters of water with some flat stones .last few days my pair show a spawning activity and later i witnessed the activity while the female is laying its eggs...i noticed this past 3 days after the eggs are produced, they simply gone!!dont know where?im worrying.....
i would like to know if they are veracious on their eggs and fond of eating them...
but as far as  i know that they have an intense brood care so i think why they are going to eat those eggs,,,????

in terms of food im feeding them with flakes and some worms,larvae of the mosquitoes..

ANSWER: Hi Aeon,

Did you know that your Red Jewel Cichlids are actually mouth-brooders? This means that your female will deposit the eggs. Approximately 2-4 days later, the female will put the eggs into her mouth to incubate them, and let them develop. Don't be alarmed - this is normal behavior. The eggs will develop inside the female's mouth, and about a week or so later, she will let out free-swimming fry.

They are great parents to their fry, they would never eat them (they just put them in their mouths, to give them protection).

Your feeding routine is great, keep up the good work!

Good Luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you for answer!!!
i would like to know if the fry are free swimming, then what if the food for them is not available,may i know what are alternative food items?larvae of mosquitoes is it ok or chopped w0rms?
last day,i changed their water coz it is already not good,--not clean,would it affect their mouth brooding(female fish)?


ANSWER: Hi Aeon,

The fry are free swimming, and will leave the mother's mouth. The mother will provide excellent parental care, and if threatened in any way, she will herd the fry back into her mouth for protection and safety. What a great fish!

Yes, mosquito larvae can be fed to them, and also chopped worms (washed and chopped into tiny chunks). You can also feed the fry what you feed the parents, but cut or divided into bite-sized pieces suitable for the baby fish. Other fry food are available at your local fish store, and you can see what's available.

If your water quality is not too good, I suggest that you perform 10% water changes to keep up the water conditions for the fry. This will help a lot.

Good Luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: aeon from philippines
i have 2 female and 2 male rosy barb,,,
how would i know if the female is ready to spawn and theres a courting activity?
is it looking to the belly is the indication that the fish is gravid?
what should be the environment of my tank with 150 gallons?
can i not mixed them with other fishes coz my aim for them is to breed them successfully,is it ok or not ?  
what should be my parameters for them so that i can breed them well successfully and earn a chances of high survival rate of fry?
do they exert parental care for their eggs?
ty

Answer
Hi Aeon,

Here's a good website to check out about Rosy Barb breeding.

http://maximwebsite.tripod.com/rosybarbbreeding.html

As a quick overview, the water conditions should be:

Temperature: 78F
pH (acidity): 6.5-7.0 is best
Hardness: relatively soft

The parents will NOT care for the eggs, so it is important to either separate the pair to breed, or remove the eggs as soon as you see them. (This is not a good idea, in case they spawn at night.) Other fish will eat the eggs as soon as they see them! (Like caviar!)

The female will fill with eggs, and this is noticeable. she will also develop a pink-ish red color, and will be brighter than normal.

The large tank should ideally be planted with a dense bottom growing plant such as Java Moss, if you cannot setup a separate tank for breeding. The Moss will 'guard' the eggs.

Good Luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!