# eggs laid? female killed



## James Blake (May 18, 2005)

I came home to see one of my bigger piranha biten right down to the bone, there was a large egg sac containing what i think could be 1000 eggs or more. some were in her and some were scattered around the gravel. there are orange in color and no one is defending them? i am puzzled, it has now been 24 hours should a syphon them out to another tank or is it a lost cause. what is my next step?


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

i dont know because it sounds as if the female was killed and that is why there is eggs every were not because they spawned i think they should hatch in 50 hours if they we even fertalized by the male so wait 50 hours if you dont see litlle fishys by then dump em


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## kfreeman (Feb 14, 2008)

Eggs are not fertilized until they exit the female..in the nest the male will fertilize after a very lengthy (sometimes short) courtship. There is no use in siphoning them unless you are going to do a quick clean of the tank which I would highly advise. Cut your losses and save your water...get rid of them. If the male did kill her (sometimes the courtship is violent) I doubt he would have fertilized the eggs.
The color of the egs is strange. How long had she been dead before you found her? Are there any other P's in the tank?


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## StryfeMP (Apr 26, 2007)

^^^ I Agree. Are there any other P's in the tank? For the eggs to be orange, they must have been fertilized, or they would be clear and pretty see through; strange.


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

sorry guys i missed the whole egg color thing oh well iprobley should have left this one up to you stryfe


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## StryfeMP (Apr 26, 2007)

I mean I agree with what you said as well pirayaman, that the eggs were probably scattered from the females stomach being ripped apart. But then again we really can't tell because we don't know if there were only 2 fish in the tank, or if there are any others. Well, I just read James Blake's tank list and fish stocked list under his post and well, I think he has or had 7 reds in there from 5-7inches? JB, I'm pretty sure that a pair has formed from your fish and the pair does get pretty aggressive, so I'm guessing that the female that you found was stepping over the pairs boundaries and wound up dead. Now, if the eggs are orange, I would siphon out the eggs and put it in a 10 gallon tank because I'm pretty sure that they'll hatch. Was there a nest that was built? I also believe that the eggs were scattered about because there was a lot of aggression in your tank.


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## angeli697 (Jul 5, 2007)

well it sounds like they might be gonners. idk tho, wait about 2 days, or so. if they don't hatch, then i guess they're caviare.


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## James Blake (May 18, 2005)

update, most of the eggs turned white and i syphoned them out down the drain. no one was protecting the "nest". i did a 50% WC to get all the crap out as well as a gravel vac... there are still a few orange eggs but i left less than 25 in there.


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## StryfeMP (Apr 26, 2007)

If you're looking forward to them breeding again, I'm pretty sure that there's a pair in your tank. Any pictures?


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## James Blake (May 18, 2005)

i can add pics on friday. i dont know if there is a pair because i had a female full of eggs and she was attacked and got killed, this is the second time in the last year and a bit i have found an injured/dead piranha and they both have been bearing eggs.


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## DemDesBri (Feb 28, 2007)

Man that has gotta hurt to have seen your female P like that. I am sorry for your loss!


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