# RBP eggs



## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

hello everyone. i'm new on the forum here. been looking at it for a few months now but never signed up







.

the question i have is, is there any way to tell if the eggs have been firtilized? i came home on sunday and noticed i had eggs in my tank and the P's decided to re-decorate the plants. i have a 55 gal tank with an external canister filter. i went out and bought a piece of glass to keep the parents away from the eggs because it looked like the mother was eating them. i don't know if she was or not but it looked like she was trying to eat off the bottom of the tank.

now i've read on here that the gestation period is usually 2-3 days but so far no babies have hatched. i'm just wondering if there's any way to tell if there is going to be babies or if the male is shootin blanks. the eggs still just look like yellow yolk sacks. it doesn't look like there's anything forming inside. so i'm jus tryin to figure out if i should get one of my other tanks ready or if this is going to be a wasted batch of eggs. any help would be appreciated.

thanks in advance









also another question i have is how often will the pair lay eggs? an employee at my local pet store said usually once a year unless major water changes are done. just another thing that would be nice to know so i can keep an eye on the tank


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

picture of the parents and of the eggs


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

welcome to p-fury

they look fertilized


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## maniac_richboy (Feb 1, 2004)

if the eggs are yellow, then yes, they are fertilized. If not, then it'll be white/clear. you'll eventually see some of the white eggs among the batch, but you should try and remove it as it can spread 'fungus' to your other eggs.

it seems like this is your first time, because when piranhas are finish breeding, then the parents usually guard the eggs. This is done by blowing the gravel or fanning the eggs of some sort. So your female/male wasn't trying to eat the eggs, it was actually caring for it. it takes about 3 days for the eggs to hatch and another couple of days for the babies to swim (after their yolk-sac are gone). My best bet is to siphon the eggs out into another tank (bare bottom), and raise them from there.

Once your piranhas have bred, they will breed for you often (approx. every 2-3 weeks), assuming that you do regular water changes and monitor the water parameters. Some people have experience breeding again after the eggs have hatched or the babies are free-swimming.

BTW, welcome to P-fury!!


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

thank you. i was getting worried becuase i thought after 2 days you would be able to see something in the egg that would show it was alive. so far i haven't spotted any white eggs but i'll have to take a closer look.

yes this is the first time i have known there were eggs. i had 3 baby P's 1 died, in my 20 g tank after i moved my P's to the 55 g tank. this is the first time i've spotted the eggs before they died or hatched. i'm assuming died because that was at the beginning of summer and this is the first i've seen of eggs since. guess i'm going ot have to go out and buy another tank







how big would be recommended? i was thinking 1-2 10 G tanks for now. see what happens from there.....


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## maniac_richboy (Feb 1, 2004)

yeah, 10gal or 20gal are fine for now. if you do a search within this section or look at the topics that are pinned on top of this section, you'll find more information on the process of raising the frys and what to do. Don't worry if the first couple of batches aren't very successful, you'll eventually get it right and raise lots of frys. Good luck..and in a few weeks or months, you can update us on the babies.


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

well i just got home and took a look at the the tank and the eggs are bouncing around on the bottom so i'm assuming their hatching







. took a closer look to see if i could find any white eggs but i didn't see any so their either hidden among the rocks or theirs none (wishful thinking). i think i'm just going to let this batch hatch in my big tank then move them over to a 10g since the hatching has already started. so far i know that after about 5 days to start feeding them baby brine shrimp and then after about 2 mnths onto feeders. unfortunatly i can't see to find a place where i can get live BBS or BBS for hatching so all i have to work with is frozen cubes. hope that works.

once they hatch i'll post some pics


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## AnKleBiTR (Mar 31, 2005)

JeffS said:


> well i just got home and took a look at the the tank and the eggs are bouncing around on the bottom so i'm assuming their hatching
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Congratulations on the new additions. 
Here is a link to an online dealer that has fry foods and other supplies. The vendor is "Big Al's", and they have a very good reputation. Best of luck, and I can't wait to see some of those pics!


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

View attachment 82405

an updated picture. their starting to look more like fish. 
View attachment 82406

a little piece i like to call impending death


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

o bad idea to feed them feeders and bad idea to put them in there with the eggs.

syphon the egss ou into a 10 gal with a sponge filter.


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

the parents and the feeders are seperated from the eggs by plexi glass. so there's no way either will get to the eggs. if there's another problem besides the chance of them getting eatin please let me know. my friend was nice enough to lend me a 25G tank that he wasn't using........ on one condition. it had a few leaks and i have to fix that so i'm waiting for the silicone to set before i move them. i also need to go and buy a sponge filter.

what kind of syphon do you use to transfer? just a normal gravel cleaner? or is there something that is easier on the fish? also since their already hatched should i just wait till they get a bit bigger to move them or is it alright to move them while there still stuck on the bottom?


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

JeffS said:


> the parents and the feeders are seperated from the eggs by plexi glass. so there's no way either will get to the eggs. if there's another problem besides the chance of them getting eatin please let me know. my friend was nice enough to lend me a 25G tank that he wasn't using........ on one condition. it had a few leaks and i have to fix that so i'm waiting for the silicone to set before i move them. i also need to go and buy a sponge filter.
> 
> what kind of syphon do you use to transfer? just a normal gravel cleaner? or is there something that is easier on the fish? also since their already hatched should i just wait till they get a bit bigger to move them or is it alright to move them while there still stuck on the bottom?


ya a gravel cleaner would be fine or even a garden hose. They are not stuck to the bototm they are just situated there so they should be fine. Keep us updated


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## dc2rtek (Oct 27, 2005)

nicely done..hehe if i had breeding pair piranhas i would probobly not notice the eggs since they look alike with the gravel until i see the fry chilling around.


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

View attachment 82874

picture of some of the babies. sorry it's so hard to see them

View attachment 82875

my dog guarding my tank

View attachment 82876

sorry about the poor quality of the close up pics









for those of you on here that breed to sell the babies. who do u sell them to? do you just do it by yourself of do try and sell them to local petstores? also how long will the fish live in a plastic bag if i sell them to people out of town? or how do you transfer the fish for long trips?


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## duende_df (Aug 15, 2004)

WELCOME to the site.
Good luck with the babies. 4 of my rbp were laying eggs also they hatch but live for almost two weeks and die.







my mistakes were 1 the tempeture was changing (cheap ass heater







and 2 i put in a tank were i had rocks







teh babies got stuck in the rocks and coudn't go backwords or reverse







but it look that ur doing alright man. Can't wait to see the upgrade pics


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## Slim (Jan 9, 2005)

You sell them to local pet stores. Mine take 1.25 a piece and they are dumb about it too. They will put 24 in the same tank together and i tell them not to but they still do it. Now they have 1, 3 inch in the 10 gallon wonder how that happened?


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

lol. i'm sure they all die of old age









you sell yours for only 1.25 a piece??? i have people willing to pay $10 selling them privatly


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

Slim said:


> You sell them to local pet stores. Mine take 1.25 a piece and they are dumb about it too. They will put 24 in the same tank together and i tell them not to but they still do it. Now they have 1, 3 inch in the 10 gallon wonder how that happened?


y is it wrong to put 24 in the same tank?


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## piranha98 (Jun 15, 2005)

how do you tell a difference between a male and a female


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

the only reason i can tell is because one of my P's has something that looks like a cataract(sp?) in it's right eye. i'm assuming that one is the female because it was the other one that was guarding the eggs after they laid them. besides that no one on here really seems to have a definiative way of telling them apart. some say body shape can tell the difference but i'm not sure about that


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## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

JeffS said:


> the only reason i can tell is because one of my P's has something that looks like a cataract(sp?) in it's right eye. i'm assuming that one is the female because it was the other one that was guarding the eggs after they laid them. besides that no one on here really seems to have a definiative way of telling them apart. some say body shape can tell the difference but i'm not sure about that


Usually the male piranha guards the nest so you are correct about the guarding. The only other thing is to watch them "do it". If they catch you watching them, you might get called a pervert by your piranhas.


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

well it is my sad duty to inform everyone that out of the approximate 150-200 babies i had only about 20 are still alive









but on a lighter note. i watched my P's do it last night and now the bottom of my tank is covered in eggs again









does anyone have any ideas as to why they would all die. it pretty much happened in one night. i woke up and they were all gone. any help or suggestions would be appreciated


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## Phtstrat (Sep 15, 2004)

JeffS said:


> does anyone have any ideas as to why they would all die. it pretty much happened in one night. i woke up and they were all gone. any help or suggestions would be appreciated


Could have something to do with you placing them in what looks like an unfiltered/uncycled tank. Therefor, my guess would be ammonia problems.

If I were you, I would have a cycled 10g ready at all times. Use a sponge filter.


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## mantis (May 16, 2003)

Phtstrat said:


> does anyone have any ideas as to why they would all die. it pretty much happened in one night. i woke up and they were all gone. any help or suggestions would be appreciated


Could have something to do with you placing them in what looks like an unfiltered/uncycled tank. Therefor, my guess would be ammonia problems.

If I were you, I would have a cycled 10g ready at all times. Use a sponge filter.
[/quote]










Have you read over the pinned articles at the top of this fourm? theres a lot a great info.


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## LGHT (Nov 9, 2005)

i've have breed Angel fish a lot in the past and since they both come from the same region and same water habbits etc, you can just follow a good step by step guide that I have used time and time again. Based on your post i'm surprised any of them are still alive. Check out this post and just follow it step by step for your next batch and you'll have about a 80-90% hatch rate. Just make sure you get a larger sponge that can allow more bacteria to colonize. That and make sure to keep the water crystal clear. i would take anything that wasn't an egg and remove it with a turkey baster before and after they hatched.

*BREEDING STEP BY STEP*


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

there was a back mounted filter system with some panty hose over it to stop the fish from getting sucked in the earlier picture. it was jus hard to see. i did break down and buy a sponge filter. also an ammonia test kit. i tested it last night and the levels were good so i'm hoping this will only help.

here's a pic from the new batch that was laid moday night

View attachment 83998


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

well appearently i own the 2 horniest piranha's on the face of the earth. their reproducing every 2 weeks now







i guess that's a good thing because my survival rate is about 30%. all the eggs will hatch but after about a week. they start to die off. not sure why.... i feed them every second day. just thought i'd give an update. feel free to give advice


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## mantis (May 16, 2003)

lift your sponges filters off the bottom, it'll make more room for your little guys.

how long are you leaving the eggs in the parent tank?

do some seaches in this forum, you'll see some of the various methods members have been having sucsess with, it will give you some ideas. There is alot of trial and error involved.

Sounds like your doing good

keep us posted


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## JeffS (Nov 1, 2005)

well this is my 3rd batch of eggs. the first batch i left in until they hatched and were swiming around before moving them. the second batch was in there about 2 days after they were laid before i moved them and the third is still in there and was laid yesterday sometime


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