Dwarf gourami is pregnant. What now?

[Sylvia27]

Hi:

I have a dwarf gourami that is pregnant. I don't know what to do now.
In the same tank are a couple of angels who in the past have eaten their own eggs.

I have a plastic breeding box, but from what I understand, the male fish needs to fertilize the eggs, so the eggs need to remain accessible for a while.
How can I see they have been fertilized?
Can I place them in the frybox after?
Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Sylvia

[Puffer Pita]

IME and research, dwarf gourami will ONLY mate and spawn in a separate tank on their own, no water movement at all, no filter, and live plants. He will build an extensive nest with bubbles and pieces of plants, then when its ready and she's willing, they'll dance, he'll turn her upside down, and while upside-down, she'll lay the eggs and he'll fert them. Then he'll put another layer of bubbles and plants under them. The female will then need to be removed, as he will become very aggressive towards her, and once the eggs start to hatch, he'll need to be removed or he'll eat them.

I recently had mine do this. It took several weeks and was fascinating to watch.

If they are not given a place to spawn, she'll either drop the unfertilized eggs or her body will reabsorb them.

[Sylvia27]

Thanks for your reply Tina.

Well, in my situation, the mating has taken place in a tank with other fish, ventilation and live plants.

The fish is pregnant. I put her in a breeding box, but then, I'm not sure what to do. I will put the male in there as well. The eggs will hopefully get fertilized the way you describe it, whereafter they will fall under the griddle of the breeding box.

I have a 5 gallon fishbowl where I could put them, but it's not heated.
Would you recommend me to put them (the gourami family) or the fry in there?

Sylvia

[Puffer Pita]

I wouldn't recommend putting them in an unheated bowl.

[Sylvia27]

It will be room temperature and it's pretty warm in my house.
I can put the 2 dwarf gouramis in there.

The only alternative would be to leave the fish in the big tank with the other fish. I'm afraid the breeding box is too small to accomodate 2 gouramis doing a bubble dance...

Outside the breeding box, the eggs will be eaten right away.

Then I have another question. You mention they only mate in an environment without plants, but then they use pieces of plants for their nests?

Sylvia

[Puffer Pita]

Sorry, I wrote that badly. I meant no water movement, no filter, but WITH live plants. I apologize for confusing you.

If the only alternative is the 5g tank, then you could use that but make sure its cycled. I'm not sure room temp is going to be warm enough, as I've read they need it to be low to mid 80s to spawn, but you could try it. I definitely wouldn't attempt it in a breeder box though. Use some filter media, gravel, decor, any sort of surface area you can from an established tank to seed it and speed up the cycle.

The eggs won't fall, they get stuck up in the bubble nest with a layer of bubbles and plant pieces above and below, they're sandwiched in-between. The eggs hatch in there and the fry stay there for about 3 days before venturing out.