update on gouramis and a few questions

[flutterbye75]

I had two gold gouramis in a 10g that spawned yesterday, so I took out the female whe all the male was doing was chasing her away anytime she even looked at the nest.....so far the male is eagerly taking care of the eggs....I have read alot on the internet, learned alot, but I still have questions that I cant seem to find.

1. Do I remove the male? and if so when?

2. Can I turn of the lights at night, or should I turn them off? Im worried that the temp will drop without the lights on. They spawned at about 84-86 temp. It cools off at night to about 80 in the tank.

3. What is the optimal temp to keep the tank at?

4. How can I create? culture? or make infusoria? I looked on the internet and there was a site that said to take some tank water and add some dried leaves to it and let it sit in the sun for a few days, the water will go cloudy and then I will have infusoria. I have tried this but the water has not gone cloudy yet. I will need to feed the fry in the next day or so.

Any help on these questions is greatly appreciated since this is my first spawn.

[flutterbye75]

is there anyone that can answer my questions? I really could use some advice.

[Damon]

I'll try to answer them for you
1. Remove the father after the majority of the fry are freeswimming. He may eat them at that point

2. Again leave the lights on 24hrs a day until the fry are freeswimming. If he cant see them (and they are tiny) he cany put them back into the nest.

3. Try to stabalize the temp at 82 degrees. If this involves putting your hand in the tank leave it be. You can adjust it later if there are any problems.

4. You should have already had the food before you tried to spawn. Its not too late though. There is a product availbale called liquidfry # 1 and #2. Ones for livebearers and one for egglayers. If you have some java moss throw it into the tank on the opposite side of the nest. Add a few drops of the liquidfry on top of the moss. If you don't have access to the moss, add it onto your sponge filter. If you cant find the product, boil an egg and put a tiny, tiny piece into a hankerchief and dip it a few times. Do this as a last resort as egg yolk, while very nutritious, will foul water quickly.

Http://www.livefoodcultures has cultures you can buy for bbs, daphnia, microworms, vinegar eels, grindal worms, whiteworms, and springtails. All good foods for bettas growing up.

[flutterbye75]

Thanks for your quick response, but I did go and buy some liquid fry food from my lfs yesterday. The fry still have a bit of their yolk sac this morning. I will probably start feeding them tonight or tomorrow morn. As far as the live food, I currently have 2 jars going and plan on starting another one today, I just needed a quick fix, as the infusoria wasnt ready yet.

So, all the sites, as well as yourself, tell me to remove the male when they are all free swimming, but what does that look like. The fry are hatched, and their yolks are almost absorbed, but they mostly hang out on the top of the water, still under the floating plants, and the male is still blowing bubbles for them and catching them when they swim downwards, and putting them back at the top. So to say to take him out when they are free swimming, doesnt help me much. Are the fry classified as free swimming now? Or are they still too young to be seperated from Dad?

I appreciate all the help you gave, it was more than anyone else could give!