can't find much info on this

[OrandaMan]

I woke up this morning to find one of my harlequin rasboras with a swollen belly (that answers my question about whether the recent behavior I've seen was a dominance thing or mating). How soon should I put her in a breeder trap?

[Rico]

not sure since im not familiar with breeding smal fish but i think the trap would be useless if you dont have the male in there. i think the eggs are fertilized as they release them.

[OrandaMan]

Yeah... just got that from wikipedia, of all places.

In that case, I'll probably find them under a leaf of my red crypt (the only broad leaf in there). I'll keep an eye out for it.

Thanks.

[Mzungu]

Huh, interesting. I always thought they were egg scatterers? What else is in the tank with them?


I would keep a sharp eye out in the morning hours. Fish eggs are a delicacy in almost every tank.

[OrandaMan]

A dwarf gourami, two platies (recent parents themselves), a Boesemani rainbow and a gold dojo.

And reading wikipedia tells me they breed in a really strange way. I'll get the link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_rasbora#Reproduction

Thanks for the tip about the morning hours. I'll definitely keep an eye out.

[Mzungu]

That's right! Now I remember - and someone has even posted pictures of their Harlequins spawning and the eggs here on HFB. Thanks for the link, too! :)

[Mzungu]

If they do spawn, what are your plans? Just curious. :)

[Mzungu]

Well, no pictures, but here's another thread:

http://www.houstonfishbox.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=23440

[Mzungu]

In the above linked thread, there was a link to another thread by finfan, but it wasn't working for me. So, if it's not working for you, here's the thread:

http://www.houstonfishbox.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=23162&highlight=harlequin&page=4

[OrandaMan]

Awesome! Thanks for the links.

If they spawn AND I catch it before they're eaten AND I manage to keep some of them alive, I won't have room to keep them (well, maybe add two to the current school of six). So if that all works out, I'll pass 'em around like candy. (I read they lay around 80 to 100 eggs... scary thought even if I only manage to keep a quarter of them alive.)

[Starrystarstarr]

Did you have any luck? Mine do the naughty dance all the time. But i never can catch the eggs fast enough:( It happens so fast i usually miss it.

[black_knight]

T.heteromorpha (aka Rasbora heteromorpha=harlequins) usually lay eggs at the bottom of plants (or plastic) of plant leaves, males chase the female and fertilize them along the way. After spawning several hours they go hunting for whatever eggs they can find and eat them. pH should be around 5-6, soft water. Mine would spawn all the time in a heavily planted tank (cryps and java fern), I'd see fry but I could never raise them to adulthood. I wouldn'tput them in a breeder that you hang on the side (too small- need room for courtship). Some people put them in bare bottoms with neting at the bottom raised about 1/2 inch so that they cant get to the eggs that fall down (though they are not really egg scatterers- they just aren't good at laying the eggs on leaves). Good luck