how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

[MJY6087]

Hi guys I have a question.  When my cichlids (even guppys) lay eggs, sometimes the eggs fall to the ground and get fuzzy and moldy.  Is their a way to prevent this?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

If the parents are meant to take care of them and they are still getting fungus then they are either bad parents or bad eggs....I have yet to see any guppy lay eggs.

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

Methylene blue.

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

+1 on guppies not laying eggs :P

[PhishPhreek]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

If you don't want to tint the silicone adheasive in your tank blue, you might prefer  to use one of these.

Since tropical almond has antibacterial properties, it is excellent in this regard.
Tropical almond leaf is also used by breeders of tropical aquarium fishes to keep them healthy.
These include bettas, catfishes and black water tetras.


MelaFix
Active ingredients: MelaFix is 1.0% Melateuca  CAS#8008-98-8  (tea tree oil)
from the Australian native Melaleuca alternifolia or tea tree.
Tea tree oil is an efficient antiseptic, it Kills bacteria fast.

[guppymax]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

I have seen guppies lay eggs! Well they might not have had shells but they came out lifeless in a fetal ball and layed on the bottom for about hour, unrolled and came to life. Maybe it was more like premature birth?

max

[MJY6087]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

yes guppy max, that was what I was referring to

Phish, do you mean I should buy some mela fix and add some to the tank?

[PhishPhreek]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

If you are having fungus problems with your eggs, then you should add a prevenative medication to your spawn tanks.  The most common treatment is methelene blue which works great but tints the water & silicone and other things blue.  If you dont want blue silicone in the corners of your taank, then you can use one of the more natural treatments I listed.   Add 1 almond leaf per 10 gallons or MelaFix or other anti-fungal med which uses teatrea oil as a active ingrediant.

[MJY6087]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

If you are having fungus problems with your eggs, then you should add a prevenative medication to your spawn tanks.  The most common treatment is methelene blue which works great but tints the water & silicone and other things blue.  If you dont want blue silicone in the corners of your taank, then you can use one of the more natural treatments I listed.   Add 1 almond leaf per 10 gallons or MelaFix or other anti-fungal med which uses teatrea oil as a active ingrediant.

thanks, I will try it

[ImaGuyGeek]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

If the eggs fall and you have gravel, the parents may not be able to get to the eggs. You can tell if their mouths get torn up. We use sand and can't stop the breeding. You may also want to create a protective environment in a corner or something where the parents can easily chase away other fish and still tend to the eggs. If they are in the open the parents will spend more time chasing away other fish than tending to the eggs.

210G - Frontosa
150G - Various Africans
125G - TBD
100G - South Americans
75G - Tropheus Duboisi 'Maswa'
75G - Tropheus Moorii
55G - Baby Tank - currently Frontosa
29G - Backup/Hospital
550G Pond - Koi

[Cameo]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

Pull the eggs and put them in a small tank or container, then add the methylene blue. Put about 3-4 times what the bottle says. This stuff stains everything! Your clothes, the carpet, the sink. Be really careful with it. Put an airstone very near the eggs. Wait til they hatch and are free-swimming, then feed baby brine. At least this is what I do for angelfish eggs. Never funguses. Good luck.

[Spot86t]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

Where do you find methylene blue?  I've looked at the local stores (petco/smart) cause that;s what's nearby, but neither had any.  I lost a huge percentage of my cory eggs due to fungus.  It was also due to not expecting eggs, therefore unprepared, and finding them late at night when I didn't have time to pull the eggs from the tank ,but pulled the inhabitants instead.  I might end up with some babies but it's too early to tell if they'll make it yet.  boy they sure are tiny!

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

I ordered mine from petco/petsmart online. It wasnt expensive, about $4?

I have some if you need it quickly.

[Cameo]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

Fish Ranch and City Pets.  It's in a small capped bottle called MethylBlue, maybe in a box, can't remember. I'm sure there's other brands. Methylene blue is the ingredient, not the brand name.

[Spot86t]

Re: how to prevents fungus on fish eggs

Thanks for the info.  Do you think this will hurt fry?  What is the name on the bottle or who manufactures it?

It's too late for the eggs from batch 1, I got about 4-6 fry from probably a couple hundred eggs.  Batch 2 was laid 3 days after batch 1.  There weren't as many eggs with 2, but I didn't get so many out of the tank (time is the enemy) before the parents and/or guppies ate them.  

If it won't hurt fry, I moved some of the 2nd egg batch in with the first batch fry, and if I could have a few drops it would be appreciated.  Fungus moves quickly though, I may find out when I get home this evening that it's already too late.  I would only need enough to treat about 3 gallons - fry are in a container that holds about a quart, but I could pretreat my water change water as I would like to change 50% at least once a day (preferably twice), until the eggs have hatched (should be tomorrow).