Our March collections yielded a very low number of Picassos and Platinums so it’s time to put our broodstock back to work! This was their third clutch since they resumed spawning activities and I’ll be documenting the full development of this batch.
The spawn event took place between 6:30PM and 9:30PM on Saturday, September 22, 2012. A new rotifer culture was started on Friday that should be ready to go for hatch night early next week.
It’s day 8 and the eggs are not ready to hatch. They’ve got eyes so I know they were fertilized properly but their color hasn’t shifted to silver. I believe my water temperature is closer to 78 in this house whereas it was closer to 82 in my old apartment. That could put off hatch night for up to 4 days… Long story short, I won’t be collecting tonight.
I prepared two new fry tanks this weekend. Got them painted, leak tested and they’ve been sterilized. Now it’s just a matter of time.
You’re ready… they’re not :BB)
can you tell just by looking at them when its “the night” … or do you just have to be prepared?
yes and yes. haha
I can tell. But the parents also let me know. They’ll nip at the frogspawn and force it to retreat on hatch night. The eggs turn silver and the eyes look coppery on hatch night.
and one must always be prepared!
Just a final update, I decided against collecting this spawn. The remaining eggs had really thinned out in number and it was a split hatch over two nights. The Picassos spawned again a few days later and I was much happier with the appearance of that clutch. I’ll make a new thread to document that attempt.