Calling all fish owners! Is this Tetra going to lay eggs? Edit: Solved

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Weeg

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Jul 1, 2020
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I was cleaning my tank today, and as I was doing so I was watching my White Skirt Tetras. I noticed that one of them seemed "fatter" than the other, its definitely noticeable. I did a quick Google search, and it does appear that this one is a female, the other one appears to be a male. They are in a tank with two Gouramis', a GlowFish Tetra, a Cory Catfish, and 4 Neon's. I'm fairly new to keeping an aquarium, so I would not be surprised if I was wrong. :p
Photos are below, tell me what you think.

Male-
IMG_3944.jpg


Female-
IMG_3948.jpg


IMG_3947.jpg


Both-
IMG_3946.jpg


Thoughts? If she is going to lay eggs soon, what does that mean? I obviously wasn't planning on having baby fish, so what would I need to do prepare for it? I'm assuming I would have to have another tank to separate her in so she can lay her eggs. Does she need to stay with the eggs after that? Do I need to do anything special in that tank? How big does it need to be? How do you care for baby fish? Thanks for the help guys. :p Newbie here, so I could be wrong about her even carrying eggs. Thanks for the help!

Also, I just finished cleaning and filling the tank in these photos, so its a it cloudy.
 
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If you look at her from above, are her scales pointing out like a pinecone? It looks to me that her one eye is popping out too, is that right?
 
If you look at her from above, are her scales pointing out like a pinecone? It looks to me that her one eye is popping out too, is that right?
Her scales seem flat when I look from above. Her belly is definitly building though. I just fed them, and theres an obvious difference for sure. I posted on another fish forum and they made it sound like she was, what would you call it? Bearing eggs? :confused: :p
In the photo it does seem like one eye is building, so I will say yes. I tired to look again, but she's to quick for me to get a good look. :p
My biggest question is if she is going to spawn, how long until she does? the fish forum member said I have plenty of time, but Google said it could happen, "soon". I'd trust the forum over Google, but wanted to see what others thought as well. I don't have a second tank setup, and wont be able to get one setup until Wednesday, thats my biggest issue.
 
What forum did you ask on?
Honestly, I think she might have pop-eye, and the beginnings of dropsy. Definitely keep an eye on her scales and watch for pineconing.
If she's gravid though, there's really no way to know when she's going to lay her eggs, and you won't know when it happens either. The fish will eat the eggs, and if any do manage to survive, then the fry will be eaten. You won't have any babies left.
 
What forum did you ask on?
Honestly, I think she might have pop-eye, and the beginnings of dropsy. Definitely keep an eye on her scales and watch for pineconing.
If she's gravid though, there's really no way to know when she's going to lay her eggs, and you won't know when it happens either. The fish will eat the eggs, and if any do manage to survive, then the fry will be eaten. You won't have any babies left.
TropicalFishForum.net
Oh, interesting. I did just look again after reading this, and neither eye seems to be "popping" out. They are set away from her face, but I think that all fish are like that? Let me see if I can get another photo. When I compare her to the male, I think her eyes seem the same as his. :confused:
What is dropsy? I'll do some Googling about it to, but of course the reliability of the source ins't always very good.

I read that. Thats why I want to put her in a second tank, so that when she does spawn she will be away from the others. They also said to fill it with lots of fake spawning grass to hide the eggs from the breeders. If I am not home or don't happen to physically see her start spawning, (can you even see them spawning?) How will I know to remove her? Will the grass even give any protect? Is it worth separating her? What are the chances I can do I right?
Here's a link to my thread on that forum- https://www.fishforums.net/threads/is-this-tetra-going-to-lay-eggs.481337/#post-4175900
Thanks for the help!
 
Setting up another tank is the easy part.

Raising the fry (baby fish) is the hard part.
They need lots of tiny food, preferably alive. TINY food. So tiny you almost cannot see it.

Terms to research:
infusoria
hatching baby brine shrimp

An article that may be helpful:
https://www.thesprucepets.com/what-is-infusoria-1379895


Personally, I would not bother trying, because of the amount of effort it would be to provide the right food for the fry. If she just lays her eggs in the community tank, she and the other fish will eat the eggs, and that will be the end of that, at least until the next time she is ready to spawn.

When fish spawn in a community tank, there is a very small chance that any fry will live to grow up. If one does, you have a pleasant surprise. So don't count on it, but it is not completely impossible either.
 
Setting up another tank is the easy part.

Raising the fry (baby fish) is the hard part.
They need lots of tiny food, preferably alive. TINY food. So tiny you almost cannot see it.

Terms to research:
infusoria
hatching baby brine shrimp

An article that may be helpful:
https://www.thesprucepets.com/what-is-infusoria-1379895


Personally, I would not bother trying, because of the amount of effort it would be to provide the right food for the fry. If she just lays her eggs in the community tank, she and the other fish will eat the eggs, and that will be the end of that, at least until the next time she is ready to spawn.

When fish spawn in a community tank, there is a very small chance that any fry will live to grow up. If one does, you have a pleasant surprise. So don't count on it, but it is not completely impossible either.
Got it. I think it would be a fun experience, but I would also hate to fish a bunch of dead baby fish out of the other tank. 😖 I have a hard enough time with keeping my current tank clean. If it was simple I would go for it. I'll read up on it for sure, not sure what course I'll take.
Thanks for the help!
 

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