I have failed at my first attempt to breed rainbowfish. I have a group of six Melanotaenia maccullochi "Harvey Creek" that are very attractive fish, particularly when the males are flashing (showing off for the females). I spawned them in a 5.5 gallon aquarium chock full of Najas guadalupensis (aka guppy grass). I left them in the tank for about a full week. I saw eggs appear day after day suspended by thin clear strands of something (see the picture below). Some disappeared shortly after. I removed the adults to another tank and allowed the eggs to hatch. At first I was disappointed when I found a measly four fry after about four or five days. Then the number jumped up to about 20-25 within the next three days.
Everything seemed to be going well, but the fry began disappearing after the first few days. I am down to single digits, perhaps five or six fish. I believe the problem is the food I've been offering. I was feeding Golden Pearls, a brine shrimp replacement. It is the 5-50 micron size, but even that seems to be too large for the fry. I have read that infusoria and green water are better first foods for them. I will try that with the next batch. Hopefully that will yield better results.
By the way, if you've never bred rainbows but wanted to try, I would highly recommend it. They spawn quite readily once mature, as long as they are well fed. The tricky part is raising all of those needle-point sized babies. The same is true for many of the egg scattering species out there, such as danios, tetras, etc.
By the way, if you've never bred rainbows but wanted to try, I would highly recommend it. They spawn quite readily once mature, as long as they are well fed. The tricky part is raising all of those needle-point sized babies. The same is true for many of the egg scattering species out there, such as danios, tetras, etc.
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