Fishumentaryâ„¢

Above is a photo of the revised breeding tank setup. I’ve added a layer of plastic mesh to the bottom of each breeding tank to allow any loose eggs to fall safely out of the reach of their hungry parents. This should also provide a place of refuge for fry. The mesh is suspended about an inch off of the bottom by six tiny clay pots I got from the local craft store (Michael’s Crafts). I used a few polished river rocks to hold the mesh in place. Rather than go to the trouble of cutting a hole for the sponge filter I decided to just put it on top of the mesh.

Now the waiting game begins.

I did a small water change today in each of the breeding tanks. I’ve read that this can also serve as a spawning trigger but in this case it was more to remove the bits of uneaten food that had collected near the sponge filter.

As I was siphoning out the water and uneaten food it hit me that I have no idea what the eggs of a Cherry Barb look like. The eggs of the Corys I have bred in the past are easy to spot, but the body of a Cherry Barb is considerably smaller than that of an adult Peppered Cory so I would expect their eggs to be much smaller as well. I’ve never seen a photo of Cherry Barb eggs so I really don’t know what I’m looking for.

As a precaution I’ve decided to install a plastic mesh an inch or so off the bottom of each tank to allow the eggs to fall to safety should the fish decide to spawn. I’ve read other success stories with such setups.

Now that the parents-to-be have had a day to settle in they seem to be much more active and all appear to be in good health. One of the most common spawning triggers for Cherry Barbs seems to be lowering the water level; at least according to the various articles I’ve read. So today I lowered the water level in both tanks by a few inches. Whether or not it works remains to be seen.

2 pairs of Cherry Barbs have been selected for breeding project and added to the breeding tanks. They were extremely shy at first which was expected but they have become increasingly more adventurous which I’ll take as a good sign (as far as their general health at least).

Now that all 3 of the main tanks are up and running I’ve decided to try breeding cherry barbs. I’ve done some research over the past few weeks and based on the information I’ve gathered it seems they are the best fish to start with out of the fish I want to populate the 55 gallon tank with.

Although I’ve never bred barbs before I have had quite a bit of success with various types of Corys and I’m reasonably confident that I can have similar success in this endeavor.

So, on to the setup. I had two 10 gallons tanks setup in the basement that I had been using to grow extra Java Moss so I decided to use those. I stripped down the tanks, discarded the substrate and scrubbed them clean. I kept the heaters (50W Visi-Therm Stealth) and replaced the existing filters with standard sponge filters to make things more fry-friendly. The temperature in both tanks is at 76 deg. Java Moss was added to serve as a spawning media.