Tropical Fish Forums

[tetrabarb]

Just a couple days ago I bought some harlequin rasboras at my lfs. I only got two of them because thats all that was in the tank and I felt really sorry for them being alone! I'm getting some more tommorrow so they will be lonely no more. I could tell one was a male and the other was a female.

But the day after I got them they were what appeared to be spawning! I thought it was hard to breed harlequins? I read that the male will do a little dance for her and I didn't see that but he was fully displaying his fins in front of here and following her VERY closely around the tank which I could tell she didn't like. Then she would go upside down under a leave and "lay eggs"? Thats what it looked like but when she left I looked under that same leave and I couldnt see anything that would resemble an egg. Here are some pictures I got of it. Any idea what they were really doing?





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[ceci9293]

It sure looks like they're spawning to me! What great pictures. But I don't have any expertise to back that up. You'll have to keep us updated.

[Angela G.]

My harlequins did the same thing when I first got them. In my case I did see eggs, but they were quickly eaten by the other fish. I even had one female harlequin that would following the spawning pair and eat the eggs immediately after. She got very fat.

Anyway, I think I can clear up some of your confusion on harlequins being hard to breed. They will spawn readily when conditions are optimal, but actually getting fry from the spawning is difficult as other fish like to eat the eggs. You really need a separate setup just for breeding them to be successful in getting fry, and the parents must be removed. I recommend reading up about them in the "Gallary" section of the site if you're interested in more info.

[naclh2ofly]

Spawning...
I read that they were "difficult" to breed as well and the only difficulty I could see was stopping them ;^)

Some key points for breeding;
Young fish
a couple of males to a single female
soft, slightly acidic water
plants, they indeed lay their eggs on the underneath of the leaves
remove the parents as soon as they spawn
darken the tank after spawning... the eggs hatch in about 24hrs.

If you wish to breed them I would recommend setting up a small planted breeding tank, a 5 gal will do. Mine spawned non-stop but usually the rest of the pack would key in on the activities for a free lunch and only occasionally would I find some fry in with my plant clippings... most of the eggs were devoured.

Fred

[Jon_The_Newb]

[tetrabarb]

well I don't really plan on breeding them...
but I am planning on making a densely planted tank soon so maybe once thats done I could try it!

I did notice them displaying to eachother again and the male does a little shaking in front of her when he can get her attention. Today I'm getting more so they won't be alone anymore and hopefully they will feel more comfortable. I also ordered some live plants which will hopefully make the tank look much cooler!

Thanks for the replies!
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[naclh2ofly]

Jon,
That is just to give the female a choice, apparently the females can be choosy...
My females would have several "suitors" but once she chose one she and her chosen would chase off the others. Once they started spawning the others would pick up on it and scarf up any eggs. Perhaps the consolation prize ;^)

Tetra,
They will circle one another and shimmy/shake... I use to enjoy watching them even had them spawn in the palm of my hand while I was pruning plants.

Fred