# Celestial Pearl Danio



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

could anyone post picture of their fries and their Celestial Pearl Danio.

how often do they breed and how often they lay eggs. what are the other sign of breeding beside the dance, i have seen them dancing many time before but never saw any fry in my 50g tank. now i just set up the 1 gallon tank and have 5 of Celestial Pearl Danio in there for breeding. 

could someone please give more advice. 

thanks


----------



## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

Sorry do not have a picture, but they look like most fry, Betta fry is what comes to mind. 
Really small sliver with eyes. I have never seen an egg before either. I imagine they eat most of them. I've never really provided anything but moss for the egg cover. They don't seem to attack the fry though. I bet you have some in there if there is cover for the eggs. They will most likely breed when the sun comes up. Look for the fry near the top of the water column if you have have floating plants, or on plants.

Good Luck!


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Nue said:


> Sorry do not have a picture, but they look like most fry, Betta fry is what comes to mind.
> Really small sliver with eyes. I have never seen an egg before either. I imagine they eat most of them. I've never really provided anything but moss for the egg cover. They don't seem to attack the fry though. I bet you have some in there if there is cover for the eggs. They will most likely breed when the sun comes up. Look for the fry near the top of the water column if you have have floating plants, or on plants.
> 
> Good Luck!


thanks for the info, i think you did not see any fry because they might did not hatch in your water (our Utah water), i use soft water for mine now and see what happens next. i use to have them in our Utah water and they did their dances but never saw any fry in that tank.


----------



## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

They like to breed earlier in the morning and are horrible at eating their eggs. Best method for me was putting moss in a bottom of a tank and removing it to put in a seperate tank. They breed constantly.

Hope this helps.


----------



## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

I ended up getting about 15 fry total, until I put them in a community tank, On utah water. But maybe I could have got a lot more. Seems like they were more productive on bloodworms.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

sewingalot

thanks for the pic and info, i was reading that it takes 80 hours for the eggs to hatch, is that correct?


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Nue said:


> I ended up getting about 15 fry total, until I put them in a community tank, On utah water. But maybe I could have got a lot more. Seems like they were more productive on bloodworms.



are they still alive in your tank?


----------



## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Really depends on the temperature in my experience. It was usually right around the third day, though.


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

I got mine breeding about once a week, though not always successful fertilization. You will notice the males chase the females into plants and they will wiggle up against each other. You really have to remove the adults from the tank if you want to get a good number of fry. I've found removing the parents the next afternoon after a significant water change works best or later the day you see them spawn. I normally don't notice fry until a few days later when they become free swimming as they are quite tiny. I feed mine very finely crushed flake food. Also keeping the adults well conditioned is essential. Live foods work well as do other protein rich foods.

Here's some pictures:









































male chasing female into anubias roots.









(http://celestialpearldanio.com/That is a nice forum devoted solely to CPDs)

I can take some pictures of my recent batch of fry that I'm growing out. Otherwise I had a CPD breeding thread way back that has some more information. Any other questions let me know.


----------



## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

^Show off.  Beautiful pictures, as always, Rion!


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

rion your fries looks awesome. 

i have a bad new, i think i just lost one of my Pearl Danio, i could not find the dead body anywhere. now am left with 4 of them and not sure about their sex. they are still young and not colored up all the way.

rion i will defitinally let you know if i need help. the only thing i could ask for is if any of you guys are willing to sell me some of these fishes. so i would have great chances on breeding them. 

NUE you live very close to me, do you have any which you could sell me, i have some fishes and plants for trade also.


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I'm following this! I have 6 right now going to get them setup soon in there own tank.


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

@sewingalot: lol, I have so many pictures of CPDs I had to. Thanks.

@happi: You had said before that you are now using soft water, I have fairly hard water out here and am not having problems. PH here is around 7.4 and the GH and KH are quite high. If you take pictures of your fish I could probably sex them for you but you are at numbers I put in my breeding tank so you should be fine for breeding still (once they are old enough).

They've got a at least a month before they'd be ready to sell, but I'm trying to stock up my numbers right now. I wish I had a house and a fish room so I could breed them in greater numbers and sell them. Have to wait a few more hours for the fry tank lights to turn on before I can take pictures. Oh here's another tip, have *lots* of plants in your breeding tank; more plants usually mean more micro fauna which means more fry also less stress on the adults.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Rion said:


> @sewingalot: lol, I have so many pictures of CPDs I had to. Thanks.
> 
> @happi: You had said before that you are now using soft water, I have fairly hard water out here and am not having problems. PH here is around 7.4 and the GH and KH are quite high. If you take pictures of your fish I could probably sex them for you but you are at numbers I put in my breeding tank so you should be fine for breeding still (once they are old enough).
> 
> They've got a at least a month before they'd be ready to sell, but I'm trying to stock up my numbers right now. I wish I had a house and a fish room so I could breed them in greater numbers and sell them. Have to wait a few more hours for the fry tank lights to turn on before I can take pictures. Oh here's another tip, have *lots* of plants in your breeding tank; more plants usually mean more micro fauna which means more fry also less stress on the adults.


i will post a picture soon, anyway what is your GH and KH

mine is 300 ppm hardness and alkanity is 160ppm out of tap water. i mix this water with distiled water, 75% disitled water with 25% tap water. i dont mind buying your fries if you could give me good deal on them.

am at work now and i will post a picture soon as i get home, thanks for your help


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

According to my test I have the same GH and KH as you out of the tap. Sorry I can't sell you the fry I have right now as they are to replace a few losses I incurred, anyways they are quite young fry (3 weeks) and should not be shipped at this size. I think most of the price for this fish is because they take awhile to mature and individual batches of fry are relatively small.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Rion said:


> According to my test I have the same GH and KH as you out of the tap. Sorry I can't sell you the fry I have right now as they are to replace a few losses I incurred, anyways they are quite young fry (3 weeks) and should not be shipped at this size. I think most of the price for this fish is because they take awhile to mature and individual batches of fry are relatively small.


its ok then, anyway i thought that eggs dont hatch in the hard water because same happen to my german blue ram, they laid eggs but they never hatched and just turned solid white. 

the eggs did not hatch due to high magnessium and calicum, which makes the eggs hard before they could hatch.


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

Usually white eggs means that they got fungus or weren't fertilized, either way CPDs live in different water than GBRs so you can't really compare the two for water chemistry. Back when I was in Michigan I was breeding CPDs in even harder water than yours.


----------



## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

Rion great photo's!

happi
They did survive, and matured. But since I have moved the group to a community tank, their numbers are shrinking, and don't want to make their school even smaller. I need to breed them again too! I wonder if Fish4U has some still.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Nue said:


> Rion great photo's!
> 
> happi
> They did survive, and matured. But since I have moved the group to a community tank, their numbers are shrinking, and don't want to make their school even smaller. I need to breed them again too! I wonder if Fish4U has some still.



let me know if you ever breed them, fish4u hardly carry them and i called them every week for last 2 months without any sucess. however pets&such carry them sometime, i will be going there on thrusday to see if they have any or call them first. 

here:
http://www.pets-and-such.com/


----------



## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

What? pets and such never have anything that i'm interested in lol. nice.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Nue said:


> What? pets and such never have anything that i'm interested in lol. nice.


yeh, i stooped going there since there stuff is over priced, i just go there to buy some fishes sometime, only fishes like these. otherwise i never step there since years, but i will be going there again just to buy more of those fishes, i think they will start to carry them more often now, seems like they will stock them more often. 

the good thing is they do price match with any other store including fish4u.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

LOL fail pic of fry



























OK I'm bored with clicking on the img bbcode button! The rest of the pics are here in my album.
http://picasaweb.google.com/michael.mucciardi/CelestialPearlDanios?feat=directlink


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

There is an awesome thread of CPD pics of fry at all different stages on celestialpearldanio.com forum


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

Alright I finally got the pictures off my camera and re-sized, I got distracted by college football (still distracted).


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

looks like we have Rion vs OoglyBoogly in the picture competition lol both of you guys got awesome looking pictures. if am able to breed them those fry are going in net in my 50g tank and soon they will be let go in 50g once they are old enough. but am i at risk of loosing them since they will be transfered from soft water to hard water? thank you guys for sharing your picture


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

aww I'm not competing. I Really love messing around with a macro lens on this DSLR that I use. I had a field day in my yard and learned a ton about the local fauna that buzz around the plants in my yard. LOL I felt like a kid again this summer. The summer is over with and the cold is not fun for me so now I'm inside snapping pics. Haha I think I started getting different kinds of fish just so I could snap pics of them! Anyways I really enjoy reading up on what Rion has to say about his CPDs. I'm obsessed with mine.


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

Yeah I'm not competing either I also just love taking pictures; photography was my second concentration in college after all. I wish I had a macro lens and an external flash unit though... I have a macro setting at 90mm on my telephoto lens but its also a cheap lens and I can't get a clean focus. I would drip acclimate the fry before adding them to the net in the 50gal if there is a difference in water chemistry. Heck I drip acclimate between all of my tanks and they are relatively the same chemistry. Hmm what else could I say about CPDs... I've found more females to males lead to better breeding not because more eggs laid but the females are less likely to be stressed from males chasing more males means more chasing. Females take awhile before they are really ready to start breeding males start as soon as they have adult colors. BBS are too big for new fry insuforia are a better food which is why I have a lot of moss and other plants in my breeding tank. I prefer not to have snails in my tanks and instead have a low population of cherry shrimp that when the population grows and I either feed them to my oscar or spread out to other tanks. I prefer cooler water (63-68F) when I'm doing a water change to initiate a spawning event it seems to work better. I've done a lot of research on CPDs as they are my favorite fish danios in general are my favorites. I'm getting really interested in GBRs recently and am curious about if they would be fine with CPDs? I'm thinking the water temp for GBRs would be too high for CPDs and I worried about if I got GBRs to pair off and breed what would they do to the CPDs.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Rion said:


> Yeah I'm not competing either I also just love taking pictures; photography was my second concentration in college after all. I wish I had a macro lens and an external flash unit though... I have a macro setting at 90mm on my telephoto lens but its also a cheap lens and I can't get a clean focus. I would drip acclimate the fry before adding them to the net in the 50gal if there is a difference in water chemistry. Heck I drip acclimate between all of my tanks and they are relatively the same chemistry. Hmm what else could I say about CPDs... I've found more females to males lead to better breeding not because more eggs laid but the females are less likely to be stressed from males chasing more males means more chasing. Females take awhile before they are really ready to start breeding males start as soon as they have adult colors. BBS are too big for new fry insuforia are a better food which is why I have a lot of moss and other plants in my breeding tank. I prefer not to have snails in my tanks and instead have a low population of cherry shrimp that when the population grows and I either feed them to my oscar or spread out to other tanks. I prefer cooler water (63-68F) when I'm doing a water change to initiate a spawning event it seems to work better. I've done a lot of research on CPDs as they are my favorite fish danios in general are my favorites. I'm getting really interested in GBRs recently and am curious about if they would be fine with CPDs? I'm thinking the water temp for GBRs would be too high for CPDs and I worried about if I got GBRs to pair off and breed what would they do to the CPDs.


 Ahh I love how egg layers (atleast in my experience with goldfish but not "tropical fish) can initiate spawning with a change in water temp. It makes much sense in regard to melting snow in temperate or mountainous regions or with the onset of monsoon season and the influx of cool rains/runoff. My basement temp started to drop with the cold weather and fluctuate between around 68-70F and then I realized my heater wasn't on b/c it was unplugged when I did some work on the tank and forgot to plug it in. I plugged it back in and in a few days I noticed spawning events such as males chasing females through dense patches of moss. My heater just broke and I ordered a new one so I'm going to be on the lookout for more spawning. I've been giving my fry small amounts of some BBS food that is sold at DrFandS.com although I'm not sure if I need it due to the amount/variety of plants and moss in the tank they are in. The snails in my tank are just a byproduct of never intially sanitizing my plants when I setup my first real attempt at a planted tank. I never dealt with them and was excited about the extra biodiversity and now they are everywhere. I don't see them doing any damage so I leave them rather than picking up assassin snails or a loach of some sort. I "had" RCS in my 55g but they are all dead now that my heater broke and leaked that crud into the tank. I want to get some shrimp again b/c I find that they do a very diligent cleanup job of leftover food and other stuff that clearly must be there since they kept multiplying. I'm just not sure what kind I want. I'd like to have something a little more exotic than Red Cherry Shrimp to give away/trade and maybe even sell in the future but that's up in the air since costs and some uncertainties are prohibitive for me at the moment. What are GBRs?


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

GBRs=German Blue Rams. I usually feed finely powdered flake food when my fry are free swimming.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Rion said:


> GBRs=German Blue Rams. I usually feed finely powdered flake food when my fry are free swimming.


 Ahh thanks I was using my fingers to grind up various pellet foods that I had and then realized I had this Brine Shrimp spirulina that was already in powdered form so I figured I'd give it a shot. I just nudged some java moss that I moved from my above tank and saw atleast 1 fry move that quickly settled back onto the moss. Yay more free! haha my "pretties" :tongue:


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

So jealous! Just a quick question...what should my water be at for breeding?


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Hmm I think Rion was spot on with the temperature change being used to initiate spawning. Warm -> cool -> warm temps again all within a tolerable range for CPDs. I've heard of them tolerating some nasty cold weather b/c someone once found some left outside in a bucket in kentucky during november. They are pretty easy to breed given enough room and coverage/distractions so their fry and eggs don't get eaten. People have bred them outdoors during the spring/summer in temperate regions in large containers full of aquatic plants and nature feeds them with insect larvae etc...


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

My water is probably in the mid to high 70s. Had best results at 74 though. If I can get the tank to 68F after a water change I'm more than happy.


----------



## austinramirez (Dec 21, 2009)

This thread and all your pictures made me go out and buy a new set up!  What is a good number of CPD's in a 10 gallon? and is it alright if my pH is at 7.6-7.8? thanks everyone for starting such an informative thread


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

You'd be fine with 6-12. Is that PH straight out of the tap without letting it sit?


----------



## austinramirez (Dec 21, 2009)

yes thats straight out of the tap my LFS calls it liquid rock haha


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

Well what I was wondering was if you let it sit first for 24 hours I've had water go from 7.8 down to 7.4 just from letting it sit.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Rion said:


> Well what I was wondering was if you let it sit first for 24 hours I've had water go from 7.8 down to 7.4 just from letting it sit.


 my PH is around 6.5-7.0 i think but i haven't tested it lately i can easily do 7.2 Ph with hardness being 150ppm if i mix RO water with tap water 50/50. anyway currently water temp is 78F should i reduce it to 70F which is my room temp or should i leave it to 78F. did you say if you let the temp go up and down this trigger more breeding? in that case i could set up my heater with the timer not sure if i should turn it off when lights go off or should i turn it on with the lights. please let me know


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Yes I believe the trigger is the temperature drop and perhaps fresh water. I had read that this can cause Cardinal Tetras to lay eggs granted you have them in very low light as their eggs and young fry are extremely photosensitive and will perish under bright lights. I guess the temp drop and fresh water is the equivalent of either monsoon season starting and/or fresh snow melt coming from the mountains during spring time. I guess you could even lower the water level in your tank for a little while to simulate new fresh spring water arriving. Hah I've even read about people simulating thunder and lightning for their fish but my camera flash is all they'll get from me!


----------



## austinramirez (Dec 21, 2009)

hmm I'll let a bucket sit out for a day then thanks.but would 7.8 pH be too high if it doesnt go down?


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

OoglyBoogly said:


> Yes I believe the trigger is the temperature drop and perhaps fresh water. I had read that this can cause Cardinal Tetras to lay eggs granted you have them in very low light as their eggs and young fry are extremely photosensitive and will perish under bright lights. I guess the temp drop and fresh water is the equivalent of either monsoon season starting and/or fresh snow melt coming from the mountains during spring time. I guess you could even lower the water level in your tank for a little while to simulate new fresh spring water arriving. Hah I've even read about people simulating thunder and lightning for their fish but my camera flash is all they'll get from me!



so that mean its ok to set up the heater on timer? so it will drop/gain the temp. mostly the temp will drop from 78f-70f(room temp) and then gain up from 70f-78f.


----------



## Imaginary1226 (Jul 27, 2010)

I have successfully bred and raised zebra danios and danio choprai (glowlight danios) in a community aquarium. Here is what I do. I just vacuum the gravel, that's it. If you save the water long enough you will start to see danio fry appearing in the buckets. I heat my entire fish room, so it is warm enough to make them hatch about 77-80. I leave them in the buckets for a couple weeks(they eat the microorganisms) and then pull them out and put them in a separate tank to grow. It is so easy I didn't have to try. I just found them in some buckets one day when I was going to dump out the water. Depending on how often you want to siphon out the water, you could get alot of fry this way. I get 20-70 each water change. I only have a colony of 8 but they keep themselves busy. If you had more obviously you would get more fry. Oh and I do use reverse osmosis water. And bigger gravel would be best as a substrate if you want to do it this way. Good luck!


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

happi said:


> so that mean its ok to set up the heater on timer? so it will drop/gain the temp. mostly the temp will drop from 78f-70f(room temp) and then gain up from 70f-78f.


Hmm I'm not sure about the water temp changing that much on a daily basis. what happened to me is that I left my 55g heater unplugged for a few weeks... lol I know I'm terrible. The ambient room temp in my basement was around 71F sometimes even lower if I opened the basement door while I was doing stuff that required quick access to my yard. I didn't have a heater at the time in my 30g so the breeding pairs down there weren't breeding so eventually I just gave up and moved them back to the 55g and that's when I discovered that my heater wasn't plugged in. I plugged the heater back in and set it to around 77 degrees +/- the accuracy of an old heater and soon I started to notice the CPDs were chasing eachother through the moss similar to how my goldfish chase eachother through spawning mops that I made for my outdoor pond. The reason I discovered my heater was off was due to me cleaning out my Eheim's b/c I build a bad pre-filter and noticed shrimp were in the canister when I shined a flash light into it. In the filter were guppy fry, tiny Red Cherry Shrimp and 3 CPD fry. I moved those 3 CPD to the 30g (which now had a heater) and a few days later I moved some moss from the 55g to the 30g. A few more days after that I noticed several free swimming fry. a few days later I noticed even more. I cycled my moss around the tanks again and barring a miscount I think I've counted 27+ CPD fry in the 30g tank. They are starting to spread through the tank and not just congregate with eachother so I am having a difficult/impossible time keeping a real count. My water in the 55g is at 75F right now but I'm not sure how accurate the temp reading is since I can't find my IR thermometer. I'm currently relying on one of those thermometers that you poke into a roasted chicken to see if it is done. 

I after I get the new heater 300w Hydor that I just ordered I am going to try and do what Rion does in terms of getting the water down to 68F with a water change since I'd really like to do another 50% soon in light of the shrimp catastrophe that I just had. I'll keep a close eye on my CPDs during that time and report back.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Imaginary1226 said:


> I have successfully bred and raised zebra danios and danio choprai (glowlight danios) in a community aquarium. Here is what I do. I just vacuum the gravel, that's it. If you save the water long enough you will start to see danio fry appearing in the buckets. I heat my entire fish room, so it is warm enough to make them hatch about 77-80. I leave them in the buckets for a couple weeks(they eat the microorganisms) and then pull them out and put them in a separate tank to grow. It is so easy I didn't have to try. I just found them in some buckets one day when I was going to dump out the water. Depending on how often you want to siphon out the water, you could get alot of fry this way. I get 20-70 each water change. I only have a colony of 8 but they keep themselves busy. If you had more obviously you would get more fry. Oh and I do use reverse osmosis water. And bigger gravel would be best as a substrate if you want to do it this way. Good luck!


I can't get to my gravel with all the plants in it or else I'd try that. It makes sense since my female CPDs are always lurking along the gravel inspecting it for "something" and it's definitely large grained enough for egg fry to fall threw since I would see tiny baby shrimp between the gravel and glass about an 1-2" just foraging.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

OoglyBoogly

thanks for the updates, i have the feeling that this thread will continue in the long term as most of us are trying to breed this fish, so keep this thread alive with the latest updates. i just took some picture of my CPD's and will post them soon, but they are not clear enough. 

anyway i was thinking about using lava rock as substrate and i think this should help the eggs and save the fries from getting eaten. in the past i have used the lava rock without any problem and it also works as a biological filter. i even use the lava rocks in the Rena xp2 filters on my 50g tank. 

should i get the blinking lights to get the thunder effect on my fish tank lol, don't want to keep the camera flash every couple of minutes. i was just joking, unless this will trigger more breeding. 

as a water change i buy the water bottle (1-2 gallon) from walmart, i think the water says spring water on it. that is what i use on my small tank.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

happi said:


> OoglyBoogly
> 
> thanks for the updates, i have the feeling that this thread will continue in the long term as most of us are trying to breed this fish, so keep this thread alive with the latest updates. i just took some picture of my CPD's and will post them soon, but they are not clear enough.
> 
> ...


I use NYC tap water which is VERY soft and all I add is a dechlorinator that neutralizes heavy metals and a pinch of seachem flourish (about 1 thread of a cap ful since I'm using an old 8ish gallon bucket that once had marine salt in it)

I've read of people using marbles since the CPDs can't get to the eggs that fall past them. Other people use containers with a cover made from plastic canvas. I picked up some plastic canvas but I'm using it to try and grow out flame moss which I may then use for CPD breeding /shrugs


----------



## Beeya (Mar 29, 2010)

I started out with a trio (1f, 2m) in a breeding net made from needlepoint plastic sheet. Sized the net so it would hang inside a 10g tank with an inch or so to spare in each dimension, then filled it with moss and let them have at it. 

Eggs are laid every 3 days at dawn like clockwork, and then fall through the bottom panel of needlepoint where the adults can't reach them. Shine a flashlight along the bottom of the tank and you'll see tiny clear spheres. I siphon the eggs out with a piece of airline and collect them in a little (~250ml) plastic container which then just floats in the tank to incubate. Clutch size varies from 15-40 eggs per, though I suspect this also has a lot to do with the size and maturity of the female.

Hatching time at 77F is 60-72hrs, and they're free swimming on day 6-7. Fertilization rate with my trio is around 90%, but this is really up to the experience/maturity of your males. At day 3, just prior to hatch, I move my fry into mason jars with a slow airstone. These jars then sit in a separate heated 10g that acts like a big water bath.

As has been noted, the fry are too small to eat bbs until day 10-12, so I use first bites powder and and have moss in the rearing jars. From here it's just a waiting game. They are relatively slow growers and start colouring up around week 11-12.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

Beeya said:


> I started out with a trio (1f, 2m) in a breeding net made from needlepoint plastic sheet. Sized the net so it would hang inside a 10g tank with an inch or so to spare in each dimension, then filled it with moss and let them have at it.
> 
> Eggs are laid every 3 days at dawn like clockwork, and then fall through the bottom panel of needlepoint where the adults can't reach them. Shine a flashlight along the bottom of the tank and you'll see tiny clear spheres. I siphon the eggs out with a piece of airline and collect them in a little (~250ml) plastic container which then just floats in the tank to incubate. Clutch size varies from 15-40 eggs per, though I suspect this also has a lot to do with the size and maturity of the female.
> 
> ...


Like this?









I got that from here:
http://www.celestialpearldanio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=989&highlight=


----------



## Beeya (Mar 29, 2010)

Yep. I saw that on the same site when I was getting ready to try them. The panels are sewn together with cotton thread. I found that the tabs at the top were a bit flimsy and tended to collapse though, so I cut up a plastic coat hanger and used the pieces as hanging bars on the short ends of the net.


----------



## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Okay, now my pictures look really crappy thanks to the both of you.  I love that breeder box! I have a ton of that stuff in my craft room. Thanks for the link!


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

sewingalot said:


> Okay, now my pictures look really crappy thanks to the both of you.  I love that breeder box! I have a ton of that stuff in my craft room. Thanks for the link!


Darn who would have thought sewing and aquaculture would go so hand in hand 

Pshh for me it's less skill and more diligence and a nice macro lens! I'd go crazy if I had access to taking pics of your tanks... lol all the little living things in it yay


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

how does the male fertilize the eggs when they fall down through the net.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

happi said:


> how does the male fertilize the eggs when they fall down through the net.


Well they sort of shoot it out at the same time as the eggs come flying out if it's anything like my goldfish spawning. I think they basically squeeze it out by pushing up against eachother/plants and it kinds of mixes in the water column. But I really can't answer since the closest I've come to seeing this act is witnessing a male chase a female through very thick java moss. So thick that it looked like they were about to get stuck. I moved that same patch of moss and about a week later I noticed even more fry in my 30g.


----------



## Beeya (Mar 29, 2010)

As with other danio species (and other scatterers?), the male releases a cloud of sperm at the moment the eggs are expressed. There's no delay between laying/fertilization as there is with egg depositors like angels or discus - with these guys it's just a matter of the eggs being expressed into the sperm cloud and being fertilized, so everything's already on the go when the eggs fall through the bottom of the net.


----------



## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

lol, I like that crafty idea.

+1 the eggs will be fertilized at almost the same time the eggs come out. They do a little side my side dance.


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I have some crappy pics of my fish to share


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

Nice mix of males and females. Good thing you bought them they were starting to get a little emaciated.


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I know right.they are better eaters then the previous couple I have right now.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

is there any sign before the female will lay their eggs beside the breeding. do their belly gets big etc


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

happi said:


> is there any sign before the female will lay their eggs beside the breeding. do their belly gets big etc


I'll try to snap a pic of one of my females tomorrow... either she is just morbidly obese, has some of stomach problem or she is about to burst with eggs! She doesn't seem to act unhealthy in any way shape or form and is always lurking on the bottom of the tank looking for leftover blackworms. I've caught her catching a few already. She's a professional!


----------



## T13 (Jun 15, 2010)

I am also in SLC, I was able to grab 5 of these little guys from Fish-4-U about 5 months ago but have not seen any of them lately I would like to grab a few more if I can find them.. I had never heard of Pets and Such, Ill have to go down there and check it out, Thanks.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

hi T13, nice to know that you are in SLC, which part of salt lake, am in kearns area. 
anyway call pets and such before you go there. they said they might bring more after thanks giving.


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

Okay so IF I get fry what should I feed them? I will have a vinegar eel culture soon.


----------



## Phish (Apr 29, 2009)

Great thread, very informative. at the LFS by my house they sell them but the last few times there they have only had males. I have 5 in my 20 gallon now and want to get maybe a dozen or so more. Is only males a bad idea for the groups chemistry, does anyone know? 

Also, does anyone have any advice for non breeding CPD tanks specs that they prefer. temp for example? sorry not trying to steal a thread just seemed like the right thread to ask with all the experts in it!


----------



## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I have mine at about 80 which where they are from they can handle.what I saw on the celestial forum they are fine in room temp if you comfortable too.


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

@problemman- If you get fry you feed them very finely crushed flake food or if they are a little bigger you can feed the crushed up freeze dried bloodworms. Small live foods are good too like microworms and vinegar eels or insuforia.

@Phish- There's no problem with having only males, they might fight a little but nothing fatal and it's normal (they just circle each other, maybe a fin torn here and there but nothing serious especially with no females to fight over). Temperature-wise I would stay around somewhere around 73-78F. Don't worry you're not stealing the thread, this is basically a thread to get answers about CPDs. If you have any more questions just let us know.


----------



## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

happi said:


> could anyone post picture of their fries and their Celestial Pearl Danio.
> 
> how often do they breed and how often they lay eggs. what are the other sign of breeding beside the dance, i have seen them dancing many time before but never saw any fry in my 50g tank. now i just set up the 1 gallon tank and have 5 of Celestial Pearl Danio in there for breeding.
> 
> ...


How I love these fish! Mine won't stop breeding! Make the temp 68-72F & throw in some moss. Trios work best. Separate them from the moss after they egg it up good or move the moss to a rearing tank.
Best if the moss is a little brown & gunky, as it supplies the fry with food. Floaters are great too.


----------



## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

Just noticed this thread, I love CPDs and have...???... a bunch of them LOL I seriously do not know the correct number but something over 20 of them I started with 5 I think. And they still breeding I find one or two new ones once in a while.
You can check out my experience with them here:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fish/94240-my-cpd-fry-pictures-quick-update.html

I had another thread about breeding CPDs I thought but can't find it.


----------



## krillkill (Oct 2, 2010)

I need some help guys. Im trying to breed CPDs for the first time. I placed a male and female into a small tank with about and handful of java moss that takes up about 1/5 of the aquarium. Do I need to use marbles? How can I tell if the female is ready to breed. I noticed the female's gravid spot is not dark anymore. Thanks guys.


----------



## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

Give them some time, maybe a week to feel like at home in a new tank but keep an eye on breeding behavior. The breeding behavior is male chasing female and them doing the dance around each other. Small frequent water changes help, also feed them well. I never seen them eat eggs, they will spawn for couple of days so if you see them spawning give them another day or two. When you see eggs (you might need to shake the moss for them to fall out) remove the parents. I also would suggest putting another female in there.
How big is the tank you put them in?


----------



## Plantz (Oct 1, 2010)

This is a great thread - I got six of these guys a couple of weeks ago, I have them in a 10 gallon for now. they were tiny when i got them and a swear they are twice the size from when i first got them. i am planning to move them to a 40 gallon breeder and hope they spawn. Thanks for all the info guys.


----------



## Captivate05 (Feb 23, 2010)

I'm strongly considering getting a group of these guys for my 29g. They are very pretty, and I think they would look great.

I just want to verify a few things. There is a lot of mis-information online about these fish, judging from the inconsistency of cross references. 

Temp. My tank stays at a pretty consistent 77 degrees. My LFS says they do better in cooler water. But I read here that they will be just fine at my tanks temp. I trust what you guys who've bred these fish say, so the temp shouldn't be an issue, right?

Chemistry. Out of the tap, my water reads 7dGH, 2.5 dKH, pH 7.4. The hardness stays about the same in my tank, but it's co2 injected and I have no clue what the pH is in there. I've read this is good water for them, but it seems to vary greatly from person to person. Some say they need super-acidic water, others say harder water is better.
Also on this, I do 50% water changes every week. The rainbows, shrimp, and otos (cocama and vestitus) handle this just peachy, but my habrosus corys just couldn't take it. Just how sensitive are these fish?

The fauna in the tank include RCS and some very boisterous gertrudae rainbows. Will the hectic activity of the gertrudaes make them uncomfortable? Or will the carefree little rainbows act like dither fish for this rather shy (from what I've seen) danio? I assume they will eat a few shrimplets, but are they less aggressive at hunting shrimplets as tetras? I was originally planning on getting Green Fire Tetras, but if they are anything like Cardinals, there wouldn't be any shrimp left in a few months.


----------



## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

Plantz said:


> This is a great thread - I got six of these guys a couple of weeks ago, I have them in a 10 gallon for now. they were tiny when i got them and a swear they are twice the size from when i first got them. i am planning to move them to a 40 gallon breeder and hope they spawn. Thanks for all the info guys.


I would suggest breeding them in 10g and removing the parents. They are tiny fish and grow slow it will be easier to keep track on the babies and eggs in 10g IMO.


----------



## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

Captivate05 said:


> I'm strongly considering getting a group of these guys for my 29g. They are very pretty, and I think they would look great.


They are my most favorite fishes, probably because they are the first ever fish that I bred  They are pretty and very interesting little guys.




Captivate05 said:


> I just want to verify a few things. There is a lot of mis-information online about these fish, judging from the inconsistency of cross references.
> 
> Temp. My tank stays at a pretty consistent 77 degrees. My LFS says they do better in cooler water. But I read here that they will be just fine at my tanks temp. I trust what you guys who've bred these fish say, so the temp shouldn't be an issue, right?


In my experience it should not be a problem, they come from small shallow lakes with streams so I am sure the temp in their natural habitat varies. Actually doing frequent water changes will help breeding them. 



Captivate05 said:


> Chemistry. Out of the tap, my water reads 7dGH, 2.5 dKH, pH 7.4. The hardness stays about the same in my tank, but it's co2 injected and I have no clue what the pH is in there. I've read this is good water for them, but it seems to vary greatly from person to person. Some say they need super-acidic water, others say harder water is better.
> Also on this, I do 50% water changes every week. The rainbows, shrimp, and otos (cocama and vestitus) handle this just peachy, but my habrosus corys just couldn't take it. Just how sensitive are these fish?


Again speaking from experience they are pretty hardy. I have DYI CO2 and sometimes I do more than 50% water change so my pH might fluctuate but usually it's around 7.2-7.6, no idea on my dGH or dKH haven't checked it in a long time. So don't worry about it. But just a warning cherry shrimp will eat their eggs. 



Captivate05 said:


> The fauna in the tank include RCS and some very boisterous gertrudae rainbows. Will the hectic activity of the gertrudaes make them uncomfortable? Or will the carefree little rainbows act like dither fish for this rather shy (from what I've seen) danio? I assume they will eat a few shrimplets, but are they less aggressive at hunting shrimplets as tetras? I was originally planning on getting Green Fire Tetras, but if they are anything like Cardinals, there wouldn't be any shrimp left in a few months.


I used to have them with my cherry barbs or barbarians as I call them, they did great with those guys. Right now I have them with RCS, Amanos and otos. They are rather shy fish but they never felt uncomfortable with cherry barbs or my stock now. Never seen them eat shrimplets but wouldn't rule out this possibility, and as I said before the shrimp will eat their eggs if they get a hold of them (seen it happen with my own two eyes) 

They are great fish and you won't be sorry you got them. I am moving mine into 55g as soon as I feel it's ready for them. I am also planing to breed half of them so I can have a bigger school for my 55g, right now I have around 20?! I know they breed in my 10g without me knowing or doing anything special because I found 3 juvies recently.


----------



## krillkill (Oct 2, 2010)

funkyfish said:


> Give them some time, maybe a week to feel like at home in a new tank but keep an eye on breeding behavior. The breeding behavior is male chasing female and them doing the dance around each other. Small frequent water changes help, also feed them well. I never seen them eat eggs, they will spawn for couple of days so if you see them spawning give them another day or two. When you see eggs (you might need to shake the moss for them to fall out) remove the parents. I also would suggest putting another female in there.
> How big is the tank you put them in?


Thanks for the info. I put them in a 6 gallon eclipse. Great news too, they spawned today. I'll siphon out the eggs and keep the parents in the tank for a couple more days to see if they'll spawn again.


----------



## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

krillkill said:


> Thanks for the info. I put them in a 6 gallon eclipse. Great news too, they spawned today. I'll siphon out the eggs and keep the parents in the tank for a couple more days to see if they'll spawn again.


Congrats on spawning! 
Did any of them hatched?


----------



## krillkill (Oct 2, 2010)

funkyfish said:


> Congrats on spawning!
> Did any of them hatched?



Thanks! The last egg hatched 4 days after the pair spawned. I recently lost roughly half that hatched though. I performed a water change and i think that it was a little too much for the fries. I have about 20 left but the are dropping quick (lost about 15-20 just today).


----------



## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

krillkill said:


> Thanks! The last egg hatched 4 days after the pair spawned. I recently lost roughly half that hatched though. I performed a water change and i think that it was a little too much for the fries. I have about 20 left but the are dropping quick (lost about 15-20 just today).


You can never expect for all of the fry to survive unfortunately. And that is pretty good for your first spawn. I would hold off on water changes they are too small and sensitive, give them some time to grow, they hardly add any bio load so the water should be fine for them as long as you don't overfeed them, just top it off when you see needed. If you running a filter cover intake tube with a sponge or something so that fry doesn't get sucked in that way the water stays clean. And I am not sure if you know this but they are slow growing fish so don't expect them to grow fast  Also feed them well because lack of food could cause a die off as well.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

last week i saw 2 fries and today on 2nd week i see 5 total fry swimming around and i feed them DIY liquid food. they swim on the top most of the time, am looking forward to see more in the tank soon, i never seen any eggs though. but i seen the fish spawning in the riccia plant.

EDIT: i finally found some eggs and saw some of them hatched, they were inside the riccia, now i have them placed in the net in the same tank, they are safe from the predators. 

here are some pictures of the eggs:



























how did the breeding happen:

PH 6.8-7.0
water temp 76-78F
ammonia - 0
nitrate - 5 ppm
water hardness - 100ppm

spawn occur in riccia after water change, tank temp 76F during water change, 20% water change with temp at 70F, i think this is what trigger the spawning.


----------



## OoglyBoogly (Oct 19, 2010)

I'm starting to think that the trick is not getting them to spawn but saving the eggs/fry from the parents XD 

Good job on saving so many eggs! I never got to see any of the eggs.

Can you post a full tank shot of where they are spawning?


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

funkyfish said:


> You can never expect for all of the fry to survive unfortunately. And that is pretty good for your first spawn. I would hold off on water changes they are too small and sensitive, give them some time to grow, they hardly add any bio load so the water should be fine for them as long as you don't overfeed them, just top it off when you see needed. If you running a filter cover intake tube with a sponge or something so that fry doesn't get sucked in that way the water stays clean. And I am not sure if you know this but they are slow growing fish so don't expect them to grow fast  Also feed them well because lack of food could cause a die off as well.



IME the eggs are very hardy, 1/100 will get fungus on them or wont hatch, but i have seen most of them turning into fries. its all about if you are able to save the eggs from being eaten. i have riccia plant where they spawn all the time, they dont spawn anywhere else. which makes it easier for me to collect the eggs by simply shaking the riccia and bunch of eggs will fall off and i suck them through small hose and put them in net. i can keep track of them easily. when they first hatch, they will looks like they are dead but they are not, they can stick to glass like algae eating fish as well. i have couple which hatched in the tank and they are doing very well, luckily they haven't got eaten yet.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

OoglyBoogly said:


> I'm starting to think that the trick is not getting them to spawn but saving the eggs/fry from the parents XD
> 
> Good job on saving so many eggs! I never got to see any of the eggs.
> 
> Can you post a full tank shot of where they are spawning?



i collected more eggs today, i think they spawn every 2 days, because there were no eggs 2 days ago but there are some more today. the eggs are very hard to see when they are in their early stage. riccia has been very good shelter for the eggs.

i will post more picture once i no longer feel lazy.


----------



## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks for the egg pictures happi  This helps me a lot, as I've been looking for more whitish than clear looking no wonder I can't find them :redface:
What do or will you feed the fry? Green water? I've tried finely crushed flake & see them eating, but I think I will try sifted egg yolk, or get some Ken's Premium Golden Pearls 5-50 micron size. This was recommended to me from the guy I got them from & he sells them on Aquabid if anyone ever needs really nice ones from a reputable & very friendly source.

Anyway I have fry frequently, but have not invested the time yet to raise them or to get a large amount at once. I will do so now, since mine seem to be uncommonly prolific?:icon_lol:
It almost seems to easy! 

Mine don't care pH, gH, kH, whatever! A s long as the water is cold, they are breeding. I switch them from 5gs to 20L depending on my needs, & I've done this in 2 different water sources.

original pH 6.5 gh/kh 0 (RO)

Now well water pH 8.2 gH 4 kH 1

Maybe soft water matters idk, but as far as mine are concerned, nothing matters but temperature/environment.
I have 3 trios, usually housed together in the 20L with WCMMs, Black Kuhlies, many RCS, & 1 (extremely) dwarf Ancistrus or "rubber-lip" which I doubt matters at all with the possible exception of the dither WCMMs...
They _never_ stop! It's day in day out breeding or "dancing" or courting or sparring. 
I love them. They bring me joy.




OoglyBoogly said:


> I'm starting to think that the trick is not getting them to spawn but saving the eggs/fry from the parents XD ?


Agreed! lol


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

*fry after hatching*

eggs hatched after i collected them, took them 1 day to hatch, there are some few which need to be hatched, you wont see them in the pictures. but this is how they looks like when first hatched, they looks dead at this point and will start swimming around in another day or two. 


























some random pictures of my plants


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

dirtyhermit said:


> Thanks for the egg pictures happi  This helps me a lot, as I've been looking for more whitish than clear looking no wonder I can't find them :redface:
> What do or will you feed the fry? Green water? I've tried finely crushed flake & see them eating, but I think I will try sifted egg yolk, or get some Ken's Premium Golden Pearls 5-50 micron size. This was recommended to me from the guy I got them from & he sells them on Aquabid if anyone ever needs really nice ones from a reputable & very friendly source.
> 
> Anyway I have fry frequently, but have not invested the time yet to raise them or to get a large amount at once. I will do so now, since mine seem to be uncommonly prolific?:icon_lol:
> ...


am glad the picture helped you, i have posted more picture maybe they will help you more. IMO i never seen there eggs or fry when i use to keep them in my 50g tank which had a hard water, am guessing either eggs did not hatch or they were eaten or filter got them. i will try a new method to see if the eggs will hatch in hard water. i will simply move some of the new eggs in cup of hard water and see if they will hatch, i got shake the riccia tomorrow morning to see if there is more eggs. 

NOTE: i think its very important to have some kind of plant such as moss or riccia for them to spawn, they are very shy otherwise and don't like the light either. for those who did not have successful spawning try the moss or riccia


----------



## Franco (Jun 13, 2010)

I've been wanting CPDs for a long time but have only been able to find them locally for $12 a piece. Is this an outrageous price?


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Franco said:


> I've been wanting CPDs for a long time but have only been able to find them locally for $12 a piece. Is this an outrageous price?



they use to be that expensive when first found, but now days you should be able to buy them for $4 or less, i was planning to sell some of mine when they are grown up, they are also hard to find here sometime and most store don't carry them either.


----------



## funkyfish (Mar 16, 2009)

happi said:


> IME the eggs are very hardy, 1/100 will get fungus on them or wont hatch, but i have seen most of them turning into fries. its all about if you are able to save the eggs from being eaten. i have riccia plant where they spawn all the time, they dont spawn anywhere else. which makes it easier for me to collect the eggs by simply shaking the riccia and bunch of eggs will fall off and i suck them through small hose and put them in net. i can keep track of them easily. when they first hatch, they will looks like they are dead but they are not, they can stick to glass like algae eating fish as well. i have couple which hatched in the tank and they are doing very well, luckily they haven't got eaten yet.


I know that the eggs are hardy I been breeding these guys for a while now. The hardest part is keeping the fry alive, but I think it goes for every fish species out there, CPDs are pretty hardy but you can't expect all of them to survive and they are slow growing too. With my first spawn all of the eggs hatched but only 80-90% of fry survived. And it's hard to keep track of all the fry when they free swimming but I also kept them in a 14g. Most fish will eat their eggs or fry also IME RCS will eat the eggs, I remove the parents after the spawning to avoid them eating fry/eggs. I haven't done breeding projects in a while but I know my CPDs spawn on a regular basis and I always have at least 2 survivors. 
And CPD fry stick to glass with their heads they have sticky spots on it untill they become free swimming.


----------



## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Franco said:


> I've been wanting CPDs for a long time but have only been able to find them locally for $12 a piece. Is this an outrageous price?


 
Yes, that price is nutty. Even at my LFS, which is known to be _PRICEY_ they're only half that (and they’re closer to $4-$5/each if you buy them in groups of 5 or more). You could do better on aquabid (even with shipping) and that’s saying something.


----------



## Vancat2 (Jun 23, 2010)

I can't even find them! Anybody selling in the NE area?


----------



## AoxomoxoA (Apr 22, 2010)

happi said:


> NOTE: i think its very important to have some kind of plant such as moss or riccia for them to spawn, they are very shy otherwise and don't like the light either. for those who did not have successful spawning try the moss or riccia


100% agree with this. Most important. To add mine like it best if there is moss etc under & _over_ them too. They will come out into light & the open for long periods as long as there isn't tons of commotion around the tank (like from a 5 & 3yr old)


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Bad news, i lost more than 80% of the fries due to overdose of co2, i only see about 15-20 fries in my tank, i just left them with the adults now. i know they could eat them but i have noticed that fries seems to be growing much better when they have more space to swim and more food to eat and they like the live plants, if they dont make it alive i guess i will have to transfer them to the net again, so far i have over 80 free swiming fries before co2 killed many.


----------



## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

Hello
Visit my profile. I have some there
They are very very very easy to breed
For the egglayers they are as easy as the Danio Rerio. albeit not as ..prolific. I have fry all the day in the moss and the water sprite at the surface of the water. I get them out with a little can 
Neutral PH (even slight acidic) 5-10 hardness and 22-25 C is all it takes (and WC 30-50% a week)
Til now 100% survival rate of the extracted from the tank.


----------



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

Fahnell said:


> Hello
> Visit my profile. I have some there
> They are very very very easy to breed
> For the egglayers they are as easy as the Danio Rerio. albeit not as ..prolific. I have fry all the day in the moss and the water sprite at the surface of the water. I get them out with a little can
> ...


do you have any problem keeping the fries with the adults, am running out of space and don't have any extra setup to put them in new tank. 

i find it very difficult to remove the fries once they are in the tank, you simply cannot catch them with the net, you can unless you want to catch them one by one.


----------



## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

hi
no. pay attention
you see that denenrle cube from my profile?
ok
i rise CPD fry with 30 neons. SO...if they go to the surface they are winners (natural selection  ). what i do is simple. i spot them over the watersprite or the amazon leaves...take a cup...put it 3 cm near of the fry...press the cup in the water and the fry is in the cup in no time  (suction of water in the cup)
no need for nets. Well this is a one by one catch..but hey..they breed 24/24. how many do you want to have ?i get 2-3 a day. imagine in 3 months i can have 100. what to do with them?
Regarding to natural selection . That work. As i stated i have 100%survival ratio
BTW. DO NOT USE EXCEL OR EASYCARBO if you want to breed fish (egglaying). As i will always say the core of Excel is :

*Glutaraldehyde* is an organic compound with the formula CH2(CH2CHO)2. A pungent colorless oily liquid, glutaraldehyde is used to disinfect medical and dental equipment. It is also used for industrial water treatment and as a chemical preservative


Easylife team responded me in a mail that : bla bla easycarbo is ..safe for fish reproduction butttt you know..maybe give only 1/4 even 1/8 of the normal dosage. go figure


----------



## Azrie (Jan 5, 2011)

I'm currently trying to breed these little guys but haven't had much luck. I have six of them in a 10 gallon that is fairly well planted with Java moss on the bottom. The temp is at about 73F and I'm feeding them crushed flakes and white worms when they'll take them. I haven't seen any breeding activity or fry yet and its been about 6 weeks since I got them. Any suggestions? 

I also have a 5 gallon with java moss on the bottom, otherwise bare, to raise fry in once I get some. Should I move a couple over to breed in there rather than the 10?


----------



## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

how big are they?
do you niotice that male? very bright fins
i suppose that they are not mature.
Mine started to breed 3 months after purchase


----------



## MChambers (May 26, 2009)

*My solution*



Azrie said:


> I'm currently trying to breed these little guys but haven't had much luck. I have six of them in a 10 gallon that is fairly well planted with Java moss on the bottom. The temp is at about 73F and I'm feeding them crushed flakes and white worms when they'll take them. I haven't seen any breeding activity or fry yet and its been about 6 weeks since I got them. Any suggestions?
> 
> I also have a 5 gallon with java moss on the bottom, otherwise bare, to raise fry in once I get some. Should I move a couple over to breed in there rather than the 10?


They might be eating their eggs and fry. I'd try swapping the moss and any other floating plants between the two tanks about once a week. (This is the technique I use, and I've got about 15 juveniles now.) I'd guess you'll see some fry in the 5 gallon tank after a couple of weeks.


----------



## jahmic (Jan 30, 2011)

Just wanted to chime in and thank everyone for all the info provided in this thread.

I saw some CPDs at an lfs and decided they'd be the little guys that end up filling my 6-gal tank. In the middle of getting my first planted tank setup; it's been up for about 2 weeks now. Decided to make some changes to the substrate and some of the plants after reading through this thread and some of the provided links...can't wait to give those guys a comfy home :smile:


----------



## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

great ideea. but take my advice. try to breed them
the diff between the fish from the LFS and the fry from your tank is like from earth to sky. My fry come to my finger when i put it on the aquarium glass....and the parents run like hell scared by that very finger
it is beyond my reason why such a difference.many persons complain that the LFS CPD are shy. and they are...but the fry.. try and you will se that the small CPD is quite brave



jahmic said:


> Just wanted to chime in and thank everyone for all the info provided in this thread.
> 
> I saw some CPDs at an lfs and decided they'd be the little guys that end up filling my 6-gal tank. In the middle of getting my first planted tank setup; it's been up for about 2 weeks now. Decided to make some changes to the substrate and some of the plants after reading through this thread and some of the provided links...can't wait to give those guys a comfy home :smile:


----------



## jahmic (Jan 30, 2011)

Fahnell said:


> great ideea. but take my advice. try to breed them
> the diff between the fish from the LFS and the fry from your tank is like from earth to sky. My fry come to my finger when i put it on the aquarium glass....and the parents run like hell scared by that very finger
> it is beyond my reason why such a difference.many persons complain that the LFS CPD are shy. and they are...but the fry.. try and you will se that the small CPD is quite brave


Haha, funny you mention that...because that's actually exactly why I intend on rescaping my tank. I think these fish are amazing and just REALLY wanted to breed them anyway. You just made that even more appealing with your description of the fry.

Besides the fact that the design currently just looks a bit contrived (not happy with it at all), I wanted to plant a nice healthy cover of riccia in the foreground to provide some cover for the eggs. I plan on attaching them to slate, which should hopefully allow me to lift the plants and the eggs out of the tank and into a second tank for the fry. It will be a while before I get to that point...I've already dropped soooo much money in getting setup after not having a tank for several years. :redface:

I think I'll actually go ahead and start a blog of this process today...it's been an interesting learning experience.


----------



## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

now i breed them with a plastic imitation of javamoss )
you can skip the riccia (lots of CO2 super high light) and try javamoss
in a species only setup you will pick fry from the aquarium walls with ease
the only diff between CPD and danio rerio is the number of eggs - very easy to breed that Danio .
Do not bother that much about the decor . just a bushy thing in the middle for the female to deposit


----------



## landolakes (Dec 24, 2010)

The fry are most definitely braver then the parents, I have twenty in a grow out tank and they pic at my hand when ever its in there. I actually use my cpd as dither fish, lol. Shy yeah right.


----------



## Fahnell (Jan 20, 2011)

landolakes said:


> The fry are most definitely braver then the parents, I have twenty in a grow out tank and they pic at my hand when ever its in there. I actually use my cpd as dither fish, lol. Shy yeah right.


almost any fish raised by the owner is a delight ( i speak about the behavior)
first my impresion with CPD was...###%%PPP fish. well after interaction with fry everything changed. i love the CPD. but the parents are still $$%%%!! fish.
that is why i will always say ..breed the fish.


----------



## Rion (Dec 29, 2006)

Just did a water change in the 10 I have set up for breeding, pulling the adults out tomorrow afternoon, they've been in there since Wednesday. Managed to get my best looking male and the two largest females I have so I'm hoping to get a better number of fry this time around.


----------

