Siamese Fighter Spawn Log | HMPK Mustard Gas Female x Blue Veil Tail Male

This Siamese fighting fish spawning is between a well bred halfmoon plakat mustard gas female and a basic blue male veil tail. I do have a HMPK male for the female to pair with, however I decided for this breeding, (her first) to match her with an experienced male who I know will make a good fish parent and to discover what variation in fin and color types might emerge from such a match.

As the parents spawned on Independence Day, this spawn will henceforth be referred to as the 'Independence Spawn'.

Spawning commenced 6.30 pm 4 July, was finished 10.30 pm 4 July. Female was removed immediately after spawning had finished.

The male and female had been introduced prior to this on the 3 rd of July, spent 24 hours shredding one another's fins before finally doing the deed. (Actually, to be precise, the female shredded the male and managed to get away with nothing but a little nick out of her tail. The blue male happens to be quite a gentleman.) As I keep a mix of males and females in one of my tanks, the pair had 'met' one another beforehand. Whether this played a role in their relatively quick spawning, I could not say.

They were spawned in a 20 gallon long with a little fake hair grass for privacy. The tank was filled to 10 cm with water and a heater was placed inside. Temperature steady at 23, probably warmer where the eggs are because the tank is long and shallow and without any circulation in it. Long term, this is not an idea situation, however because the male must spend his time tending the eggs, which involves cleaning the eggs and making sure that they remain in the nest, it helps him if the water is not unduly disturbed.

With 30 liters of water in the tank (around 8 gallons), it will be much longer before the water fouls. Once the fry are free swimming a pre-cycled sponge filter will be added to the tank in order to process ammonia and nitrites into less toxic nitrates. Regular water changes (a minimum of two small changes a day) will also be undertaken to ensure water quality.

The fry will be fed on JBL NovoTom, a powdered artemia (brine shrimp) food source. This may result in losses due to fry refusing to eat anything but live food, however I have encountered significant problems with freshly hatched brine shrimp in the past (swim bladder disorder) and microworms (ventrals failing to form), and as the JBL NovoTom comes highly recommended by a local expert, I will be using it with this experimental spawn.

The pictures below depict the male and tending the nest and the nest itself, complete with eggs. Though the spawning took four hours, it does not seem that there are a great deal of eggs. It is possible that the male has consumed some, however as it took a good couple of hours for any eggs to exit the female at all, and as she is still a relatively small and young female, it is likely that this is simply a relatively small spawn.

Stay tuned for further installments of the spawn log.