[john walsh]

I decided to leave both parents in the tank, and there was at least one other spawn that i observed the male guarding. However, the water was so stained that i could barely see the fish at all. I was also getting worried about the mulm gathering amongst the leaves on the bottom of the tank, and although i was careful not to overfeed in such a small environment (10L) i was not confident that the clean up crew of a measly two snails was sufficient to stop the water from fowling. So after scouring the debris with a magnifying glass and torch, i decided the best thing was to do was to remove the adults for a rest (and to recondition them) and to carefully remove all the leaves and cones and siphon off the accumulated waste before performing a 50% water change. All the water that was removed from the tank was examined under bright light and magnification. To my surprise i discovered about eight free swimming fry all the size of two day old Nothobranchius killies! I have them all back in the tank now and i am desperately hoping that all the disturbance they have endured wont do them in, We’ll see…
I am both delighted that they’re there, and peeved that i did not adhere to the ‘give a spawn 20 days before you can be sure of success or otherwise’ protocol that is advocated on this site.