SPAWNING the RED GLASS BARB
by: WILMA DUNCAN

In late spring of 2001, a hobbyist friend sent me four of these beauties. I placed them in a 10 gallon planted tank. Several months passed by and these barbs became more beautiful. The male was a deep reddish orange color; the female was a light yellow with a light cast of orange.

One morning, I decided to try for spawn from these beauties. I had lost one, but one male and two females remained. I set up a 10 gallon tank filled 2/3 full and 1/3 aged water. My pH was 7.4 and the water was on the alkaline side. I used a submersible heater with temperature set at 78 degrees. I added a tablespoon of aquarium salt to the tank water. My filtration consisted of a small sponge filter. I planted the tank with Java Moss, Java Fern, Anacharis, and Hornwort. Later that evening I added the pair, turned off the tank light and raised the temperature to 80 degrees.

The next morning when I checked on the pair, the morning sun was shining inside the tank. I saw the male driving the female into the java moss. I pulled up a chair and watched the pair for more than an hour. The female was not cooperating at all with the male. She swam to a corner and hid behind the Anacharis. The male would locate her then head for the Java moss. This continued for quite some time.

Finally, the female headed for the Java moss and the male followed. He began to nudge the underside of her stomach and she began the barrel roll. The pair rolled throughout the Java moss. When she grew weary, she would hide behind the Anacharis, leaving her corner only to search out the eggs and devour them before my eyes. There was nothing I could do to prevent her quest for her own eggs.

Throughout the day, they continued their spawning act. Late that evening, I removed the pair and waited for the eggs to hatch. Three days passed and still no fry. I had seen some eggs being sprayed in the Java moss, so I knew there were eggs. Why were they not hatching?

The next few days kept me busy and I almost forgot about this tank. When I went back to check for fry, I found only six free-swimming. I added a small amount of egg layer fry food and later in the evening I fed live brine shrimp. Soon these six small fry had bulging bellies. I knew they would be ok and soon become large enough to be placed in the grown-up tank.

I waited a few months and tried another spawn. The fry had grown to be quite beautiful. I wanted more of these beauties. I had lost one of the females from the previous spawning trio and now had only a pair. The spawning set-up was the same as the previous one. The male and female spawned the next day and once again I removed them that evening. I found only four fry from this spawn. What was wrong? I knew my spawning set-up was the same I used for all of my barbs. An important key was missing.

I did not know their scientific name; so all my resource books were not helpful. I did learn that some barbs have different spawning methods and egg laying may occur over a period of days. Was this the problem? I separated them and fed them live foods for another month. I was determined to unlock the secret of spawning these beauties.

Once again, I set up a spawning tank using the same method as before, only this time I was prepared to take a chance and leave the pair in the tank for five days. I added some more Java moss to the set-up. I hoped they would not eat any fry that may hatch early. After the five day period was over, I removed the parents, placing the male in one tank and the female in another, just in case I would need to repeat the spawn.

Three days later, on a beautiful sunny morning, I checked the tank. There were four small free-swimming fry. I was disappointed. I wanted to find many more. Late that afternoon, I fed the fry a tiny amount of live brine shrimp. The following morning, I found three more fry and my hopes went soaring. Would I find more over the next few days? Only time would tell.

I discovered more fry during the next week. I had unlocked the secret and now knew why I had such small spawns. Apparently, these barbs only lay a few eggs over a period of days. The next few days I discovered more fry until I counted 28. I had so much Java moss and floating water sprite in the tank, I could not see well enough to find more. Only time and growth would allow me to get the total number of fry.

The fry are growing and becoming more noticable. Their color has changed from a pale white to a reddish tone and they have doubled in size. A few are tiny, telling me they were the last eggs lain. I am still searching for the scientific name for these beauties and am anxious to learn where they originate

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Years ago, I built a website for a woman named Wilma Duncan.  She is the author of this article.  The site has since been taken down (Wilma’s the Cause, a non-profit that gave aquariums to classrooms, nursing homes, etc) but I wanted to keep her articles up and on the web…so here is her article about snails.

What can you keep in your aquarium besides fish and plants? Lovely snails. Except for a few species, most snails benefit the aquarium habitat. How is this possible? They are great cleaners, eating uneaten food, dead plant material, and consuming algae. They are a great food source; just watch a clown loach as he devours them. My favorite snails are the red, gold, and brown ramshorn, and Malaysian. I use these in all my fry tanks, from egg layers to livebearers. They will not harm fry as they clean up the uneaten food and consume any algae that forms. They are a handsome snail, reaching the size of 2.5 cm or so. Their shells take on a flat coil appearance. The Malayan snail (Melanoides tuberculata), small brown-shelled conical snails that burrow and help keep the substrate sweet and healthy. Rarely seen during the day, but come out at night and may be culled then, as they tend to over populate. They are carnivorous and eat decaying vegetable matter. I use these in my fry tanks for clean up. Beware of the Japanese livebearing snail (Viviparus malleatus), as it grows large and dangerous if it dies in the aquarium.Remove it promptly! The mystery snails are a variety of colors. Blue, gold, albino, cinnamon, and black are the most common found in the aquarium trade. The Gold Mystery snail (Ampullaria cuprina) can be housed with any fish that does not eat snails. It is not a live plant eater, only decaying plants and will eat any type of fish food. I have been told, if fed canned spinach, growth rate is astonishing. I have not personally tried the spinach. They are hermaphroditic, meaning each snail is male and female. The eggs are laid in a finger size cluster, consisting of a couple hundred eggs above the water line. If the babies are fed well they can begin laying eggs within four (4) months. I collect and keep the blue, gold, albino, and black mystery snails. The Olive Nerite snail is one of the greatest algae eaters I have seen. You can place one in a tank in which the glass is coated with algae and within a few days the glass is clean.

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In 2005, I had a MAJOR problem in my tank with Hair Algae.  Being that I didn’t want to use chemicals in my tank, the only thing I could do was try and lower the nitrate levels in my tank.  I began using deionized water, but the results were slow and not as good as I expected.  Finally the guys over at the fish store (New World Aquarium in New York City) told me they had a fish in called Siamese Algae Eater.  They look JUST like the algae eaters sold in the pet stores all the time, but they are different.  For the longest time, I could not tell them apart, so I’m posting this to help those of you looking for these fish.

False Siamese Algae Eater

False Siamese Algae Eater

True Siamese Algae Eater (SAE)

Siamese Algae Eater

Now, here is how to tell them apart.  As you can see below, (and above) the False Siamese Algae Eater has a CLEAR tail in the center.  The Siamese Algae Eater has it’s black stripe continue all the way past it’s body and to the tip of it’s tail.  This is the only definitive way I know of t tell the difference.  When they are young, it’s a bit harder to see the difference.  I hope this helps everyone out!  If you have a hair algae problem in your tank, the SAE is one of the few fish that will make fast work of getting rid of it. (Flying Fox do a good job as well.)   They are a fantastic addition to any freshwater community tank!

If you are looking for a great army of algae eaters get a few Siamese Algae Eaters, a few octo cats, and a bunch of Amano Shrimp. The combination will do a wonderful job cleaning up your tank!

False Siamese Algae Eater

False Siamese Algae Eater

Siamese Algae Eater

True Siamese Algae Eater

Updated Pic – 01/15/06

02/15/06

Updated Photo-10/16/05

My Bolivian Ram (He was my favorite fish. He passes away on 5/5/05)

Bolivian Ram

Wide view of Left Side

Cory Cats (They LOVE resting on the sponge filter-I keep it there so it’s ready for my nurse tank when I need it)

Farlowella

Ghost Cat

Golden Algae Eater

Keyhole Cichlid (They have great personalities, but are very shy)

School of Neon Tetras and the belly of my Octo

Side view of Octo on glass.

Octo taking care of my plants.

Left side of tank (I don’t have CO2 or a good substrate yet)

My Bolivian Ram Again. He loved to come to the glass and look at the camera.

One of the four new Siamese Algae Eaters I got to help with my hair algae.

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