Honey Gourami breeding monthly

[Frodo]

Hello

I am less than 3 months old in this hobby and my HG has laid second batch of eggs and now I have fry. 
I still 5 weeks in taking care of the first batch and it is a makeshift habitat and can’t really expand in my current living situation. Maybe sometime in future I can make arrangements for this but not anytime soon.  

My question is do they breed this often? I am not conditioning them like videos say to promote this behavior.

Should I just let it be and let nature take course in my community tank? Pretty sure my HOB filter will suck them in anyways if others don’t eat them. 

TBH I don’t have it in my heart to just let them get picked off one by one. 

Suggestions? 

[beaka]

Can you separate the male and female? Clearly that's your issue, so if you can separate them, and maybe return/sell one and decide to keep only males or only females, then your issue is solved. Obviously they CAN breed this often, since they are, and you didn't do anything special to promote that. With regard to the community tank, I couldn't do that either. Save what you can, and then separate. That's what I would do. 

Good luck!

[Hobbit]

My honeys can breed as often as 3 days apart when they feel like it... honestly they’re huge flirts all the time. 😆 And I’m not doing anything special either!

I know what you mean about not wanting to let the fry get eaten by the other fish. I feel the same way, but like you, there’s no chance I could raise all their babies. I do let many of the fry just get eaten by the mom fish or the tetras that live with them. I’m not sure how aware the fry are at that stage. They can barely swim and their brains are soooooo small. I don’t have any real evidence to say they’re less aware but it makes me feel better to think it. ❤️

The other thing I’ve discovered is that if I can keep the dad from building a bubble nest, they don’t breed. So if I don’t want them breeding, I up the flow in the tank and make sure the water surface is clear of plants and such. It worked for a while but now my dad fish is getting better at making bubble nests 😛 That or my power head is getting weaker.

If you do want to raise two generations at once, I’ve been keeping my younger generation in a breeder box that hangs off the side of my tank.

Anyway, I hope that gives you some ideas. I love honeys and I’m so glad you got them so early into the hobby!

[Frodo]

@Hobbit Thanks. It does help knowing I am not committing a heinous crime by not able to care for all the fry that come out. I will follow your tips and do the best I can. 

[Hobbit]

I’m sure you’re already doing great! And no you’re not committing any sort of crime. ❤️ In nature the vast majority of baby fish would be eaten as well.

[MichelleN]

😀 every three days! Well, now I know to take once a month with a grain of salt.  We brought two pair less than a month ago.  The first boys nest caught us completely off guard. So when the second gathered his up a few days later my hubby grabbed them and placed in the QT I was cycling. (Good thing tanks are on $/gallon sale at Petco right now, had to get another for the QT) They just used up the yolk sacks and I see HD daddy #1 has built another nest!  We're going to try to raise this first bunch for the experience, and I'm sure it won't be last we interfere with.  However, if they breed this easily, for the most part they'll be on their own. 

Edited November 16, 2020 by MichelleN

[Frodo]

@MichelleN Yes and they are very slow growers. I see these teenager picks and i look with anticipation at my 5 weeks old of 1st fry batch. 
Cant wait to see them with the new colors! The second batch though I am going to do best I can. 
I did put a day old fry from second batch in the 1st batch tank and he  is still kicking. That’s one good sign I guess. 
 I only have a single pair. Not adding anymore for sure. 

[Pookies Aquatics]

How long until honey gourami are fully colored? I bought one that I thought was fully colored but every day, it seems to look more and more colorful. I have 2 other honey gourami as well. One of them is all grey and the other gray with a little yellow on the tips.

Does anyone know when they will all be fully colored? Also, when will they start breeding?

[MichelleN]

Sorry, I am sorry I can't answer either question. I've only had my a short time, and they were already colored nicely at purchase.   The males colors didn't change but intensified when they started building nests. But I hope someone more experienced can answer. 

[Frodo]

@Pookies Aquatics Same here. I am raising my first batch and they already look yellow. The pair I got from store was already  colorful and  still is. Not sure what it means if they are grey. 
 

[Maggie]

My 8 harlequin rasboras have only been in their main tank for less than 2 weeks and are also very frisky! Nobody else is in there right now, and they hardly ever venture even close to the bottom, so I think fry might have a chance. The teenaged danio erythromicron in the other tank are also starting to go at it, though they do hunt around on the bottom. It's kind of scary as I am new and don't have a long term relationship with the LFS, nor do I personally know anyone in the hobby. But I sure would like to have some baby rasboras!

[Hobbit]

@Pookies Aquatics I’m not sure when they start breeding either. I got my adults fully grown and my first generation of babies is only 3 months old. They definitely aren’t fully colored or close to breeding yet—though a week or two ago they suddenly went from ignoring each other to trying to touch each other and chasing each other around. I feel like they just entered middle school! 🤣

In terms of when they gain their colors, I can start to see some yellow on them when they’re 2-3 weeks. But I don’t think even my 3 month olds are done coloring. They all still have a stripe, and I *think* that will fade with time, since neither of their parents have stripes. Though I know some female honeys retain a bit of a stripe.

18 hours ago, Pookies Aquatics said:

One of them is all grey and the other gray with a little yellow on the tips.

I’m 99% sure those are females! Some female honeys stay gray their whole lives. If they were going to turn yellow I believe they would have yellowed up long ago.