Male spawning

[Teamsherman]

When the male and female mate what part of it is called spawning? is it the whole process or just when the male fertilize's the eggs?

And is the milt from the male visible from the outside of the tank?

Just courious as my rainbows have eggs again and i want to know if i will be able to tell if the eggs have been fertilized by sight.

I have separated the rest of them and they (the pair) seem to be alot more comfortable this time.

Cheers in advance,

Alan.

[TropheusQueen]

Hi,

I personally call the whole process of the mating rituals 'spawning' others may not agree.

Dependant on the size of the fish the males milt distributes through the water quickly and is difficult to observe.

In a matter of a couple of days however, you should be able to tell if the eggs have been fertilized or not. The fertilized eggs become transparent while the unfertlized eggs turn a milky white colour.

Hope this helps .

Cheers

[Teamsherman]

Cool, thanks for the help Aline.

I suppose i will now just kick back and wait a few days to see if the eggs

are good.

Cheers, Alan.

[YeW]

Hi -

I think spawning is strictly the laying of eggs or milt. Although as Aline rightly points out many ppl refer to the pre-spawning courting behaviour as "spawning" also.

HTH -