Goldfish laid eggs - with photos, etc.

I know there has been lots of interest in breeding goldfish in the past on this forum, so I thought you all might be interested in this.

It was about a year ago that my lovely Upstart first laid eggs. At that time I only found two or three left clinging to the plants. This time I caught them only a few minutes after she laid, and was able to save a few of her eggs before the others ate the rest. Here are the critical details:

60 gallon tank, cycled, ph about 7.5.
Upstart and Napoleon are both just over 3 years old.
Water temp is about 75, down from 80 a few weeks ago.
I performed a small water change yesterday and replaced the 5 gallons I siphoned out when I vacuumed the gravel with cold straight from the tap.
I went on a four-day vacation starting the 6th, so they were without food for a couple days. When I came back I fed them more than usual.

And the photos:








You can see the parents by following the link in my signature. Napoleon is the large orange comet and Upstart is the white common. Napoleon is also my avatar.

I saved about ten of the eggs - I don't know if they even got fertilized - in a 2.5 gallon java fern grow-out tank. We'll see if they develop at all. I don't have room for babies, really, but I'd like to save just one of their little ones.

I'll keep you all updated.

This morning I removed all the eggs that were white with fungus. Most of the other eggs are already showing two eye dots and a suggestion of a spine. I'm so excited! I have about 20 eggs. I figure at least 15 will hatch, and at least 10 will likely make it to 1 month old. A few will probably have deformities, as both parents are "feeders," so that will cut the number of good, healthy fry down to about 7. I'll eventually only end up keeping one, of course, but I can find homes for the others.
I've begun my search for a nice sponge filter.

Here is a photo of some of the eggs today. They are about 1/16 in long. Pardon the gunk on the surface, the soil for the java fern leaves a little residue.



Some eggs are still stuck to the plant in the big 60 gallon tank. Most of them have gone white. I don't know if any of them will actually hatch. I imagine it's certainly possible. We'll see.

Thanks everyone for all your comments!

Day three is here and it's amazing to see the growth in the eggs. They are all filled with a long dark curl and two big dots now - a definite spine and eyes. This little experiment is well worth the time investment just to see such an incredible process. Check out the day three photo!





I'm going out to buy a sponge filter and some liquifry tomorrow. I counted nineteen eggs. I'm expecting them to hatch within the next two days. Hooray!

Woo! I knew those eggs were looking a little crowded. Almost everyone has hatched, all but about three of the eggs. The tank is full of little wigglies! They're gorgeous little wigglies. Well, I think so anyway.
I won't begin feeding them until late tomorrow, as they are still feeding off their egg sacs.
Tomorrow I will buy a turkey baster to do water changes, as I have no filtration on the tank. The java fern is the only aeration they have, but I'm not too worried about that. I'll probably go out and get a sponge filter, too, and start filtration in a day or two. I'll use some of the ceramic rings from the 60 gallon to kick-start the cycle.

I'm so excited! Babies, oh yeah. Here's one: