Goldfish egg 0 to 4 days

[Mintaka]

Hi folks. I've neglected visiting these forums, and the microscope, for some time. But a few days ago something happened that prompted me to pull the Motic stereo out of the naphthalene: one of the comets in the fishpond released her eggs after being chased around by, presumably, two or three males for a few hours. Some of the eggs clung to the roots of the floating water plants. My son (12) insisted that these eggs should be kept safe from predators (i.e. the fish themselves!). So we transferred the water plants to a heated fish tank.

Hatchery.jpg (174.43 KiB) Viewed 3332 times

Just for fun, I pulled one of the eggs off the a root and popped it into a petri dish. I then added some water and floated it on the surface. That way I was able to easily remove the same egg daily and spy on its progress. Below are some shots of the egg developing.

Combine fish egg development (small size).jpg (465.74 KiB) Viewed 3332 times

[75RR]

That is an interesting project! Do you know the size and how soon it might hatch?

[coominya]

Would make an excellent time-lapse subject.

[Captain_Howdy1]

cool! I keep fish as well...but they are mbunas so momma fish holds the eggs in her mouth...

a very enjoyable experience. I don't consider them pets or neither would I call fish keeping a hobby as it is too much work!

But I still enjoy it!

[Mintaka]

Do you know the size and how soon it might hatch?

The egg was about a millimeter in diameter, with the hatchling maybe 5mm. This specific egg hatched after four days at 22 deg C, which is about right according to the internet. I was surprised at how quickly this little vertebrate animal developed, and can only assume it's because of its minuscule size compared to, say, a puppy.

[charlie g]

Excellent project your son and you share with us, congrats Mintaka! Your sequence of posted images for me brings to mind the great image-microscopist: Roman Vishniack (?sp?).

Pomds and other still waters offer snails eggs, frog and toad eggs...and fish eggs, and insect...etc., this time of year. It's great to hear that you enjoy an outdoor pond. thanks for this posting. Charlie guevara