What Do Fish Eggs Look Like in a Tank? Things to Know!

As an aquarist, you need to know that some fish species don’t have strong maternal instincts. Some of them will eat their own eggs right after laying. Therefore, you need to identify and recognize the eggs to isolate them.

So, what do fish eggs look like in a tank? Different fish come in a diverse wide array of colors, including black, white, orange, and more, often smaller than 1mm and round-shaped.

Keep reading for deep knowledge and pictures of fish eggs in the tank!

What Do Different Types of Fish’s Eggs Look Like?

1. What Do Goldfish look like?

Goldfish eggs look like small bubbles with a transparent, whitish color. The whitish look will then turn yellow with a small dark spot in the middle after getting fertilized.

The eggs of goldfish are sticky. You can see a white patch attached to a leaf or decoration item after this fish lay eggs in aquarium.

Goldfish are well-known as prolific breeders that can lay hundreds to 1000 eggs at a time and multiple times a week in good condition.

However, goldfish are one of the fish species that don’t have parental instincts. They are notorious for eating their newly hatched eggs.

Therefore, to protect baby fish eggs, you should isolate the eggs to another tank or remove adult goldfish to prevent the fish from eating all the eggs.

2. What Do Angelfish Eggs Look Like?

When first laid, angelfish eggs are extremely small, just like white pearls. Some aquarists also said that fish eggs feel like “jelly”. After getting fertilized, the eggs will turn from translucent to slightly brown. But if you see the stark white eggs, it means they weren’t fertilized.

The fact is that a female angelfish can produce hundreds to a thousand eggs. Sometimes, angelfish also eat their eggs due to the lack of food or under major stress.

3. What Do Glofish eggs look like?

Just like regular fish eggs, Glofish eggs look like tiny balls. They have a stark white color initially first, then turn yellow fish eggs after getting fertilized.

The interesting thing about the Glofish is that their fertilized eggs will fall to the bottom of the tank. Meanwhile, unfertilized ones float above the water’s surface.

Glofish species also can produce hundreds of eggs but don’t have maternal instincts. Like goldfish, they will proceed to devour their baby eggs.

Therefore, you better transfer the parents for your fish’s safety once you see fish eggs in tank.

4. What Do Blood Parrot Eggs Look Like?

Blood parrot fish eggs in water appear a whitish color. After getting fertilized, these tiny Parrot fish eggs will turn clear or milky white with wavy membranes surrounding them. In contrast, infertile eggs will likely look smaller.

A female Blood Parrot can lay eggs once every 14 – 21 days, which is about 50-150 eggs per time. Unlike those fish species above, the Blood Parrot is pretty good at protecting its baby. They are very nurturing and guard the eggs all the time.

You really need to pay attention to the Parrot eggs, it just takes 4 – 5 days for the eggs to hatch.

5. What Do Betta Eggs Look Like?

Betta fish eggs look like white oval unequal forms that are just 1mm small. Betta eggs are tropical fish eggs that take around 2-3 days to hatch.

Betta fish will rarely eat their eggs unless they are starving and have no other choice. But most of the eggs they swallow are not typical; they may be unfertilized or fail to spawn.

6. What Do Corydoras Eggs Look Like?

Corydoras eggs are a transparent white color when first laid. Eggs will be laid in clusters of 10-20 eggs, each of them measuring about 1-2mm in size.

After fertilization, from one to two days, the egg’s color will turn from white to brownish with a small black spot.

On average, a female Corydoras can lay between 10 and 50 eggs at a time. Corydoras prefer laying eggs against aquarium glass; this feature sets them apart from the rest.

But just like the other Goldfish or Angelfish, Corydoras offers no parental care, they will eat their eggs. So it’s better to isolate the parents as soon as possible to protect the aquarium fish eggs.

How to Protect Fish Eggs in Aquariums?

Some fish take care of their eggs, and some do not. So, it’s important to know what type of fish you are dealing with.

In the first case, if the fish parents are good ones, then just let them keep their babies.

On the other hand, some fish species will eat their own eggs right after laying. So, removing the parents from the tank or transferring the eggs to another small aquarium as soon as possible is important.

Many other reasons can harm the fish eggs, here are some ways for you to protect them:

FAQs

What do white fish eggs in the tank mean?

White fish eggs in the tank might be a sign of rotten eggs that are unfertilized.

If your fish lays white eggs, those can be freshly laid, but after 2-3 days without being fertilized, the eggs can turn into fungus and yellowish, thus affecting the water tank condition.

Where do fish lay eggs?

Discus, corydoras, and Angelfish are the species that lay eggs onto your aquarium glass due to their preference for vertical spawning.

Meanwhile, Bettas, and goldfish, are more egg scatterers, as you can notice their eggs floating around in the tank.

What to do with fish eggs in a tank?

Depending on if you want to keep them or not. If you plan to have more fish, you need to isolate them quickly in another tank, away from their parents. Gently using a cup to scoop them out of the breeding tank and put them into a small aquarium.

If you don’t want more eggs in your fish tank, then leave the eggs there for their parents to eat or scoop them out with a cup and discard them.

Should I remove fish eggs from the tank?

As we mentioned above, some fish species offer no parental care; they love eating or breaking out their eggs. That’s why you have to remove either eggs or their parents to keep the eggs safe.

But if the fish parents are good, just let them keep their babies.

What to do with snail eggs in fish tank?

You can either keep them to feed your fish in the tank or discard them before they hatch if you find their presence unsuited for your tank condition.

Conclusion

This article ultimately gives you an insight into what do fish eggs look like in a tank. Not only provide the fish eggs’ appearance, but we also bring some more related, useful knowledge of some fish species’ features.

Fish eggs are just like little white balls that must be carefully protected. We hope you enjoy this blog and find it useful!