Mystery eggs?

[Wampatom]

This morning I noticed what appears to be eggs in my 75 gal aquarium. The problem is I have no idea what could lay eggs this large in my tank. Each egg(?) is about 2mm across. They were laid during the night. I only have 4 fish in my tank: mated clowns (I know what their spawn look like and they just spawned 3 days ago), a single tang, and a single banggai cardinal. I believe the cardinal is a mouth brooder and this is too big a mouthful. There are no other large mobile vertebrates or invertebrates (astro snails are the biggest).

Calling John and Chucker. Can you guys come through again?

 

[fishfanatic2]

8O 8O

Finding eggs and not knowing who laid them...now that's pretty scary!

 

[Anonymous]

I know nothing about reproduction in the aquarium, but they look like some kind of shrimp to me. You can almost make out the shape of the animal inside. Maybe you have a nocturnal shrimp living in your tank that you aren't aware of.

Mantis? 8O

 

[DustinDorton]

That is pretty interesting. Almost all of the eggs look like nothing is in them, some of them appear to have something, but I think its the egg behind it showing through. It could be eggs from your solo banggai, they do look a lot like them.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say no to shrimp. Since you did not list haveing any and shrimp carry their eggin in the swimmeretts and the eggs are verry small. It kind of looks like duds possible from the bangai

 

[John_Brandt]

They look more like fish eggs than anything else.

 

[wade1]

I'm going to toss out the suggestion that maybe you have a female cardinal and no male for her to deposit the eggs with... normally the eggs are 'consumed' back by the female, but who knows? Maybe she just let them drop. Certainly fits the bill with the spherical orientation and the fact that they are too large to be anything but fish eggs.

Kinda cool.

Wade

 

[Wampatom]

Update on the eggs. They looked the same all day, then by evening they were gone. The eggs were laid next to a 5 by 20 mm deep fissure in the live rock (heavy organ music, my wife and son move away from the tank, the camera pans for a closeup on my face, my eyes widen, “We must destroy what is in there!” I cry. …).

I agree that at least some of the eggs(?) look empty or infertile. The banggai acted strangely the day before. She hung around near the front of the tank so I could take her picture, not a usual position for her (notice how I have assigned the sex). I have no knowledge of eggs and none of my books seem to help. The banggai was bred and raised in Chicago. I purchased her at a CMAS swap meet, but I can’t remember the name of the person. She probably didn’t receive much sexual instruction from her parents. Still, the eggs seem huge for a mouth brooder.

 

[ricky1414]

thats wierd, because some of the eggs appeared to be "fertilized." zery inzteresting, yah?

 

[wade1]

What makes you think they look fertilized?

 

[ricky1414]

where the arrows are pointing too, it looks like embryonic eyes, like on the discovery channel. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Who knows what that is. Unfertilezed chicken egg have a "prechicken" in them. Check next time before you scramble. I would still be guessing the cardnial.

 

[ricky1414]

MMMMMMM...prechicken. Yummy

 

[DustinDorton]

I think it could be specks in the photograph, maybe something in the water. There is something similar in color and size just south east.

 

[Anonymous]

Nah, that's a bubble.

 

[DustinDorton]

Not the bubbles, obviously. . .