I recently purchased Dwarf Red and Niger Delta Eggs. I Have Plenty of tanks to hatch them and keep them separate. I was wondering though, if the eggs have to be kept out of water the 6 to 8 weeks it it says on the package? If I could put the eggs in water to speed up the process that would be great. If that is possible, what would the pros and cons be between the two hatching methods?

Hi Shelby.  I emailed you an article with more information on incubating SJO, but yes, it is possible to incubate them in water.  I find it to be more labor intensive, and if I fail to keep up, I lose more eggs than I do in peat or on peat, but it is certainly a viable option.

Having received them in peat makes it even a little trickier, as it is difficult to find the eggs in the peat to extract them for water incubating.  And if you leave the peat in the water with them, it's difficult to watch over them and remove any dead or fungusing eggs, or even to change water without worrying about pouring out eggs.

Good luck....

Thank you very much for that. I was curious because my Gardneri seem to do well with the eggs always in the water. Once in awhile I lose some to fungus but not many.

Thank you for the email and also the Gularis eggs I purchased from you. Lol

Since sjoestedti are considered "semi-annual", they can be a bit more challenging than the "non-annual" gardneri.  Incubation is a little longer, and at least a brief dry period is the norm.  Many long-time sjoestedti breeders are surprised when I tell them I water incubate most of them.