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Sometimes I Just Can't Figure Fish Out

jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Did you ever have one of those fishkeeping days that you just can't figure out?

This weekend, I set up a 29G tank in my son's room (part of the master plan to get more tanks in the house). Remarkably, he wanted to have one of my pairs of convicts in his tank so they could spawn and have babies instead of buy new fish for the tank. So, we looked around in my existing tanks and he picked out the cons from Lake Nicaragua that were currently residing in a divided 40 breeder.

They had been living in the 40 since I picked them up at ACA. All had been well, they spawned a few times, ate the babies when it was time to spawn again, and generally had a peaceful existence. I moved them to the new tank with all of the same decor as the old one and added a few PVC pipes. I figured that if they got along well in an 18"x18", then they would be fine in a 12"x30" tank. Wrong figuring. I came home tonight to find the female shredded. I think she'll survive but it was a bonehead move.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Been there done that, too. I suspect they receive a new "how to be a fish" manual when they arrive in the new tank.



Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Why must cichlids be so angry. I think that keeping killies or danios would be much more fulfilling. Or NOT ;)

Remarkably the Lago Nic cons are one of the only ones I'm not currently breeding. Wishing your female a speedy recovery!

Matt
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
She's swimming again. Looking at it again, the only thing I didn't transfer to the new tank was the sponge filter. I'll know better next time.
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
Go figure

hollyfish2000 said:
A pair of rainbows would be fine in the 29 and the boys dont play rough. just saying
Click to expand...


So pains me to say it but she's right. Really. I mean ouch, that hurt.

They're also really good parents, at least mine have been - no filicide or filiphagia observed among two spawning pairs.

I has a similar experience with a girlfriend when we moved into a house, though pride precludes me from revealing just who took the beating.
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I know rainbows are good fish. I actually have 2 pairs from Holly's stock. The problem is they fit in much better in a community setting than my beloved convicts, so I save the species only tanks for them.

I may go the rainbow route if the female doesn't pull through.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
...so this morning I found the female of my pair of "Rio Cubayo" cons completely shredded (and dead).

Pair's been together over a year, spawned several times...raised babies together...has 4 square feet of floorspace.

I've got a bunch of babies growing out but sometimes fish just don't follow the rules...

Matt
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Wow... What a convincing argument to keep convicts! :p

Can I expect the same from my Panamensis?
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Definition

Avatar said:
So pains me to say it but she's right. Really. I mean ouch, that hurt.

They're also really good parents, at least mine have been - no filicide or filiphagia observed among two spawning pairs.
Click to expand...
Isn't this more a case of mariticide?
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Tony said:
Wow... What a convincing argument to keep convicts! :p

Can I expect the same from my Panamensis?
Click to expand...

I don't have personal experience with the panamensis, but I would guess they will act the same way if given the opportunity. It may happen with your la ceiba's as well.

Matt - bummer on the Cabayo's. My male did the same thing.

On a brighter note, I pulled about 40 coatepeque fry last night to an empty 10. I've got my group in a 55, 3 males & 4 females. The dynamic works a little better as the pairs seem to focus on eachother instead of the male on female violence.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
jonclark96 said:
I don't have personal experience with the panamensis, but I would guess they will act the same way if given the opportunity. It may happen with your la ceiba's as well.
Click to expand...

I've heard that with the Parachromis it's not a matter of if, but when. Hopefully, dividing the tank and giving the girl a "door" to escape through will do the trick down the road. We shall see...
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
That's the downside to a lot of the Cryptoheros, especially when kept as pairs. The males want to spawn again. The females may not be ready.

Keeping them in a community helps sometimes, but then you've got the issue of other fish (and pairs).

Big Central Americans can be brutal on each other, even in "big" tanks (which, in all reality are a small fraction of the territories that they defend in the wild). The partial divider approach is really good approach. Most will actually spawn through a full divider.

Matt

PS I've got a couple of dozen Rio Cubayo babies growing out, including some in the tank with the male....so at least someone around here's still keeping / breeding these guys :)
 
MarkK

MarkK

CCA Members
I don't think it is something that can be avoided. It seems to me, if I can anthropomorphize a bit, I think that one fish blames the other for the disruption.

In my Julidichromis Transcriptus tank, when I took all the fry and juveniles out, and took out all the rocks to give the substrate a good cleaning, the next day one of the fish was beaten up bad.

But now, 6 weeks later, they are all doing fine and there is a new batch of fry. I never moved the adult fish, just all the young and took out all the rocks and put them back in.

In my N. Cylindricus tank, I have done the same thing several times and the fish don't seem to care, they just spawn right away.
 
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