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Anyone local breeding these guys Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" Gallireya Reef?
Cynotilapia sp. "Hara" Gallireya Reef
- Thread starter Rasta Fish
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- cynotilapia gallireya hara reef
We have some and they have bred, exactly once so far. We think the alpha male is too dumb to breed - he seems to be able get a girl in the mood, gets her to a quiet back corner of the tank, chases away the other males.....and then proceeds to bite her.
Even in the fish world this isn't a successful mating strategy...
Also notable is that IMO this fish isn't really dimorphic. Both our males and females can look any color ranging from dark blue/purple through the whiteish blue stripes depending on tank mates and mood. Males (and dominant males more so) tend to look dressed up more often, our alpha is almost always stripey, but they all can do it. We have some young fish from our spawn and the dominant spawn fish (akak "Baby Alpha") is often just as colored up as the true alpha.
Even in the fish world this isn't a successful mating strategy...
Also notable is that IMO this fish isn't really dimorphic. Both our males and females can look any color ranging from dark blue/purple through the whiteish blue stripes depending on tank mates and mood. Males (and dominant males more so) tend to look dressed up more often, our alpha is almost always stripey, but they all can do it. We have some young fish from our spawn and the dominant spawn fish (akak "Baby Alpha") is often just as colored up as the true alpha.
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Rasta Fish
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good luck!
what other tank mates are in the tank with them, what size tank do u have them in and how many in the group?
what other tank mates are in the tank with them, what size tank do u have them in and how many in the group?
It is a 110g (48x24x21) with a 42g sump with Metriaclima Estharae and Labeotrophus Fullerborni.
There are two generations of cynos, the first generation (from Dave Schumacher) is 2M and 4F and there is a second generation of six fish, probably 2-3M and 3-4F although hey are too young to sex except by coloration which is not very reliable.
The Metriaclima are 2M (One Orange, One Blue) and 6F, the Labeotropheus are 2M and 7-8F. There is also on Red Top Zebra who is the tank boss and largest fish in the tank, but he is captive bred and determining an exact species is probably not possible.
The Cynos may be having trouble spawning as they are certainly smaller than the other two clusters, we have considered moving them (or possibly selling them).
They are very aggressive, especially to each other and have the distinction, along with the Metriaclima, of having actually killed another fish through sheer violence rather than stressing it to death...They are easily as mean as the Metriaclima (who have something of a reputation)...It is notable that no one bothers the Fullerborni and the male Fullerborni should eventually be the biggest fish in the tank.
The Metriaclima spawn reasonably often, although some of the girls seem to like to swallow their eggs quite a bit...The Fullerborni are prolific but often engage in secret sex and it is fairly difficult to determine if they are holding - notably they still still eat a bit when holding.
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