Fry are fun!

chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
I've got a 20L with two breeding pairs of P. taeniatus Moliwe. Now, if you remember back to Anton's talk, he only recommends keeping one pair in a 20L, but I had a bunch of juvies that I was trying to let pair up....I ended up with several pairs, these two seem to be doing ok, so I've left them for the time being. There was a third pair in there, too, but they ended up getting caught in the middle and really weren't coloring up much, so they've been moved. I think that part of the reason they've both been ok raising their herds of fry in the same tank is that it's pretty heavily planted, and the subwassertang has gone nuts, providing lots of cover and forage for the fry.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/79984207@N04/9518814788/

Both pairs have been great parents! This is one of my favorite tanks right now. :)
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

Global Moderators
That tank is my favorite of your collection. Mostly because I am a fan of both planted tanks and p. taeniatus.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
To be honest, I don't know what the pH is but I do somewhere between 50/50 75/25 RO to tap. This tank also likes to be left alone. It does much better if I do water changes every 2 to 3 weeks instead of weekly like my other tanks. I used to worry about the nitrates, but with all the plants, they don't get as bad in that tank as say, my Mbuna tank.

Filtration is via mattenfilter (the fry really love grazing on it) and the temp is around 76 to 78.
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Thanks

chriscoli said:
To be honest, I don't know what the pH is but I do somewhere between 50/50 75/25 RO to tap. This tank also likes to be left alone. It does much better if I do water changes every 2 to 3 weeks instead of weekly like my other tanks. I used to worry about the nitrates, but with all the plants, they don't get as bad in that tank as say, my Mbuna tank.

Filtration is via mattenfilter (the fry really love grazing on it) and the temp is around 76 to 78.
Click to expand...

That's helpful. I've got a Taeniatus "Lobe" pair where the female dances in front of the male, but so far no kids. But I've been thinking less frequent water changes might be good. Since I'm on vacation now, that's a convenient theory.
 
msjinkzd

msjinkzd

invert junkie
i do infrequent water changes on my pelvicachromis tanks too. I wait generally 2-3 weeks, then do a big one, then repeat. They almost always spawn after the water change.
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Update: after being away on vacation for 11 days (no feeding of the fish during that time), I returned Wednesday to find the female guarding a cave. Today, she and the male are shepherding 15-20 fry around the tank, while the other inhabitants try to stay out of the way. Very cool.

Amazing how healthy and happy fish can be if you just leave them alone.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
mchambers said:
Update: after being away on vacation for 11 days (no feeding of the fish during that time), I returned Wednesday to find the female guarding a cave. Today, she and the male are shepherding 15-20 fry around the tank, while the other inhabitants try to stay out of the way. Very cool.

Amazing how healthy and happy fish can be if you just leave them alone.
Click to expand...


Congrats! If only there were a better way to predict which ones like to be left alone...and which benefit from the waterchange!
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Lobe Fry

Well, my Pelvicachromis Taeniatus "Lobe" have another batch of fry, which come just two months after the last batch, all of whom survived.

IMG_16931.jpg
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Two of my Pelvicachromis Taeniatus "Moliwe" trio (got them in Sam's liquidation sale) are guarding a bunch of fry. They're keeping them in a corner of the tank, under a rock overhang, so I can't get a good picture, unfortunately.
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Update: My Moliwe fry are doing well, getting bigger, and now being a little more bold in exploring the tank.

My second batch of Lobe fry are now about 1/2 inch long. Last week, I saw the mother snapping at some of the fry and figured she was ready for another batch and was no longer interested in parenting the fry, so I moved all the fry to another tank. Shortly thereafter, the mom was shimmying in front of the dad, near a coconut cave. Last night, I saw a big pile of sand outside one of the cave, so I think there are another batch of eggs.

Interestingly, this time they're spawning in straight DC tap water.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Fantastic! my Moliwes just had another batch of fry, too.

Similarly, I have found that mine tend to spawn when I've gotten rushed on waterchanges and just used regular tap rather than half RO.....I wonder what kind of natural event that's simulating? Or maybe it's just any change from the norm that'll do it for them....
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

Global Moderators
It is good to know yours spawned in straight tap water. It gives me hope an makes me want to try pelvicachromis taeniatus again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top