Mr Wild
Wed Sep 08, 2010, 11:14 PM
Matt asked me for some tips on what I was doing to get mine breeding so I thought to share this and it may help others.
I will try and get pics to add as well but at this stage this is what I haven written, all I can say it has worked well for me I have 2 spawns growing out.
Mine are in 2.5ft tank on their own, it is on the sump side of my fishroom so the water is 26C, PH 6.2. and as it is rainwater it is very soft.
I have given them a pottery saucer to lay on as well as a flower pot lying on its side so they can swim into it, both these face the back wall of the tank. Then just in front I have a small piece of driftwood so you can see I have gone for major privacy. Height of the tank does not appear to be a factor as one is waist height and the other eye height and both pairs have bred.
I keep the sump running and feed high quality protein flake and some bbs once a day to mum and dad. I do not "peek" into their pot, it is their domain.
You will notice the females tummy will get quite red and her ovipositor will drop, then when you feed them you will start to notice you can only see 1 parent at a time, at this stage things are looking promising. Several days later my pair swim to the front at feeding time and present their babies swimming under them. At this stage I turn the sump off on that tank as the fry are tiny and continue feeding mum and dad flake and of course bbs 3x daily for all.
Both my pairs have cared for their babies well - at most all I do is syphon 10% of the water out every few days and then just turn the sump tap for that tank back on until I am happy with the water height. The tank will get dirty and algae and stuff will grow on the pots as I have lights on all day but you just have to ignore that and basically interfere as little as possible. When you think the fry are large enough to remove I can tell you it is easier to remove the parents! Mum attacked the hose then got sucked up as she threw herself into the flow luckily she was ok but I would never try that again! As they both attack the fry follow so even sucking rubbish out of the tank becomes quite a challenge.
HTH some hobbyists enjoy this feisty little fish. I have enjoyed their little antics very much.
Kath
I will try and get pics to add as well but at this stage this is what I haven written, all I can say it has worked well for me I have 2 spawns growing out.
Mine are in 2.5ft tank on their own, it is on the sump side of my fishroom so the water is 26C, PH 6.2. and as it is rainwater it is very soft.
I have given them a pottery saucer to lay on as well as a flower pot lying on its side so they can swim into it, both these face the back wall of the tank. Then just in front I have a small piece of driftwood so you can see I have gone for major privacy. Height of the tank does not appear to be a factor as one is waist height and the other eye height and both pairs have bred.
I keep the sump running and feed high quality protein flake and some bbs once a day to mum and dad. I do not "peek" into their pot, it is their domain.
You will notice the females tummy will get quite red and her ovipositor will drop, then when you feed them you will start to notice you can only see 1 parent at a time, at this stage things are looking promising. Several days later my pair swim to the front at feeding time and present their babies swimming under them. At this stage I turn the sump off on that tank as the fry are tiny and continue feeding mum and dad flake and of course bbs 3x daily for all.
Both my pairs have cared for their babies well - at most all I do is syphon 10% of the water out every few days and then just turn the sump tap for that tank back on until I am happy with the water height. The tank will get dirty and algae and stuff will grow on the pots as I have lights on all day but you just have to ignore that and basically interfere as little as possible. When you think the fry are large enough to remove I can tell you it is easier to remove the parents! Mum attacked the hose then got sucked up as she threw herself into the flow luckily she was ok but I would never try that again! As they both attack the fry follow so even sucking rubbish out of the tank becomes quite a challenge.
HTH some hobbyists enjoy this feisty little fish. I have enjoyed their little antics very much.
Kath