FishManTy Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Just got a few questions for those cichlid experts. about 3 months ago I bought 4 electric yellows (2f, 2m, proven breeders) from a Calgary Society Member. Moved them into their new home, a 33 gallon with driftwood, carefully planned lava rock to give excellent caves, a fluval 404 keeping it sparkling, and a few silk plants for great cover. I feed them a mixed blend of food (Spurlina mixed with Omega 1 flakes) twice daily. Since moving into that home (yes, I know its a bit small but I don't want them joining the other yellows in the 150gallon yet, as they are in attempts of breeding and I don't wanna interupt that), they have refused to breed. Now, I need some advice on ways I can try to encourage them to breed. I've tried increasing and decreasing food consumptions, lowering the water, increasing and decreasing the filter speed, taking out the non-dominant male, and still no bones. If none of the suggestions work, anyone interested in swapping males in an attempt for a stronger stock for your, and a few babies for me. (I know they are proven breeders cause one of the females gave babies during transport... got 30 strong fry from it, still growing, almost an inch now) Helpp!! please. :well: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 I usually try to stop feeding for a week before the next full moon, as a lot of the time, females will develop a fat deposit that can keep them from producing eggs. The day before I di a huge water change, lower the temp (so they think it is the rainy season), and throw in some frozen pink salmon from Superstore. BTW, yellow labs are omnivorous, not vegetarians, so this protein is good for them. This method works great with my other species of labs, as my yellows are still too small to breed.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishManTy Posted November 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 Alrighty, so I gave them a large amount of Protein Flakes, dropped the water level a bit, pulled the end of the fluval up a bit to splash around a bit, and then I found my bottle of blackwater extract, so I put a half dose in. Im not gonna feed em much, if any. Haven't decided. I've heard that Bloodworms are bad for electric yellows, causing digestion problems, and before knowing this, I had a trio that was being fed half flakes, half worms, and there stomachs were "collapsing" in, or so it looked. Is this true?, or did I just have a bunch of messed up yellows? I surprisingly don't have a calendar(with moon phases), so also, does anyone know when the next full moon is, I think I might try that one next? What about temps? I know for bettas and such, that certain temperatures work wonders. Are yellows the same? My group of 4 has been at 80, and my other tank actually runs at 84.5 (Electric therm) (Helps keep the clowns happy, and the other cichlids don't seem to mind). Thanks for the advice btw, hopefully I'll be stripping them in a month or so! I want fry from them! I hope they aren't getting to old!! :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 (edited) IMO 84.5 is way too high for a constant temp for fish from Lake Malawi. The higher the metabolism, the more they eat, the faster they grow, the sooner they die. The average 'surface' temperature of Lake Malawi ranges from 23ºC to 28ºC. (73.4°F to 82.4°F) In the dry season surface temps in certain portions of the lake can drop as low as 20ºC, and in the rainy season sheltered bays can rise above 30ºC. In an aquarium, 77-79°F (25ºC to 26ºC) is a good temp to keep them at year round. There are a number of tricks to induce spawning, lowering the temp by a few degrees (which can be done via a water change) and allowing it to increase slowly, will sometimes work. IMO I would stay away from bloodworms. When you removed the sub dom male, how long did you remove him for? Also, what size of tank were these fish previously in? There's supposed to be a storm moving in this sunday, so sat night might be a good time to perform a large water change. Then sit back & see what happens. Edited November 24, 2004 by RD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 You can follow the barometric shifts here: http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/c...es/CAAB0049.htm and the moon phases can be found here: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/index....2004&country=27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishManTy Posted November 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Thanks, I'll try to drop the temp down to 82, my only concern is the heater sucks at keeping a temperature near constant. I'll see what happens tomorrow night... Storm coming in eh? Cool, I'll try to drop the temp, see what happens. The sub-dom male was out for not even a week, maybe... 6 days max. This breeding group was in... Jezz, what did she have? 77 gallon? With a good amount of rocks, and a bigger breeding group of I think peacocks. I'd put em in my 150 but its already to its capacity. hmm... I can hope I find the funds to buy another bigger tank... Maybe sell the 33gallon, its just so darn expensive to upgrade. Thanks for the Advice, I'll keep ya posted. Maybe even pics if my Camera shows up! Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Yes, I'd be interested in seeing some pics. Good luck with the breeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 interesting topic ie: tips to breed Yellow Labs. I have some set up in a 75 gallon in my fish room. The tank does not have a heater and the water temp is 71.5 to 72 degrees. Tank has gravel substrate, a few rock caves, some pvc pipe and a few anubias plants. They are fed a variety of foods including quality flake, frozen BS, live white worms and frozen blood worms although maybe only once a month or so for the blood worms. The femals are holding constantly. I do nothing to try and induce them to spawn. About 25% water changes twice a month and thats it. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishManTy Posted November 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Im guessing that just heat and size are my biggest problems... Im gonna try to turn both heaters(33gallon down to 76 and 150gallon down to 79), and see if I can get anything from the 4 yellows in my 33gallon. The dominant male is huge, so I think the downsize from his old 70ish to the 33, has changed his move. Ugh, so frusterating... the temptation to buy another tank, and sell the 30gallon tall. Maybe a 55 gallon would make him happy. Decisions Decisions Decisions... I'll try temperature for now. I think Im gonna remove the driftwood, get some more slate, and work on making big open caves, and with the most swimming room. The driftwood takes up a large chunk. Man, I need to find that camera. Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted November 25, 2004 Report Share Posted November 25, 2004 Yes, I'm sure you'd have much better success with that big male in a larger tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 FishManTy : You need to give your yellow labs some where to breed. Away from open territory try a clay pot. Then institute a good diet for your cichlids with some veggies and a little protein. Some nice clean water weekly and you should see results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishManTy Posted November 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 The only problem with a clay pot... is that my Male is huge. I wouldn't be able to fit a pot big enough in there for 2 to enjoy the space... What kinda veg's would you suggest? I've heard cucumber, zucinni, peas(without shell)... Right now the dom male has taken control of the cave... and has started to dig the sand out, enough to show spots of glass. Ya think the rock cave is a good enough spot for this male to breed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 L. caeruleus are insectivores, and don't require vegetables. If anything, try using something like frozen krill, salmon, etc to get the females in breeding condition. How big is huge?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishManTy Posted November 29, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 I dunno... 8inch? a full 2 inch bigger than any I have seen picture wise on this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted November 29, 2004 Report Share Posted November 29, 2004 (edited) 8 inches? OMG, he's a freakin monster. :shock: You best get a bigger tank for that boy, and breed him to some dwarf females. Edited November 29, 2004 by RD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.