Albertan Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 I posted this on MFK earlier today and got no help at all there. I swear unless they have the opportunity to put their 2 cents in on the ID of a fish 98% of the members over there are clueless. /rantoff Anyways, I never posted here because I was waiting to get home and get some pictures. I moved my female dovii from the 120 into the 55 alone when I picked up my FishFarm order and put the four males into the 120 to grow out. The female had pretty much that entire tank to herself before that. She's always been shy pretty much from day one. Life in the 55 was no different. I thought she must have been eating when I wasn't around though because I noticed she was looking pretty fat when I was checking her out last night. Well today I came home for lunch to feed the fish and found the back glass covered in eggs! I'm not sure if its "normal" for these fish to drop eggs without a male around or if its a response to stress. She did it once before in the summer after I re-aquascaped her tank and changed some of her tankmates. Poor girl is doing her best to take care of the eggs, fanning them constantly. I can't wait for the males to grow out so she has some company. I'm pretty sure she'd kill them right now. She does look like she's grown in the past month. She must be 7-8" now since she was 7" as I recall when I moved her. If anyone has experienced a similar "false breeding" with their cichlids I would love to hear about it. I haven't come across much on it online. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qattarra Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 I think it's great . It won't her her, I don't believe it's stress. She's hormonal , ready to go as it were. I've have single female cichlids do that too. The change of scenery and or water change likely just triggered her to be ready. Once she started fattening up she just HAD to lay them , probably hoping the right male will just happen along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 WOW. i have had this happen a few times but her colors are off the chains. put the dominant male dovii you have now in with her and you'll have fry in no time. a male dovii will step up and breed with a female double his size once over 3 inches. Quinn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinless Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 mmm no experience with dovii but had a female GT lay a batch of eggs with only a juvie female convict in the tank. all eggs eaten in ~3 days, never happened again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 I've had angels lay eggs without a mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canucklehead Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Any change to a fish's environment can trigger spawning, could be a water change, temp change or in this case a tank move. Awesome female Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albertan Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 She looks like that 24/7. I thought she was a male until she dropped eggs the first time. It's good to hear this is at least somewhat normal. I guess I'll just have to keep the males with fat bellies and grow them out as fast as I can. The males are really nice so I am leary of introducing them too soon and losing one. THis fish is a b%^&$ to her tankmates. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Do you think an eggcrate divider would keep them apart? If so, the female will lay eggs right on one side of the divider, and the male will fertilize them from his side. Back when I bred Apistos, I'd often make caves that were just big enough for the female to get it, but the male couldn't fit. She'd lay her eggs close to the cave opening, and the male would fertilize them from just outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinless Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 ^^ eggcrate divider is gonna have to be mojo~strength. my knockoff version was obliderated by a startled 5" festae one body length away. blammo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandopsis Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Go to Aquagiant. They have double suction cups with a slot inbetween them. *Buy 3 for each side* You can notch the eggcrate to fit in there and it is very strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albertan Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Yeah, that's my plan when I do introduce the male. I planned on using an eggcrate with an opening just big enough for the smaller male. I would like to see a little more growth from the male before I introduce him though. About a month ago I had a female convict in with this female. That convict is roughly the size of the males at the moment. The female dovii caught her by the tail and chewed her up badly. I wasn't home but I can just invision the dovii lurking under her log with the convict hanging out of her mouth. I certainly don't want that to happen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albertan Posted January 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 Funny thing that just crossed my mind. She laid those eggs in the corner closest to the 21 housing my Red Devil. Perhaps she was trying to spawn with it? They are certainly aware of each others presence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 An eggcrate divider works really well. I had one in my tank seperating a male and female flowerhorn. They bred like flies, just laid a piece of smooth slate 10x10 under the divider so they both had a spawning site to clean. Had to pile lots of big rocks on both sides of the divider though. Male was about 10ish inches and female was about 8. Without the divider they would beat the crap out of eachother. Also a small submersible fountain pump at the bottom of the tank on the males side to create a current over to the females side works very well. It increases the chance of more eggs being fertilized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albertan Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Bah she dropped eggs again this weekend. I noticed her ovipositor out around midnight on Friday night. Promised myself I'd do a water change on the 120 and catch the male and put him in with her. Woke up to a flowerpot covered in eggs. Looks like a monthly event so I'll be ready next time. The Captain Insaino sure l iked the last batch of dovii fry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 lol. GL breeding these guys Dean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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