patrick Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I have read that Lipochromis sp. "Matumbi Hunter" is not a very productive fish due to the fact that is does not spawn very often with not many fry. Some people believe that the fish is a seasonal spawner, but the information is sparse. For a while now I have been treating for worms and parasites in the Vic tank. I highly doubt that the medication would have any positive effect that would trigger a spawn, but some other factors related to this probably would. I have been doing massive water changes, and since I have also been feeding medicated food, I have also been feeding more than usual. This must be it. The dominant male is spawning with the females every 5 days, Jan 25th, Jan 30th, and Feb 4th (exactly 5 days in between!). I now have 3 females holding and I noticed that a 4th females is almost ready. I would not be surprised if she is holding as well in a few days. After that, I don't think there's any females left in my group :shock:lol. The normally blend male show great breeding colors. This female is almost ready (picture taken yesterday, today she is holding) Here is the male flirting, but with the wrong female... he spawned with this girl on the 30th. Bad memory, or maybe he figured that if he could get some earlier, why not again :boxed: Holding female Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Very nice pictures! I cant help but notice the quality of your picture taking..... are you invoved in that industry? If not you should consider doing it profesionally! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Great photos Patrick, and congrats on the spawn. All fish are seasonal spawners to an extent in the wild, it's just a matter of mimicking that the best we can in our aquariums that allows us success. Some are easier to coax than others, and only require good, clean water and good food. How large are the Matumbi Hunter's now? And judging by their fins, I'm guessing that they're not overly aggressive? They're definitely a cool little fish, and I hope you all the best with raising the fry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Very nice pictures! I cant help but notice the quality of your picture taking..... are you invoved in that industry? If not you should consider doing it profesionally! Thanks Jerry! No I don't have any professional connection to photography. I just enjoy it a lot and I have taken tons of pictures since I started about 7 months ago. I estimate a whopping 10,000 or more pictures in that time frame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 (edited) Great photos Patrick, and congrats on the spawn. All fish are seasonal spawners to an extent in the wild, it's just a matter of mimicking that the best we can in our aquariums that allows us success. Some are easier to coax than others, and only require good, clean water and good food. How large are the Matumbi Hunter's now? And judging by their fins, I'm guessing that they're not overly aggressive? They're definitely a cool little fish, and I hope you all the best with raising the fry! Tanks Kyle. I think they are a bit more seasonal than usual. I just found out from a european breeder that all his females spawn at pretty much the same time. Also that they don't spawn if the temperature is below 24C, and I just raised mine from 23-24 to 24-25, so that probably helped a bit as well. They are still pretty small, the male on the picture about 2.5"-3" and the females a bit bigger. It turns out that the 4 largest ones were females. Of the remaining 3 I beleive all of them are males. According to information on the internet these guys only reach 4"-4.5" but I have found out that this is not the case as the person mentioned earlier have a male that is 6". They are not as aggressive as I expected them to be but that could possible be because all the fish has been raised together. When they do fight, there is not much physical contact, mostly showing off and chasing. Edited February 5, 2008 by patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Great shots Patrick. With the dark background the pics look like they could have been taken in the lake, very nice! Good luck with the fry :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted February 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Great shots Patrick. With the dark background the pics look like they could have been taken in the lake, very nice!Good luck with the fry :thumbs: Thanks Taylor. The dark background is actually dark blue fabric attached with velcro on the top brace of the tank. A super cheap, easy and great looking solution. I am going to do the same on all my new tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 When I got home today female #4 was holding. The other 3 are still holding as well. As a bonus, one of my Paralabidochromis chromogynos had a mouthful as well So in all there are 5 females holding in that tank right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Good for you Patrick! I am thinking of using the fabric idea on my 20 gallon, as I said it looks natural (and I like that very much). Where do you get the fabric? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Today I got to see the fry from the first spawn. The female has a really good hiding spot that she has defended for the past three weeks. When I feed she let the fry out of her mouth so she can swim out and eat. If any other fish gets to close she furyously chases them away. After she is done eating she swims back and let the fry back in her mouth. It looks like there are about 15 fry, maybe a few more. 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.