dunl Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 MY C. AFRA "MBWECA" COLONY JUST GAVE ME SOME EGGS!!! Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with myself... For those of you who don't know, I have been trying to breed these for months, without any success at all. Saw a holding female about 1hr ago, and snatched her and the eggs. Had to make a makeshift tumbler using a tea strainer, but hopefully they will hatch all the way. Tails and eyes are formed, but that's it.... Going to bed now.... Darcy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Thats great Darcy :thumbs: So why do you think they started to breed finally? Did you do something different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Congrats Darcy! That's great to hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Congrats! :hey: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted March 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Thanks guys, So why do you think they started to breed finally? Did you do something different? Uhmmm, yeah.....I've been ignoring them. A watched pot doesn't boil? Now, if only the hatchlings keep developing. I'm pretty confident, seeing that the eyes and tails were developed, even if just barely. As for the egg tumbler, I've never needed one, but I figured I better do a snatch and grab while I could with this species. I looked on the internet, and the Sydney Cichlid Page had some good suggestions. One was to use a tea strainer, so I took one I had, cut the handle off with some pliers, placed the eggs in and put it on top of my DIY gravel air filter, after running the airstone through the bottom, not the top as usual. I have two air filters hooked up to this, so I adjusted the levers to run more air through the sponge filter, and just the right amout (I hope) through the tumbler. Here's to hoping for about 12-15 fry from this.... And to top it off, got 8 Ps. flavus fry last night as well....Happy Easter to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Good luck with the tea strainer (I assume it's metal?). I never had any luck using anything metal for tumbling my eggs, found that there always minute little edges that ripped them open or some sort of reaction, but they never lasted. I ended up making up my own that works rather well now. Bought the smallest gravel vacuum I could find (6") and used the main part of a tetra billi sponge filter. Cut up an old net, and used the oval attachment at the bottom of the gravel vacuum to hold the net in place for the bottom (also put filter floss in the oval attachemtn b/c there ended up being a fair amount of debris getting sucked up). Put net in the top of the vacuum as well (to stop anything from getting sucked out). Stuck the vacuum into the bottom of the tetra billi (had to use electrical tape to get it to stay due to different diameters) where the billi either angle out to a single sponge or splits in two for a double. I had to cut down part of the sponge filter to fit the height of my tank, and the only problem with this tumbler is that I need a tall tank. Suction is adjusted via output of the airpump with a valve, as well as the height of the sponge filter (extending/compacting it). I've stripped fish at 2 days (they wouldn't hold any longer than 3 consistently after breeding for a year!, and were the reason for making this), and I think only one egg went bad (needs to be removed immediately). It's quite the contraption, but it does work (though I have been considering picking up a more commercial one from Spencer due to ease of use). I don't really believe in stripping fish so early that you need to tumble the eggs, but with the ones I had, every female had bred 4-6 times without lasting longer than 3 days, and it was getting very frustrating. With first-time breeders I let them go; if they're carrying after 2 weeks they'll go into a 10 alone, and I may strip after 3 weeks. I think not carrying the first couple spawns is natural and just part of keeping fish. There is also talk that stripping early can create poor mothers (not sure how it would, but anything's possible). After having my fish that wouldn't last more than 3 days every time, I've come to believe it more and more, and usually strip fish after 3 weeks, not before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted March 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Well, if this one doesn't work, I'll try to get a commercial one for ease of use. Normally, I would strip so early, but I have THOUGHT that I saw a holding female a couple of times this year, but each time I look a week or so later, the eggs are gone, and all 10 mbwecas are eating up a storm. To tell the truth, this one didn't look like a normal holding female, and I could barely tell she was tumbling - I just took a chance on her. The eyes look more pronounced this morning, so hopefully this will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloeclose Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 Congrats Darcy!! :beer: Love the picture btw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABwildrose Posted March 28, 2005 Report Share Posted March 28, 2005 congrats, nice to see your news made the headlines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted March 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 Hey, it was late, and I'm Irish descent, so that means I probably was wobbling a little bit when I posted.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted March 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 Update: Just check on the wigglers, and looking at them, there is a definate body that has been formed between the eyes and tail today. The tail, I guess you could say, has morphed fully into a body to connect with the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 Darcy - had you switched their diet recently by chance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted March 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 By chance I did, but I can't say the NLS was what did it - sorry. I do think I have seen holding females in the past, but if so they have spit very soon after fertilization . If it does continue, and there is a breeding explosion, then I will start to believe fully it was diet, and no one will convince me otherwise. Until then, I'm thinking Irish luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted March 29, 2005 Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 Sounds like more than just luck to me. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted March 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2005 You'll be the first I let know of the next spawn I see.... :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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