JayWho Posted December 9, 2013 Report Share Posted December 9, 2013 (edited) I have a pair of altolamprologus compressiceps that are behaving differently. I bought 4 from Big Al's a couple months ago. They may have grown 0.5" since I've had them, and are 3-3.5" long. I'm not sure what the sexes of them are. They generally have their own territories in the tank and don't cross boundaries much, keeping to themselves, except maybe at feeding time - otherwise the more dominant one chases the lesser. They have a "totem pole" hierarchy as far as I can tell, with one alpha, a second, a third, and fourth. There is one who I would deem "bottom of the totem pole" and will be chased away by the other 3, or take on the submissive/protective curled body posture the comps do. I am now wondering if this one is a female, because it is hanging out with one of the other comps (who I now wonder if it is a male - it sits #3 on the totem pole typically) near a skinny crevice in some dry live rock. "She" is the smallest of the four, probably slightly smaller than 3"; I would say "she" is slightly more "bullet-shaped" as females are supposed to be."She" has wedged herself into the crevice a couple times, but when I've seen it it's when "he" gives her a hit on the side (or at least I think "he" is hitting her - it happens so fast, "she" may be avoiding it"), so I'm not sure if it has anything to do with mating, or if "she" is just trying to escape. This is the first time I have seen this kind of behaviour or two comps hanging out together in any way. I'm worried that I may have 3 males and 1 female; the males have staked out their territories, and have left nearly nothing for the female, who is getting bullied into crevices. However, something about the behaviour seems different to me, which makes me wonder if it's mating. They are in a spot that is near the corner of the tank, with good water flow, and not all of their behaviour has been aggressive. Having not kept these species before I am unfamiliar with their tendencies. Are they mature enough to breed at that size?Anyone have some ideas? Edited December 9, 2013 by JayWho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted December 9, 2013 Report Share Posted December 9, 2013 I always bred them with shells. Easy to tell bc the mom won't leave the shell much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted December 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2013 Yeah, that was what I saw in a couple videos, and read about being recommended.There's not enough guarding of the crevice for me to really believe there could be eggs or mating happening - but then the two comps will hang out together, which I have never seen happen before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted December 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2013 So, it seems as if the "female" (assuming she is, in fact, female) is checking out the goods of the other males. She has been hanging out with all 3 of the other comps, in their caves, where they normally don't let the other cichlids go... I'm not sure if there is any breeding going on, but it sure seems as if there may be in the future... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted December 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2013 (edited) "She" has wedged herself into a shell in the tank. Didn't come out at feeding time either. Hopefully this is breeding behaviour and not her trying to escape being picked on; though I haven't really seen any evidence of that. (I was at work the entire day yesterday though, so there could have been new developments...)I'm wondering if the other comp who couldn't help but get his face in every picture I took might be the father, if it is breeding behaviour.That shell is also very small (I'm surprised she's that far in there to be honest) to be using as a breeding cave - I figured there must be a better spot somewhere in the tank as there are crevices and nooks everywhere, so I'm going to have to make a better cave somehow and see if that makes it more obvious. I'm thinking a pvc elbow with one end capped or something of the like? Edited December 13, 2013 by JayWho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 I'd say she's found a great place to lay her eggs. Female comps will find the tightest place in the tank to lay b/c they don't want anyone else to get at them. Don't bother them and see how it turns out in a few days... might be a week or so before you know for sure - she likely won't come out until they eggs are hatched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted December 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 What are comp's fry raising behaviour? Will they care for them? Protect them? Are they on their own, and need to be moved if I want to save them?I have been having trouble finding this information on the internet so far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted December 14, 2013 Report Share Posted December 14, 2013 Like most cichlids, the first spawn or two may not make it, but they're typically good parents until the fry get adventurous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted December 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 One week update - if I took a picture, it would look exactly like the ones I already posted. She's still in the shell. Hoping I see some changes over the next day or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted December 20, 2013 Report Share Posted December 20, 2013 They are really hard to see sometimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodles Posted December 21, 2013 Report Share Posted December 21, 2013 (edited) If you shine a flashlight on the side shell in the dark, you might be able to see some fry movement inside the shell. They're pretty tiny fry!! The female will start coming out for a quick bite of food at feeding time once the fry start moving around. Also a word of caution: careful where you put your hands when you're doing a water change or rearranging inside the tank, if you get too close to the shell your hand will get attacked!! Edited December 21, 2013 by Noodles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted January 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Figured I should post an update.New Years Day momma finally left the shell. There has been no sign of fry or eggs that I have been able to detect. I was never able to see through the shell with a flashlight, as it was just too thick for the light to penetrate.Hard to say if the pair will try again - I hope so. They still seem to be more or less paired up, though since I picked the shell up and inspected it closely after I found she'd abandoned it, she hasn't gone back to it. I'm thinking I may find some more shells, or get a few pvc elbows and see if those entice them any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 The space has to be pretty tight for them to pick to spawn - typically, small enough for the female, but too small for the male. That's why shells work so well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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