Vallisneria Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 Well I finally found some Herotilapia multispinosa and got 3. They have been in the Q tank for 3 weeks now and 2 decided to pair off and breed. 2 days ago I removed the extra rainbow to let these guys have their privacy. Then last night I watched them do their little spawning dance but didnt' want to go too close and disrupt them so I couldnt' see if they were actually laying eggs. Well today I was feeding the tanks and got a closer look. One of the flower pots is covered with tiny eggs. So now I have a few questions. Will both parents guard and raise the fry, or should I remove them? How long does it take the eggs to hatch? WHen(and if) the eggs hatch do I have to feed the fry right away? What sort of foods? I've never raised any fry besides livebearers and mouthbrooding africans and with those the fry are big enough to eat pellets right away. I have no experience with egg layers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 (edited) Congrats Val!! Sorry I have no experience with those specific cichlids but I have left my egg layers with their eggs and have had great success that way, they seem to help with te feeding of the babies and should guard them from anything "Before breeding, the fish will clean a spot to spawn on and then lay approximately 300 pinkish-tan eggs. Incubation is approximately three days after which the pair will move the wrigglers to another area. Once free-swimming, you can feed the fry in the tank with freshly hatched baby brine shrimp or Cyclop-eze. After about a week, transition the fry to finely crushed flake food. I usually siphon out as many free-swimming fry as possible after they are free-swimming and raise them in a rearing tank" this is from: http://www.gcca.net/fom/Herotilpia_multispinosa.htm Edited October 21, 2006 by Canadbis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandopsis Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 Congrats I never kept these before, but i would wait a few days before feeding them so they use up their egg sack. New worlds Val? What's next....Dovii? or Umbees? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxquo Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 Congrats!!! SA's are awesome parents and will stand up to even You when their nest is concerned. The males duty generally consists of guarding the territory so having a tank next to their breeding tank or having a dither fish or two is often important in Young couples. The female will guard the fry, her ability to chew food up and pass it through the gill rakes onto her fry is generally enough food for them. You can feed bbs or micros using a turkey baster and shooting them down to the nest but with the amount of fry they have, You will find that survival of the fittest is often the best way. Removing the fry after 2-3 weeks will encourage an early next spawn if You wish. On average mid sized Sa's 4-5 days is the norm for egg sac depletion but it can vary with temp and species, Watch the fry, when they start free swimming rather than spinning around they are ready to eat. If Your pair eats their fry leave them together, practice makes perfect. I have even found mirrors to make excellent dither fish that keep the male busy. Note this that the male who has nothing to chase away will often get bored and want to spawn again, in order to spawn again he must get rid of the nest already present. Very seldom is it the female who eats the eggs and if she does the eggs are usually infertile. You will soon find that the excess male is no longer needed as You have a pair now. I am positive You will enjoy the change from typical African mouthbrooders. There is a strong family bond in an SA tank, but there will come a time when the fry are no longer welcome and Daddy got lovin on his mind again. At this point, remove all fry You want to another tank and rid yourself of the rest. SA's are hardy so frequent large water changes wont hurt them but only help them in growth and developement. If You are breeding in lowered water values, I would suggest weaning the fry over to tap water for better growth and hardiness. I'm glad to hear You got them to breed, now the big question is??? how do You get them to stop???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinless Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 congrats on the rainbow brood. guess the q tank will be a fry holding tank eventually. nice looking neotropicals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Is it normal for some of the eggs to turn white? There seems to be some unfertilized eggs mixed in with the normal ones. So far its pretty neat watching the pair take care of their eggs Can't wait for the babies :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxquo Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Some of the eggs always turn white, no worries. Providing a fungus egg doesn't spread to healthy eggs they'll be fine and even so the mothers constant fanning should stop this, if not she may move the good eggs a little. Just sit back and enjoy, Your only job is to be a good Grandparent.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinless Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 yeah, i've always had whites in the con batches. have heard of fungal growths, but no experience firsthand. they're either eaten by the parents or the fry during the first couple of days after hatching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 The eggs hatched!!! I was a bit freaked out to wake up and see the eggs gone but I found the parents in the corner and after waiting a bit I finally saw some wigglers in the gravel. I think I need to find a light for this tank because trying to see tiny babies in brown gravel, in the dark corner of my room is a bit impossible, lol. So now I wait a couple days untill they are free swimming before feeding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 (edited) If there is no light you might not want to put a bright one on there, did that before and it was a week before the parents let me see them again. Edited October 23, 2006 by Canadbis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 If there is no light you might not want to put a bright one on there, did that before and it was a week before the parents let me see them again. Good point. Don't want to freak the parents out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxquo Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Just feed the folks as though there were no fry until You see the fry following the folks around then add fry food whatever Your choice is. With SA's and CA's I find micro's are seldomly needed and they will often just eat from the parents gills. Growth seems much faster though with the addition of bbs and it seems the tank stays much cleaner in there with live food. If You are feeding the parents pellet, feel free to crush down a bunch so it creates some powder food for the fry although this is much messier so stay on the water changes. The addition of light may bother some fish but seldomly SA's they are the best parents ever. Put Your hand in the nest if You don't believe Me. It would take much more than light to make them turn on their nest. Soon You will have pits all over your tank or atleast should have. Often the folks still will make new pits as the fry are free swimming as they need a clean place to put the fry to bed at night. Placing a light on the tank is alot less stressful than a flashlight shining in on them at random, if You are still not sure. Put the light over 1/4 of the tank then gradually move it so it's centered, day by day they will adjust fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairdeal Posted October 24, 2006 Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Valerie: I would suggest a bare bottom tank or a little bit of sand for raising fry that small. I've always had better fry growth and lower mortality that way. Also stick in an aged sponge filter - lots of very small tidbits in and on those for the fry to munch on. I don't have any CA's, but if they're anything like africans those fry will need high protein ( 45% +) and high fat ( 15% +) to get them really growing in the first 2 or 3 weeks of development. I also do water changes every 3rd day - 1/3 and keep the temperature at 80 - 82F. Some species are sensitive to water changes and high temperatures, so please read up on that first, unless someone has these types of fish and can give you 1st hand info. Good luck with your 1st bunch of babies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 Valerie: I would suggest a bare bottom tank or a little bit of sand for raising fry that small. I've always had better fry growth and lower mortality that way. Also stick in an aged sponge filter - lots of very small tidbits in and on those for the fry to munch on. I don't have any CA's, but if they're anything like africans those fry will need high protein ( 45% +) and high fat ( 15% +) to get them really growing in the first 2 or 3 weeks of development. I also do water changes every 3rd day - 1/3 and keep the temperature at 80 - 82F. Some species are sensitive to water changes and high temperatures, so please read up on that first, unless someone has these types of fish and can give you 1st hand info. Good luck with your 1st bunch of babies. I usually do use a Bare bottom tank when I normally breed fish. This breeding wasn't really planned as the rainbows were in a Q tank at the time. I"ll see how these guys do with the gravel and I can always remove it if its a problem. I took a flashlight and got a better look at the corner where the babies are. The gravel was covered in fry. They are still wiggling around, not swimming yet. BUt man, there sure is a lot of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted October 25, 2006 Report Share Posted October 25, 2006 . BUt man, there sure is a lot of them. And only more to come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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