Post by bettaja on Aug 18, 2017 17:40:10 GMT -5
African riverine and South American Apistgramma have become a very interesting part of the hobby for me lately, especially with all the new colour forms of Apistos available. Riverine cichlids from the Democratic Republic of the Congo have now been showing up with more regularity in shops.
In May, on my way to the CAOAC convention in Brampton, I stopped in at a pet store in Brantford (The Tropical Fish Room). I have been wanting to go there for a while. Very nice, clean store, went through about 3/4 of the freshwater stock with nothing really catching my eye. That was until I found a tank full of small fish I couldn't id right away (doesn't happen to often). Whipped out my phone and checked the id and found out it was a pretty rare dwarf riverine cichlid (the price tag was also reflective of this fact). Bought 2 females and a male just because I wasn't to sure if they were harem spawners (they are not). Had the guy individually bag the fish and I was off the the convention. I had some reservation about leaving the fish in the bags for 2 days but there was no problems at all (large bags, 1/3 full of water and 2/3 air, tied tightly with an approx. 2" fish in each bag). Get to the convention and leave the fish in the styro box for 2 days, then drive home on Sunday afternoon.
Unpacking the fish at home I was quite surprised, they made the trip fine and were ready for their new home. I had a 20 gallon long tank set up that I was breeding my Royal Farlowellas in. After moving the whiptails I changed the water and added about 20lbs of malaysian driftwood, kept the same sponge filter in the tank(didn't clean it either). I left the tank run empty for a week before the CAOAC convention, I wanted the dark tannin stained water for the fish to feel more comfortable. I checked the water a few times after the fish were settled in the tank, none of the parameters changed at all from the tap:
pH=7.5 G.H.=180ppm K.H.(carbonate hardness)=80ppm
So now the first question I was asking myself was answered "Would they survive the trip home ?" YES!!! Quite well actually.
So now that they are in the tank, along with the Betta unimaculata juveniles I bid on at the Betta Breeders of Canada auction. The splendens dissapear immediately into the decor, |I fed them well on mostly frozen and live foods. Next question pops up!! "Can these guys breed in this tank?" So watching them closely over the next few weeks, the females ate well and were staying relatively plump while the male was always thin but never lost out on the chance to eat and would occasionally display to a female. So I kept watch on this tank for a few more weeks. Eventually I got busy with raising the fry of other fish that had bred in the tanks, patoti and smaragdina as well as the whiptails. When I went back to watching the tank it was about 8 weeks from the time I brought them home. I noticed something was off and pulled out a flashlight to try and look through almost coffee black water, I noticed the male was darting around and the female was hovering near to a cave, going in and out of it and then she was mouthing something (too dark to make out anything really in the cave). So I left them to take care of ,what I hoped, were eggs and prayed they didn't eat them. Well they didn't eat them and question 2 was now answered. I hastily set up a new tank in hopes that I can move the parents and they might spawn again (I was already thinking the little ones were doomed). So a crazy idea pops into my head "What if I wait and remove the cave with the wigglers and the female to the newly set up tank?
" So knowing that cichlid fry, of cave spawners, usually only need a parent to keep them clean at that stage. I waited until the eggs hatched and I could see wigglers, only 2 days wait, I attempted to move the cave with the mom and the babies. I got it half right and only got the babies.
There was still some tense times when the fry were growing and at least 1 time when I thought that all the fry had died but in the end almost all of the fry survived and are now growing nicely in their 15 gallon breeder. The fry are the easiest cichlid I have bred to raise....frozen baby brine shrimp, frozen cyclops, and small frozen daphnia are the staple diet with grindal worms and very rarely crumbled flake food also eaten.
finally got a clear(ish) pic of the male
In May, on my way to the CAOAC convention in Brampton, I stopped in at a pet store in Brantford (The Tropical Fish Room). I have been wanting to go there for a while. Very nice, clean store, went through about 3/4 of the freshwater stock with nothing really catching my eye. That was until I found a tank full of small fish I couldn't id right away (doesn't happen to often). Whipped out my phone and checked the id and found out it was a pretty rare dwarf riverine cichlid (the price tag was also reflective of this fact). Bought 2 females and a male just because I wasn't to sure if they were harem spawners (they are not). Had the guy individually bag the fish and I was off the the convention. I had some reservation about leaving the fish in the bags for 2 days but there was no problems at all (large bags, 1/3 full of water and 2/3 air, tied tightly with an approx. 2" fish in each bag). Get to the convention and leave the fish in the styro box for 2 days, then drive home on Sunday afternoon.
Unpacking the fish at home I was quite surprised, they made the trip fine and were ready for their new home. I had a 20 gallon long tank set up that I was breeding my Royal Farlowellas in. After moving the whiptails I changed the water and added about 20lbs of malaysian driftwood, kept the same sponge filter in the tank(didn't clean it either). I left the tank run empty for a week before the CAOAC convention, I wanted the dark tannin stained water for the fish to feel more comfortable. I checked the water a few times after the fish were settled in the tank, none of the parameters changed at all from the tap:
pH=7.5 G.H.=180ppm K.H.(carbonate hardness)=80ppm
So now the first question I was asking myself was answered "Would they survive the trip home ?" YES!!! Quite well actually.
So now that they are in the tank, along with the Betta unimaculata juveniles I bid on at the Betta Breeders of Canada auction. The splendens dissapear immediately into the decor, |I fed them well on mostly frozen and live foods. Next question pops up!! "Can these guys breed in this tank?" So watching them closely over the next few weeks, the females ate well and were staying relatively plump while the male was always thin but never lost out on the chance to eat and would occasionally display to a female. So I kept watch on this tank for a few more weeks. Eventually I got busy with raising the fry of other fish that had bred in the tanks, patoti and smaragdina as well as the whiptails. When I went back to watching the tank it was about 8 weeks from the time I brought them home. I noticed something was off and pulled out a flashlight to try and look through almost coffee black water, I noticed the male was darting around and the female was hovering near to a cave, going in and out of it and then she was mouthing something (too dark to make out anything really in the cave). So I left them to take care of ,what I hoped, were eggs and prayed they didn't eat them. Well they didn't eat them and question 2 was now answered. I hastily set up a new tank in hopes that I can move the parents and they might spawn again (I was already thinking the little ones were doomed). So a crazy idea pops into my head "What if I wait and remove the cave with the wigglers and the female to the newly set up tank?
" So knowing that cichlid fry, of cave spawners, usually only need a parent to keep them clean at that stage. I waited until the eggs hatched and I could see wigglers, only 2 days wait, I attempted to move the cave with the mom and the babies. I got it half right and only got the babies. There was still some tense times when the fry were growing and at least 1 time when I thought that all the fry had died but in the end almost all of the fry survived and are now growing nicely in their 15 gallon breeder. The fry are the easiest cichlid I have bred to raise....frozen baby brine shrimp, frozen cyclops, and small frozen daphnia are the staple diet with grindal worms and very rarely crumbled flake food also eaten.
finally got a clear(ish) pic of the male
