Fletch Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Set one of the new 2 footers I got. Decided on these guys fur to them being such great parents and apparently easy to breed. Bought two from a LFS, long story but I got nice fish and 3 online. Of the 3 I bought one is a gonner do that will leave four. Should get one pair. Already interesting behaviour between 3 of the biggest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Exciting! They're looking good, Paul. Quite like the setup... bit of a fan of rocks... must get onto setting up my cichlid tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Fake rocks. Lol. Much safer for the fish. Had a $50 price tag on each and got both for $40. Was quite happy with that. Biggest issue with cichlids is aggression, especially in a small tank. From my understanding, this will go two ways, 1. Male forms a harem and breeds with numerous girls. This could be a disaster as he won't be allowed to raise the fry of either and the girls would kill him defending their fry. 2. Two fish pair off, start to set up area to spawn then kill other two. From this point on they should breed regularly and have multiple spawns of various ages living happily in the one tank. That's the dream anyway. Will see what happens. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Great looking setup mate. Well done you should have fry in no time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNgo2006 Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 I thought the general rule is 6+ fish for a colony especially for more aggressive fish? although the tank is 2ft add more plants hiding places and you be right but will need bigger tank once breeding and you get fry. I use to breed cichlids too, was thinking of getting some again, much less work than bettas. I thought you were getting shellies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 After researching I settled on these as because of easy care with fry. These guys are very social until breeding. In this size tank I will be ok with one breeding pair. Once there is lots of fry the parents stop spawning or only spawn low numbers. By this time I can either sell to local shops or set another tank up to raise them. Got friends with a pet Oscar, always looking for feeders. Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Lovely looking specimens.Good body shape. The social structure of such a species is always entertaining. Very entertaining to see two males trying to "out-woo" a female. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Thanks. I am pretty happy with them. Sick one is still alive, sheltering in behind power head. Not eating. The rest look good. All settled in well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) FINALLY, somebody took my suggestion of Brichardis! I've always wanted some but can't find it in myself to set up yet another tank. I shall live vicariously through you. Edited October 11, 2012 by Yan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Pretty sure these guys are spawning ATM. Very interesting to watch. They are doing it in a tiny gap under a rock overhang. Three weeks of live bbs and blackworms was the key I think. :-). Very excited. Going to be hard to resist the urge to remove female after spawning. She looks after the eggs so I must resist. Lol.Definitely eggs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrefly Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Congrats! But where are the piccies Paul??? :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Lol. Fair call. :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M36MKIOqSJE&feature=youtube_gdata_player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrefly Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Much better - We'll get you trained up eventually mister. Fascinating little creatures :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Nice choice of fish .... this is the pair I had.... the male (larger one) killed off two of his competitors.... then they spawned.... raised some fry... then he killed his wife..... beautiful fish but can be unpredictable.... (typical cichlid)...... only had them in a 2x15x15 tank ... going to try them again some day in my sumped system with 3x18x18 tanks where my shellies are.... Hope yours do the right thing and get the step breeding going ..... might need a larger tank for that though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Thanks Wayne. :-). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrefly Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 How long before you'll know if you have fry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 I think it's about 2-3 days to hatch then another 3-5 for free swimmers. I think. Lol. :-). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted November 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 I have a few tails. Must be hatching now. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted November 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 I have fry. First day free swimming. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbQpOJaH8mI&feature=youtube_gdata_player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footycards Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Breeding any of the species from the princess/brichardi family is super-rewarding! Well done on the spawn and showing it with a video! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted November 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Thanks. Been many years since I have spawned fish other than Betta (approx 20+). Never really tried, just fish that spawned in community tanks. I seem to have caught the breeding bug. Once I have enough fry from these guys I will get rid of the pair and raise the fry. My next pair of fish will be a little more difficult. Then keep repeating the process. Eventually I would like a 6ft tank with Frontosia. Anyway, step one. Lol. This is only one group of them. There is also a smaller bunch still in the pit below this ledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted November 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2012 These guys are growing well. I have little fish now. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted November 21, 2012 Report Share Posted November 21, 2012 miniature africa! they're VERY cute and quite nice fish - i'm stil wrapping my head around cichlids (I still love the way every person i speak to says cichlid differently) would love to hear your observations of spawning and raising behaviors with these dudes. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afr3178 Posted November 21, 2012 Report Share Posted November 21, 2012 They're awesome! Looks like you've got a nice group there. Any ideas on numbers? Will you be selling the fry once large enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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