Pair number one is spawning on the lift tube. Their kids are 5 days old and there are a couple hundred of them. With Discus this when this happens either the fry get eaten or the new spawn gets eaten when they free swim. Discus always choose the older kids as long as there are more than 25 or 30 of them.
What should I do in this case? The existing kids don't need the parents to survive. should I remove the spawning pair and their sponge to the empty tank next door and wait for nature to take it's course?
I'm at a loss. I need advice from a smart person.
It's pretty much up to you. I've experienced the whole gambit..eat em, raise em, leave em for snacks for the larger fry. You can move the sponge and parents, or move the larger fry to another tank....if you don't need more at the moment..just leave them...With nice HB's, like yours, I'd move the parents, then change the sponge out. Worse that can happen, if you move them, is they'll chow on the spawn from spite, and delay another spawn for a week, or so....??
I have lots of available grow out space and I like this pair. I'll do as you suggest. Thanks.
Most of the eggs from this second spawned fungused. The water was too hard and I wasn't able to get the conductivity low enough because I broke a fitting on my RO unit. Some of the eggs looked good so last night after WC I put a breeding cone in so the pair would have a clean place to move the survivors. This morning there are 30 wigglers on the cone. I have never had a pair more determined to have kids. I love them.
I've gotten some of my best fish from small spawns. In my book that's the coolest part of spawning cichlids, watching them raise the fry.
Dennis
This pair has it's last spawn of a couple hundred going strong. The fry are 8 days old. I expect the pair to spawn again in a week. I don't want to bother with raising 30. When the time comes I will net the newest ones out and dump them in with the fry that will be about 10 days older. If they survive I will be proud of them. If the older ones eat them they won't have gone to waste.
Cichlids are indeed cool. I'm hooked on the baby raising part. If I were into aggressive fish I would try my had at mouth brooders.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on December 02, 2013, 01:56:14 PM
If I were into aggressive fish I would try my had at mouth brooders.
Some of the Tilapia are not aggressive. They were the first mouth brooder I ever spawned.... about 40 years ago. I read about all these people stripping the eggs and fry now days and think, "What's the fun in that!" Watching hundreds of tiny fish disappear into their parents mouth is a sight to behold.
I'm still hopeful of doing some aquaponic gardening with some Tilapia one of these days.
Dennis
There are quite a few south American cichlid's that are very peaceful and are mouth brooders.
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