How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Nice. Early signs of gender are very useful. Do these develop any genital differences? If so, are they apparent yet?
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Good point - I'll have a closer look at that. Here's a recent photo of the parents, with a very gravid female between two males. There seems to be quite a difference in that region.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
OMG - My babies have bred!
I haven't put much on this thread recently because there was sad news - after I moved and separated my family to various tanks, 'Dad' jumped (I later found his dessicated body) and 'Mum' is looking poorly and hiding at the back (I wondered if she might have been a goner too, but she's still alive).
There are three juveniles still alive - a male and a female from one litter that are now 100mm SL and 9 months old (born Feb 2015). The third is from a more recent litter and only 50mm SL, not yet sexable. They're in a tank with their poorly mother. I must confess it's a pretty poor survival rate from about 10 spawns and about 100 fry hatched.
Yesterday I saw the two larger juveniles snuggling up together in a corner of the tank, just like their parents did in preparation for mating. But surely a 100mm, 9-month old fish is too young? Just the equivalent of a snog behind the bike sheds? The juvenile female had been looking very tubby recently though.
Today the young male is guarding a small clutch of eggs, which look viable, and the young female is less tubby.
Now, I didn't actually see the spawn, so it's just possible that their poorly Mum was the female, but it was certainly the two juveniles cosying up together in that location immediately beforehand, with Mum hiding in the opposite corner of the tank. So, I think my two little twiglets have bred
I haven't put much on this thread recently because there was sad news - after I moved and separated my family to various tanks, 'Dad' jumped (I later found his dessicated body) and 'Mum' is looking poorly and hiding at the back (I wondered if she might have been a goner too, but she's still alive).
There are three juveniles still alive - a male and a female from one litter that are now 100mm SL and 9 months old (born Feb 2015). The third is from a more recent litter and only 50mm SL, not yet sexable. They're in a tank with their poorly mother. I must confess it's a pretty poor survival rate from about 10 spawns and about 100 fry hatched.
Yesterday I saw the two larger juveniles snuggling up together in a corner of the tank, just like their parents did in preparation for mating. But surely a 100mm, 9-month old fish is too young? Just the equivalent of a snog behind the bike sheds? The juvenile female had been looking very tubby recently though.
Today the young male is guarding a small clutch of eggs, which look viable, and the young female is less tubby.
Now, I didn't actually see the spawn, so it's just possible that their poorly Mum was the female, but it was certainly the two juveniles cosying up together in that location immediately beforehand, with Mum hiding in the opposite corner of the tank. So, I think my two little twiglets have bred
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Re the fry survival rates i read on a l397 breeding log leaving some slightly older fry with the new as the older fry teach the younger to eat it may help. If not for the twiglet's then maybe when the L397s start.
Thanks Teresa
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Can you provide a link to this source?pleconut wrote:Re the fry survival rates i read on a l397 breeding log leaving some slightly older fry with the new as the older fry teach the younger to eat it may help.
Thanks,
Eric
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Hi the link to it is
http://www.plecoplanet.com./forum/showthread.php?t=6351 lady had to reduce her batch - too may babies. We might both be very busy paul and myself looking after the fry and his lucky male L397 looking after the eggs. But Paul has it spot on with his breeding quadrant in light of the link obviously in my research i often find helpful links ect and other info for the L397s i will keep you posted as you're planning on getting some as well.
http://www.plecoplanet.com./forum/showthread.php?t=6351 lady had to reduce her batch - too may babies. We might both be very busy paul and myself looking after the fry and his lucky male L397 looking after the eggs. But Paul has it spot on with his breeding quadrant in light of the link obviously in my research i often find helpful links ect and other info for the L397s i will keep you posted as you're planning on getting some as well.
Thanks Teresa
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Hi Teresa,
I tried the link but it didn't work; apparently it had a small typographical error in it. So I fixed it and here it is:
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6351.
Thanks for the link. It's a nice read. And did you notice that about half-way down the page are photos of a couple of the fry (all grown up) from those spawns, and one of these is the feature photo on the L397 CLOG page? Nice!
Cheers,
Eric
P.S., apologies to the OP, as we're getting off the subject here.
I tried the link but it didn't work; apparently it had a small typographical error in it. So I fixed it and here it is:
http://www.plecoplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6351.
Thanks for the link. It's a nice read. And did you notice that about half-way down the page are photos of a couple of the fry (all grown up) from those spawns, and one of these is the feature photo on the L397 CLOG page? Nice!
Cheers,
Eric
P.S., apologies to the OP, as we're getting off the subject here.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Thanks and no worries
Another thing I recall reading (but can't remember where) is that fish which eat predominantly vegetable matter need to build up a population of certain bacteria in their gut. They can seed the bacterial population by eating poo from an older fish.
So it might be that they're not just being shown how to eat by the older fish, but also being given the bacteria needed to digest the food.
Sorry I can't find the reference for this.
Another thing I recall reading (but can't remember where) is that fish which eat predominantly vegetable matter need to build up a population of certain bacteria in their gut. They can seed the bacterial population by eating poo from an older fish.
So it might be that they're not just being shown how to eat by the older fish, but also being given the bacteria needed to digest the food.
Sorry I can't find the reference for this.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Is this what you read? Nitrogen fixing bacteria in the gut of Panaque nigrolineatusMol_PMB wrote:Another thing I recall reading (but can't remember where) is that fish which eat predominantly vegetable matter need to build up a population of certain bacteria in their gut. They can seed the bacterial population by eating poo from an older fish.
So it might be that they're not just being shown how to eat by the older fish, but also being given the bacteria needed to digest the food.
Sorry I can't find the reference for this.
Cheers, Eric
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
The lady the done the breeding log i think she may have been on the forum here so you might get info from past threads. There is a lot of info on forums particularly in Australia as the L397s really took off thêre. In terms of finding info via google on them there's not much out there yet.
Thanks Teresa
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
So, on close inspection my juvenile male is guarding a small brood of 15 eggs, all appear viable at the moment and I can see movement in some of them. Here he is:
Meanwhile, his mother and sister snuggle up together, while a younger sibling is nearby:
And here's another photo of the little one, who hasn't learnt to hold his tail still while I take the picture ;)
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
The youngest one there in the second picture i assume is eating well how big is it as thinking along the lines of you putting it with the newly hatched ones if there's not a huge size difference to see if the theory of the older showing the younger how to eat will work and increase the fry survival rates.
Thanks Teresa
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
The little one is about 30mm SL, closer to 40mm TL.
It is eating well, sometimes looks quite tubby and is often first on the Repashy-dipped twigs that I put in for the smaller ones.
Newly-hatched fry are about 8mm TL.
I have tried to raise several broods of these, I normally get the majority eating OK and then lose them when I go away for a few days (which happens often) possibly through starvation or deteriorating water quality. The three survivors you see in these pics are my only successes in getting them to a size where they are independent and self-supporting.
On my jobs list is setting up the breeder box on the new twig tank so I have somewhere to put the new babies
It is eating well, sometimes looks quite tubby and is often first on the Repashy-dipped twigs that I put in for the smaller ones.
Newly-hatched fry are about 8mm TL.
I have tried to raise several broods of these, I normally get the majority eating OK and then lose them when I go away for a few days (which happens often) possibly through starvation or deteriorating water quality. The three survivors you see in these pics are my only successes in getting them to a size where they are independent and self-supporting.
On my jobs list is setting up the breeder box on the new twig tank so I have somewhere to put the new babies
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
If you are going to be around you could try with the older one in the breeder box and see how it goes because of the significant size difference if seems if it's not working in his or in the younger ones favour then put him back in main tank but if this theory does work i'd say it is more likely to work better if they are from batches close together say of a couple that are eating well from the previous and the latest newly hatched from next so there's not much of a size difference it might be still a chance you want to take in order to increase survival rates.
Thanks Teresa
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Eggs look nearly ready to hatch, in the next couple of days I guess. The lad's still guarding them
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
I have the first two hatchings from generation II on the glass - the rest look ready to hatch.
Their young Dad has done a great job of guarding the eggs; he's been on there almost constantly and I saw him flick away a marauding snail yesterday. And their young Mum is looking tubby again already.
Their young Dad has done a great job of guarding the eggs; he's been on there almost constantly and I saw him flick away a marauding snail yesterday. And their young Mum is looking tubby again already.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Here are pictures of the two new twiglet hatchlings that I have seen so far.
I've got a new lens, quite pleased with the detail on these
Just had a measure up. Dad is 98mm SL, Mum is 95mm SL, babies are 10mm SL.
Mum and dad were born in February this year.
I've got a new lens, quite pleased with the detail on these
Just had a measure up. Dad is 98mm SL, Mum is 95mm SL, babies are 10mm SL.
Mum and dad were born in February this year.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Congratulations are in order -Maybe for me too there's some fanning activity in one of the caves of my L397s.
Last edited by pleconut on 02 Dec 2015, 16:21, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks Teresa
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Great and many thanks - fingers crossed for your 397'spleconut wrote:Congratulations are in order maybe- for me too there's some fanning activity in one of the caves of my L397s.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
For both of you!Mol_PMB wrote:Great and many thanks - fingers crossed for your 397'spleconut wrote:Congratulations are in order maybe- for me too there's some fanning activity in one of the caves of my L397s.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Not sure exactly what it was that got the L397s of mine in the mood their certainly up to something most of what ive done ie conditions before the move -the move itself- re-scape of the tank- i would have thought would have delayed this but certainly not seemingly be triggering it.
Thanks Teresa
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
So, last night my two juveniles were preparing to spawn again (pic)
This morning there are 20 eggs on the glass
I've got about 10 baby twiglets in the breeder box from the previous spawn a couple of weeks ago. I think there might be one or two more in the main tank but they're hard to catch!
This morning there are 20 eggs on the glass
I've got about 10 baby twiglets in the breeder box from the previous spawn a couple of weeks ago. I think there might be one or two more in the main tank but they're hard to catch!
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Amazing how "busy" they are.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Well, I think of them as teenagers discovering themselves... ;)
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Here's the latest clutch.
Their parents often did the same - a second batch of eggs about a week after the first batch hatched, then a longer pause.
Their parents often did the same - a second batch of eggs about a week after the first batch hatched, then a longer pause.
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Well the second spawn of grandkids all hatched and I've caught most of them into the nursery, with their slightly older siblings.
As always seems to happen, I have to go away for a few days at a critical stage. Ggggrrr....
As always seems to happen, I have to go away for a few days at a critical stage. Ggggrrr....
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Good for you! Now, comes the difficult part - survival and rearing.
Cheers, Eric
Cheers, Eric
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Re: How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)
Have you considered, or do you, grow your own algae, its difficult here in the UK during winter months - not much sunlight so instead use a very bright spotlight a UV light designed for reptiles makes for a good choice. You could do this by sitting rocks, pebbles, wood even potted plants in a glass container. Once you've got a good supply of algae going, you just rotate rocks ect into the breeder box. May help keep the fry going during the times when you go away.
Thanks Teresa