hoplo mating

[crkinney]

Frist thing this morning I noticed that most of the plants in the tank were floating at the surface.A bubble nest was being built .the male used the hooks on his fins to cut the plants and drag them to the nest ,I added a couple of sycamore leaves to the tank and they were incorperated .This after noon the male started rubing the female and she would bow her back and drop eggs on to the barbel of the male,he took these to the nest any that were dropped were recovered and implanted in the nest even the female would pick up eggs off the bottom and carry them to the nest.Needless to say I did not get much done today I watched this breeding in wonder.
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mule

[Bas Pels]

Congratulations

What species are you keeping/breeding?

[Steve GT]

Wow bet that was amazing to watch

Get some pics up of the parents nest etc really want to see this

[crkinney]

Hoplosternum Littorale
My camera is out of service at the moment there last nest is pictured under hoplo on april 30 2011
I cant wate to see what happens next right now the male rules the tank .
I really don't need more fish I now have a brood of albino bristel nose [50]and about 25
florida flag fish.
I am in central florida USA if anyone would like some free fish drop me a line .
It looks like I need to get a license to sell these guys
By the way I am not trying to under cut local dealers but I have moor fish than I can keep safely .

[Taratron]

If you'll ship, I'll take some!

What is your setup and how did you trigger the spawning?

[crkinney]

Every thing looked perfect but no fry ,I don't know what happened
mule

[crkinney]

Here are some pict.of the second nest .It appears to be unsuccessful also.
Learned a good lesson ,don't put your hand in the tank with a nesting male .I made this mistake and was rewarded with a painful cut on the back of my hand .The male charged all the way across the tank and hooked me .It hurt like hell and for a week after if i rubed that cut it would sting.