 Basics | ||||||||||||||||
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| Overview | The first spawn was on Thursday 22nd of September 2022. The breeding group consisted of 2 males and 1 female. Additionally, there were 1 unknown individual present. The smallest male was at least 50mm SL and the smallest female was at least 50mm SL. The youngest adult was approximately 15 months old. The individuals were obtained from Tropical Haven (LFS), Modesto, CA, USA. | |||||||||||||||
| Further spawns | Thursday 20th of October 2022, Saturday 26th of November 2022, Sunday 18th of December 2022, Friday 6th of January 2023, Friday 17th of February 2023. 5 in total. | |||||||||||||||
| Feeding |
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| Water Parameters (at time of spawning) | ||||||||||||||||
| pH | 5.00 to 7.10 | |||||||||||||||
| Conductivity | 200µs to 500µs | |||||||||||||||
| Temperature | 24.0°C to 24.5°C | |||||||||||||||
| Current | Air (vertical) | |||||||||||||||
| Other Water Params | Tap water dechlorinated by Aqua Vitro Alpha at 1.5x recommended dose. 50%-75% water change every 2-4 weeks. | |||||||||||||||
| Aquarium | ||||||||||||||||
| Dimensions | The aquarium dimensions were 508mm x 254mm x 305mm (20" x 10" x 12") all Length x Width x Height. | |||||||||||||||
| Furniture | Fine gravel substrate 10 mm deep. Lots of Java moss, plus three small 1" diameter pleco caves (from plecocaves.com) and a small piece of Malaysian driftwood | |||||||||||||||
| Filtration | Sponge filter plus an extra air stone in tank for more aeration. | |||||||||||||||
| Lighting | Aqueon LED hood with built in light, set on a 10L:14D photoperiod. | |||||||||||||||
| Heating | No heater. | |||||||||||||||
| Breeding | ||||||||||||||||
| Behaviour | The events and frequency of spawning are documented in this forum thread: https://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=334593#p334593. Male trapped female in cave for about 24 hours before spawning. Eggs were found glued to the roof of the cave, with at least two eggs loose on the floor of the cave. The first spawn had around 20 eggs. The second spawn fewer, although some eggs may have gotten loose in the tank and hatched there. The third and following spawns got bigger, about 50 eggs in the third spawn and over 70 eggs in the sixth spawn. | |||||||||||||||
| Eggs | _eggs/1.jpg) There were 20 yellow eggs laid which were 3.3mm in diameter. | |||||||||||||||
| Time to hatch | 6 days Number: 18 Free swimming: 6 days | |||||||||||||||
| Segregation | Eggs left with dad in cave. After 24 hours, the entire cave, with dad and eggs inside, was moved to a fry basket inside the same aquarium. A few dried Magnolia tree leaves were added to basket. One loose egg was ejected by dad and never hatched. Two other loose eggs hatched, one normally and the other seems to be deformed; I expect it will not survive. | |||||||||||||||
| Fry sizes | 7 days: 9mm 14 days: 14mm 21 days: 15mm | |||||||||||||||
| 7 days | _7d/1.jpg) | |||||||||||||||
| 14 days | _14d/1.jpg) | |||||||||||||||
| 21 days | _21d/1.jpg) | |||||||||||||||
| Juvenile sizes | 1 month: 17mm 3 months: 26mm 6 months: 37mm | |||||||||||||||
| 1 month | _1m/1.jpg) | |||||||||||||||
| 3 months | _3m/1.jpg) | |||||||||||||||
| 6 months | _6m/1.jpg) | |||||||||||||||
| Fry and juvenile feeding | Dad abandoned cave about 1 day after the fry hatched. Dad was removed from basket and fry were dumped out of cave into basket. Fry were fed algae flakes and freeze-dried blood worms or freeze-dried tubifex worms starting when their yolk was almost gone. They didn't seem very interested in the freeze-dried tubifex, so in subsequent spawns I fed them exclusively with Seachem NutriDiet Chlorella flakes. I've also tried feeding them shredded fresh sweet potato, but they didn't seem interested in it either. | |||||||||||||||
