 Basics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | The first spawn was on Friday 23rd of October 2015. The breeding group consisted of 2 males and 3 females. Additionally, there were 1 unknown individual present. The smallest male was at least 30mm SL and the smallest female was at least 35mm SL. The individuals were obtained from WetSpot Tropical Fish, Portland, Oregon. | ||||||
| Feeding |
| ||||||
| Water Parameters (at time of spawning) | |||||||
| pH | 7.40 to 7.50 | ||||||
| Conductivity | 600µs to 600µs | ||||||
| Temperature | 24.5°C to 25.0°C | ||||||
| Current | Strong(air) | ||||||
| Other Water Params | Aquarium is filled with a mix of distilled water and tap water treated only with SeaChem Prime; during water changes, about 75% (10-15 gallons) of the water is removed; during refilling, 5 gallons of distilled water is added and the remainder is normal tapwater. | ||||||
| Aquarium | |||||||
| Dimensions | The aquarium dimensions were 610mm x 305mm x 406mm (24" x 12" x 16") all Length x Width x Height. | ||||||
| Furniture | Substrate of blended (mix of fine and medium coarseness) grey sand with piles of smooth rounded river stones (ranging in size from 4cm up to 8cm across their widest dimension), and a few larger rounded stones, some wood and sticks, Brazilian pennywort, and some fine stringy algae waving in the water current. Bamboo pipes, about 1.5-3cm diameter and 7-13cm long. | ||||||
| Filtration | Aqueon Quietflow 50 HOB filter, supplemented with an Aquaclear 50 (402) power head that is using its venturi adaptor to circulate water and air bubbles at high speed through the tank. The AquaClear powerhead has an attached AquaClear "Quick Filter Power Head Attachment" for additional filtration and to act as a guard, preventing fish from being sucked into the powerhead. | ||||||
| Lighting | T5 fluorescent bulb built into standard hood, controlled on a timer set to a 12L:12D photoperiod. | ||||||
| Heating | Unheated - household temperature maintains aquarium at about 75-80F. | ||||||
| Breeding | |||||||
| Behaviour | No special changes were made to induce spawning. Compared to everyday maintenance, the aquarium water was not changed, the pH was not changed, the temperature was not changed, and the hardness was not changed. In fact, the water had not been changed for almost two weeks; I discovered the eggs when I was preparing to perform my routine water change. Courtship and insemination of female were not observed. On the morning of October 24, 2015, a small female was found in a bamboo pipe guarding an estimated 50 eggs. On 16 November 2015, a second spawn by the same female in the same cave was found. These were counted and 68 eggs were recovered. Honestly, this batch of 68 eggs looked much smaller than the first spawn, so who knows how many eggs were actually in that first clutch of eggs. The numbers presented below are for hatching in the first clutch of eggs. | ||||||
| Eggs |  There were 50 clear pale yellow eggs laid which were 1.8mm in diameter. | ||||||
| Time to hatch | 4 days Number: 15 Free swimming: 6 days | ||||||
| Segregation | FIRST SPAWN: Initially, I left the eggs with mom in her bamboo cave. On day 3 of incubation, I discovered many eggs missing and I saw one egg out of the cave on the travel, with a second egg near the cave entrance, almost falling out. So I removed the cave (with mom inside) and inverted the cave over a 2.5gal tank which I keep just for eggs and new fry. The water conditions in the fry tank are similar to those in mom's tank, except slightly cooler (1-2 degrees F cooler). The remaining eggs fell into the new tank without mom, who stayed in the cave. I returned the cave with mom to her home tank. SECOND SPAWN: Immediately upon their discovery, all the eggs from the second spawn were transferred into an egg net hanging in the parents' tank, positioned above a powerhead with venturi mechanism. I placed a stone in the center of the net to keep the net from rising due to bubble buildup underneath the net. | ||||||
| Fry sizes | 7 days: 4mm 14 days: 7mm 21 days: 9mm | ||||||
| 14 days |  | ||||||
| 21 days |  | ||||||
| Juvenile sizes | 1 month: 10mm 3 months: 14mm 6 months: 0mm | ||||||
| 1 month |  | ||||||
| 3 months |  | ||||||
| Fry and juvenile feeding | The free swimming fry were initially fed two foods: (1) a blend of freeze-dried Tubifex worms, brine shrimp flakes, and NLS Thera A+ 1 mm pellets, all pulverized in a mortar and pestle until they were as fine and smooth as silk when rubbed between two fingers, and (2) frozen baby brine shrimp. | ||||||
