Dianema longibarbis making holes in gravel

yuler · Post by **yuler** » 30 Aug 2006, 11:42

My Dianema longibarb is making holes in gravel and then sits in it all day is he/she nest building ?
Cheers guys

pleco_breeder · Post by **pleco_breeder** » 30 Aug 2006, 12:18

Hello,

It is highly unlikely that this is nesting behavior. My understanding of Dianema spawns to date say that they are surface spawners, and place eggs in several locations. I don't have any exact reports for this species in front of me, but to create a nest would be a far cry from the currently available info for the genus.

A more likely explaination would be that the fish is trying to find a place to claim a territory. You don't mention in the post what kind of decoration is available in the tank, or if any tankmates may be controlling the decoration as their own territory. Thereby, forcing the Dianema to find a less suitable location. Try adding a few pieces of driftwood or plants to allow it a place to find cover, and I would assume that this behavior will at the least be curbed.

Larry vires

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 30 Aug 2006, 16:41

years ago I had a shoal of 8 D longibarbis (somewhere in 1986-1988) and I had a bubblenest on one occasion.
unfortunately no eggs were laid; the females didn't have any interest in it or in the male frantically hovering beneath.

funfact: the male gets quite agressive

wich is a surprise given the placid, even shy and skitterish nature of this fish. he spend all his time kicking any other fish well away from the nest, even non-Dianema's.

Dianema's are an enigma; almost any other larger Callichthyd that's in the hobby for some time; like Callichthys, Hoplosternum, Megalechis etc gets bred eventually. even rarities like Lepthoplosternum or the Panamese Hoplosternum (Diasternum) punctatum.

but AFAIk Dianema so far has proven very hard to breed and I have never seen any illustrated breeding rapport, nor truly tiny Dianema's in the trade; all are halfgrown or adult wildcaughts......

btw Mods; you might pull this one over to the Callicthids section; Dianema belongs to the big happy Corydoras & family club

yuler · Post by **yuler** » 30 Aug 2006, 23:03

Cheers guys. The fish is a lovelly addition to the tank and seems almost friendly. Its great to watch it pushing the bits of gravel it doesnt like out of its hole (doesnt like the darker bits).
Thanks again dudes

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 30 Aug 2006, 23:08

You sure have a weird Dianema.

usually Dianema's aren't diggers at all and they're even less into the digging than Corydoras.

sure it's not a small Lepthoplosternum species?

these are much more into the digging than Dianema.

yuler · Post by **yuler** » 31 Aug 2006, 11:28

I did have one of those sold with the dianema (as a dianema) but he didnt last, long Poor thing. Heres a pic of the hole digging dianema:
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b275/ ... emacat.jpg

cheers

rahendricks · Post by **rahendricks** » 31 Aug 2006, 13:55

Dianemas, like corys, prefer to be in groups. His digging and defensive stature may be in response to his being the lone dianema. Mine blow bubbles all the time, its just never been anything as organized as a nest.

Dianema longibarbis making holes in gravel

Dianema longibarbis making holes in gravel

cheers

Pics