View Full Version : Video of Polypterus Courtship
Cohazard
03-17-2009, 2:05 AM
Check out this clip I shot of my just barely mature male platinum senegalus, trying hard to court my female polli (big betty).
He's still young, barely two years old, and needs to practice more.
This is a good sign though. :)
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Wow thats sweet!! Really nice video and great looking polys and tank.
Cohazard
03-17-2009, 6:21 PM
Wow thats sweet!! Really nice video and great looking polys and tank.
Thank you Artax, glad you enjoyed the clip. The tank has a lot of 'growing' to do, all my swords are small still, so it'll look better when it fills in.
CDickes1988
03-17-2009, 6:36 PM
That must have been exciting to witness!
Red Devil
03-17-2009, 6:42 PM
very nice video.. now i know what to look for it my albinos.. if i am lucky enough for them to be a pair... beautiful polys you have.. i see some really fat ones.. haha..
Cohazard
03-17-2009, 7:38 PM
That must have been exciting to witness!
It was! Before, I used to believe that getting them to spawn would be very very difficult, and that the only way to do it would be the way the farms do, by using hormones.
But by seeing other clips like this, and reading a well written article about the spawning of endli endli in an aquarium, I realized that once you have a setup they are comfortable in (read that as low-lighting, places to hide, etc...) all it takes is time.
Polypterus mature very slowly and aren't like some cichlids that can be bred relatively quickly. With time, a proper setup, and a definitely male and female, spawning in the home aquarium is not only possible, but inevitable, sans hormones!
very nice video.. now i know what to look for it my albinos.. if i am lucky enough for them to be a pair... beautiful polys you have.. i see some really fat ones.. haha..
Thank you Liz :)
If you post pics of the anal fin of your pair of albinos many here can sex them for you. I know they are large enough to be acurately sexed now.
I think my female palmas beuttikoferi is the fatest, and I'm fairly sure it's because she is full of eggs. I don't have a male for her though :(
nice video,the music matches the clip
benzjamin13
03-17-2009, 7:48 PM
Very nice! Big Betty probably saw you taping them and thought, "Pervert!" And that was probably the only chance your poor Plat. Sen had:grinno: Maybe next time she'll be more of an exhibitionist for you.
aspear
03-17-2009, 7:48 PM
if you can breed that plat...you will have some fry worth quite a bit of money!
aspear
03-17-2009, 7:48 PM
nice fish too!
Cohazard
03-17-2009, 7:54 PM
nice video,the music matches the clip
Thanks Brian! :D
I try to match up the music to what I record, I think it makes the video that much more enjoyable when the media is in sync.
Cohazard
03-17-2009, 8:00 PM
Very nice! Big Betty probably saw you taping them and thought, "Pervert!" And that was probably the only chance your poor Plat. Sen had:grinno: Maybe next time she'll be more of an exhibitionist for you.
:ROFL: I hope so! I even lit candles just to get this shot :D
if you can breed that plat...you will have some fry worth quite a bit of money!
nice fish too!
Well, maybe... depends on the demand for them. I'll probably want to grow them all out lol
Thank you :)
Red Devil
03-17-2009, 8:00 PM
It was! Before, I used to believe that getting them to spawn would be very very difficult, and that the only way to do it would be the way the farms do, by using hormones.
But by seeing other clips like this, and reading a well written article about the spawning of endli endli in an aquarium, I realized that once you have a setup they are comfortable in (read that as low-lighting, places to hide, etc...) all it takes is time.
Polypterus mature very slowly and aren't like some cichlids that can be bred relatively quickly. With time, a proper setup, and a definitely male and female, spawning in the home aquarium is not only possible, but inevitable, sans hormones!
Thank you Liz :)
If you post pics of the anal fin of your pair of albinos many here can sex them for you. I know they are large enough to be acurately sexed now.
I think my female palmas beuttikoferi is the fatest, and I'm fairly sure it's because she is full of eggs. I don't have a male for her though :(
thank you.. i will do that... hard to get pic but i will :D:D:D
Cohazard
03-17-2009, 8:03 PM
thank you.. i will do that... hard to get pic but i will :D:D:D
Try getting a few small pieces of driftwood, flat smooth stones, etc... and lay them out in a network towards the front of your tank.
Bichirs looove to perch on things in their tank, and with all the new stuff they willl be actively investigating (head down of course to get a good sniff to figure out if it's food) and that will give you a prime opportunity to snap the shots.
Then you can take out all the stuff when you're done. :D
Also check out the polypterus primer, there is an explanation in there to help you know what to look for in sexing, it's easy when the fish are large enough.
Males have wide and thick anal fins, females have thin slender ones.
Norbert
03-17-2009, 8:10 PM
Nice vid man, great looking tank too, nice and gloomy...maybe try some Barry White music :D
I have an old male polli (not sure how old but he doesn't grow anymore, he was a trade in) that would slap his cupped anal fin on a female ansorgii repeatedly, sometimes for hours...kinda creepy actually :grinno:
I always thought it was funny that he showed zero interest in the big female polli in with him and now that I've moved the ansorgii out of that tank he still shows no interest in spawning with anyone else in the tank.
have you seen your senegalus "slapping" the female like that?
Cohazard
03-17-2009, 8:34 PM
haha I will try that music Norbert :D
I thought the sen was doing the 'slapping' with his tail, or at least trying to, in the second part of the clip when he was lying next to her, but he has zero experience so practice will make perfect.
Red Devil
03-17-2009, 9:44 PM
Try getting a few small pieces of driftwood, flat smooth stones, etc... and lay them out in a network towards the front of your tank.
Bichirs looove to perch on things in their tank, and with all the new stuff they willl be actively investigating (head down of course to get a good sniff to figure out if it's food) and that will give you a prime opportunity to snap the shots.
Then you can take out all the stuff when you're done. :D
Also check out the polypterus primer, there is an explanation in there to help you know what to look for in sexing, it's easy when the fish are large enough.
Males have wide and thick anal fins, females have thin slender ones.
it will be fun to know... i bought them both a couple of years ago..one grew big the other stayed a shrimp... in comparison... i will work on it ..thanks for the tips..