Con Solo the Convict

[Matth05]

Another successful spawn! At least for now lol. Hard to see but there are wigglers in the corner of the log. I was almost worried that this batch of eggs didn't make it. But the whole time Leia has been keeping the wigglers really tight in the corner of the log. To me it looks like it's been a day or two as well. The little ones are starting to "hop" up and down a bit in there, and I'm not seeing much of the egg sac on the ones I've managed to catch a glimpse of. I already have a fresh batch of BBS for them as well that I prepared over the weekend.

 

[Matth05]

Fry are just about getting to the free swimming stage. I’ll try to get a video sometime this weekend of the little buggers. Got another thing to talk about though.

Just like last time Leia has gone ballistic against the swordtails. Almost all of them had ripped and torn fins and I can tell they were becoming more lethargic. So today I moved the swordtails into the 29, at least for now. Figured it’s better for both parties, the pair won’t constantly be on edge and the swords won’t constantly be getting beat on.

Tbh, I’m not entirely sure what to do with the swords but I’m leaning towards moving them on. I really don’t see the 29 as being suitable long term, and I don’t have the time/space to set up anything larger atm. The larger males are easily getting to the 3.5-4 inch range. I don’t want to have to move them back and forth between tanks whenever I decide put Solo and Leia together to spawn either. Hopefully this isn’t just me being a bit irrational. I don’t know, it’s always hard justifying getting rid of something, especially a pet of all things.

 

[Jexnell]

So in my Vallisneria jungle tank I had some HRP'S for a year and then some pink Convicts.
During this time never really did I see any aggression towards the Army of Plattys. Yes they ate the Plattys fry, but when about 1/2in or more were just left alone. Mostly I believe due to the insane amount of sight breaks.



So what I am getting at is try increasing the amout of sight breaks.

When I finally took out all the HRPs I had probably 6 to 7 different generations

 

[Matth05]

I was considering getting another pack of those pothos vines to spread throughout the tank. Might be worth a shot to see if more line of sight breakers improves anything. Leia really is ruthless to the poor things though. It’s almost as if she would go out of the way to take swipes at them, even when at complete opposite sides of the tank.

 

[FINWIN]

I was considering getting another pack of those pothos vines to spread throughout the tank. Might be worth a shot to see if more line of sight breakers improves anything. Leia really is ruthless to the poor things though. It’s almost as if she would go out of the way to take swipes at them, even when at complete opposite sides of the tank.

Sounds about right. All my breeding dominant females were that way but Speck, Harlequin and Bianca were the absolute worst, picking random targets and dive bombing the hulking males in wild attacks. In turn the males would panic and bang into each other to get away. Fortunately the females did no damage because there were too many large targets to focus on.

Imagine going about your business and a baseball nails you in the ear out of nowhere. That's kinda what went on. But once the fry got to about an inch "mom" would back off and give everyone a break. Mica was the only female that was relatively mild defending her fry. Her aggression was more "making a point" and keeping a watchful eye. She did make my huge parrot Tango back into a corner which is ridiculous considering he's about 8 times her size. With no fry to guard she's a good tankmate but goes where she wants, even chilling in Tango's house or her log depending on mood. The big goof lets her run the show.

Like her granddaughter Mica, Pip is more guardian than hyper defender. She also protected her fry the longest, even looking out for them as sub adults. She would come out of her log and circle the tank. None of the other females have done this. Her size allows her to engage the males in a head on fight if need be. One of her daughters Flash is large enough and does this as well. The smaller females rely more on aggression and crazy random hits.

 

[Matth05]

So far so good. I want to say this spawn is a bit larger than the last one. The baby brine shrimp seem to working great too. I've also been mixing in some finely powdered flakes in the with each feeding of brine shrimp I throw in.

 

[Matth05]

Hate to say it, but I think I'm starting to see numbers dwindle. Could just be natural drops in numbers, I don't expect all of the fry to make it of course. Then there's the other possibility, little miss crazy eating the fry once again. Just have to wait and see I guess. The fry all seem to be eating very well, took this video a few moments after pouring in some bbs. They seem to go nuts for it which is fun to see.

 

[HybridFinatic]

Hate to say it, but I think I'm starting to see numbers dwindle. Could just be natural drops in numbers, I don't expect all of the fry to make it of course. Then there's the other possibility, little miss crazy eating the fry once again. Just have to wait and see I guess. The fry all seem to be eating very well, took this video a few moments after pouring in some bbs. They seem to go nuts for it which is fun to see.

Natural culling. Momma knows best.

 

[Matth05]

One week later. Looks like numbers are remaining relatively stable right now (my guess would be maybe 20-30), plus the little guys are definitely putting on some size now. For some of the larger ones their bodies are just beginning to fill out, slowly losing that tadpole sort of shape as the days and weeks go by. Can only hope that they keep going strong.

 

[Matth05]

Another week, another video of the little ones gorging themselves on bbs and powdered flake food. Most of them are really starting to look like little fish now. They're at the point where I can pretty clearly spot features like dorsal and tail fins, although the camera has a hard time focusing on their tiny bodies. They've also quickly learned that I = FOOD and will usually come up to the front of the glass, with mom and dad following close behind. Can't wait till they start showing some barring and I can maybe get a glimpse of what unique colors, if any, that will show up.