BREEDING EFFECTS?!

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

I have a breeding couple in my care and I'm wondering how its affecting them. It's a joy to see them breed and watch their fry grow but is it healthy for them to do this often?

Is it true that breeding slows down the growth for both male and female?

Please enlighten me on this subject I'm considering separating the pair of GTs I have for several months so they can take a break and grow. What do you think? What are the chances of them hitting it off again after a few months?

Thanks in advance!

 

[JMcCormick]

I am only stepping in to this discussion with my knowledge and work with reptile breeding but, I know that in snakes once they have reached sexual maturity their growth rate slows greatly. I am just assuming that it is the same in fish. So if they are already at sexual maturity I think they will probably continue to grow slow even if you separate them... Just my thoughts though. I could be completely wrong.

 

[MTBjake]

I recently separated my Jag pair and the male is now growing by leaps and bounds. They're a younger/smaller pair so they have a lot of growing to do and while raising fry, they don't eat like they do while separated. I'm not sure if they'll pair up again when I reintroduce them in several months, but if they don't it doesn't really matter to me.


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[Mr. Rain Cloud]

I am only stepping in to this discussion with my knowledge and work with reptile breeding but, I know that in snakes once they have reached sexual maturity their growth rate slows greatly. I am just assuming that it is the same in fish. So if they are already at sexual maturity I think they will probably continue to grow slow even if you separate them... Just my thoughts though. I could be completely wrong.

I definitely appreciate you stepping in and sharing your knowledge. It makes sense and applies to other creatures like humans. I'm guessing that it may be their change in lifestyle as well that slows down their growth since they don't get many chances to eat and put all their energy into the eggs and guarding the fry.

I recently separated my Jag pair and the male is now growing by leaps and bounds. They're a younger/smaller pair so they have a lot of growing to do and while raising fry, they don't eat like they do while separated. I'm not sure if they'll pair up again when I reintroduce them in several months, but if they don't it doesn't really matter to me.


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I like your attitude man, hahaha! I think you and I are on the same boat on this and it's nice to know that there is evidence(I'll take your word) that supports the idea of fish growing slower while breeding.

 

[spike38]

I never raised GT's,
But with JD's The females growth slows down considerably from then on. continued breeding or not.
The males, will slow down during breeding, But picks back up while not breeding.
The same with convicts.

Spike

 

[chomper149]

i could def see how a female would stop growing as quickly since repetedly breeding will cause her to have to put a lot of energy into egg making and the such. The male on the other hand i feel like wouldnt slow by much. I dont have too much experience breeding, nor have i ever thought about this. But my current breeding kribensis have grown a significant amount since ive had them and since they have spawned. I originally bought 2 females and 1 female is now at my girlfriends. My female and her female are the same size. I def feed my fish significantly more than she does, so this could be a factor. But regardless both females are the same size. 1 has never spawned, ever. and the other spawns on a regular basis 3-4 weeks. Thats my experience, may be skewed, may not.

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

I never raised GT's,
But with JD's The females growth slows down considerably from then on. continued breeding or not.
The males, will slow down during breeding, But picks back up while not breeding.
The same with convicts.

Spike

Sweet man, thanks for sharing! This helps me a lot and will influence my decision greatly.
Can you tell me more about your fish? What size are they now? How big were they when they first bred?

i could def see how a female would stop growing as quickly since repetedly breeding will cause her to have to put a lot of energy into egg making and the such. The male on the other hand i feel like wouldnt slow by much. I dont have too much experience breeding, nor have i ever thought about this. But my current breeding kribensis have grown a significant amount since ive had them and since they have spawned. I originally bought 2 females and 1 female is now at my girlfriends. My female and her female are the same size. I def feed my fish significantly more than she does, so this could be a factor. But regardless both females are the same size. 1 has never spawned, ever. and the other spawns on a regular basis 3-4 weeks. Thats my experience, may be skewed, may not.

Thanks for sharing your experience What size are your kribensis right now? I know that they stay small but knowing that both of them reached max size in different circumstances is valuable information too.

 

[mr.bigglesworth]

I have a breeding couple in my care and I'm wondering how its affecting them. It's a joy to see them breed and watch their fry grow but is it healthy for them to do this often?

Is it true that breeding slows down the growth for both male and female?

Please enlighten me on this subject I'm considering separating the pair of GTs I have for several months so they can take a break and grow. What do you think? What are the chances of them hitting it off again after a few months?

Thanks in advance!

It doesn't slow down the males growth. The female could actually stop growing all together. Though probably just really slow. Just watch out for malnutrition, sunken bellies, lack of colors, and I would not recommend seperation. The female upon reentering the tank would be severely beaten maybe the male would not recognize her, that's what happened to my female ehen I decided to let her recoup. This wasn't a green terror though it was a yellow lab (african).

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[Mr. Rain Cloud]

It doesn't slow down the males growth. The female could actually stop growing all together. Though probably just really slow. Just watch out for malnutrition, sunken bellies, lack of colors, and I would not recommend seperation. The female upon reentering the tank would be severely beaten maybe the male would not recognize her, that's what happened to my female ehen I decided to let her recoup. This wasn't a green terror though it was a yellow lab (african).

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Thanks for the input! I will separate them as a last resort only then. My pair is looking great but they can't eat freely as they used to. I'll just try my best to prevent them from breeding by not giving them the ideal conditions for them to breed such as lowering the temperature to 68F and lessening the amount of peat in the filters. They have fry swimming around right now so I'll wait until then.

I like the variety of answers that I am getting since it makes me look at the situation in different ways.

 

[Mr. Rain Cloud]

Who cares. Fish are here to breed.

Some people here obviously care and I don't see why you're wasting time here posting nonsense.

Sure, fish breed, but they need to relax and grow also. It would be like your mom making you brothers and sisters every year.