Breeding Festae in a 135 Gallon

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Murrayt

Murrayt

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 3, 2014
180
2
18
California
What sort of setup do I need to provide a Male and Female Festae in a 135 Gallon? Any tips? 6'x18"

Is a divider necessary, or will lots of driftwood and rock caves work?

Are there any other fish that could live with them in a tank that size? Red Tail Prochilodus, Clown Loaches, Fire Eel, Pink Tailed Chalceus?

Have a female right now at about 7" and would be looking to introduce a slightly larger male.
 
Although any cichlid may spawn while other species of fish are in the tank, the other fish will usually try to eat the fry, or die trying.
Most breeders that use a divider, do so, to keep the male from killing the female (usually the smaller of the pair).

another reason to use a divider is to have the spawning pair on one side, and some other "festae" on the other, this often times focuses the males attention (and aggression) on the other fish he can see, and not on the female.
When spawning all cichlids develop high aggression hormones to help them protect eggs and fry from predators, if predators are not around, the female is often the brunt of the aggression.
I find growing up group of young fish together, allowing them to pair off naturally, and then separating the pair from the rest of the group works well for breeding.

 
Murrayt said:
What sort of setup do I need to provide a Male and Female Festae in a 135 Gallon? Any tips? 6'x18"

Is a divider necessary, or will lots of driftwood and rock caves work?

Are there any other fish that could live with them in a tank that size? Red Tail Prochilodus, Clown Loaches, Fire Eel, Pink Tailed Chalceus?

Have a female right now at about 7" and would be looking to introduce a slightly larger male.
Click to expand...

Try a bare bottom tank........BAre bottom tanks greatly decrease the existence of unneeded waste particles...........Keeping ammonia levels near to nothing is a must when breeding species.............A tank divider is sometimes needed if the pair is freshly introduced to each other............I usually accept pairs when they are paired already, if not raised by me from the start.....................A separate tank, preferably a 55-75g is needed in raising fry healthy...........I siphon the wigglers once the hatch from the eggs............I save a lot more time and fry by placing the freshly hatched directly into their own tank............
 
You might find this video of interest.... My breeding pair share with a Labiatus and Neets...

[video=youtube;gvlsWJA7cTE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvlsWJA7cTE&list=UUNlc3w0GkF9lMOeW2xlpEDg[/video]
 
Cyberman said:
You might find this video of interest.... My breeding pair share with a Labiatus and Neets...

[video=youtube;gvlsWJA7cTE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvlsWJA7cTE&list=UUNlc3w0GkF9lMOeW2xlpEDg[/video]
Click to expand...

Awesome! How large is that aquarium? 135?
 
Need a divider and two tanks for when the fry can eat and swim on their own.
 
Username. said:
Need a divider and two tanks for when the fry can eat and swim on their own.
Click to expand...

So I just got my Male Festae and have introduced him to my female. They are currently divided in the 135. The male is a good 2" smaller than my female who is about 8-9". Should I keep them divided until the male grows another 2-3"? They were in the same tank for the first 2 days and all was well. but the female started chasing him repetitively last night so I intervened.
 
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