Could it be possible that these females are holding?

[Red Devil]

Just curious if my Kandango red fins {Borleyi} could be holding.. it is hard to tell but i noticed a couple of them with closed tight mouths.. can they start breeding at size 2 inches? here are a couple of pics..sorry for the lousy pics but they aren't coming out like they were so i had to shoot fast.. thats another reason i think something is up..

 

[toehead11183]

the fish in the last pic looks like its holding but the other does not

 

[Red Devil]

the fish in the last pic looks like its holding but the other does not

Thats what i thought.. can that happen when they are this small and young?

 

[ikevi]

Yes it does happen. After about the 2 inch mark I have had about 4 females hold now.

 

[Red Devil]

Yes it does happen. After about the 2 inch mark I have had about 4 females hold now.

wow ..thank you..did they keep the eggs into fry full term at this age..?

 

[ikevi]

No, but part of it is my fault. 1 I left in the tank and she ate them within a few days (it took here like 3-4 tries till she would keep holding them).

Another I grabbed too early and she spat them right when I put her in the tank, I didn't think about tumbling.

Another spat them in the net while I was transferring her, tumbled the eggs, got 39 fry, killed almost all of them while I was away for the holiday.

The final one I don't think they were fertile, nothing came from them (I ended up tumbling them since I didn't want that one out of the tank for a month.)

Remember in general the female are always smaller then the males. And these guys are known for reproducing at a young age, which is obviously good so that they don't loose all there population in the wild.

 

[Red Devil]

No, but part of it is my fault. 1 I left in the tank and she ate them within a few days (it took here like 3-4 tries till she would keep holding them).

Another I grabbed too early and she spat them right when I put her in the tank, I didn't think about tumbling.

Another spat them in the net while I was transferring her, tumbled the eggs, got 39 fry, killed almost all of them while I was away for the holiday.

The final one I don't think they were fertile, nothing came from them (I ended up tumbling them since I didn't want that one out of the tank for a month.)

Remember in general the female are always smaller then the males. And these guys are known for reproducing at a young age, which is obviously good so that they don't loose all there population in the wild.

Thanks for all the infomation..i am going to leave everything be.. the three females and the one male and just see what happens..one thing i will do is add more hiding places..just incase they are needed by the fry.. i will let you know..thank you again.

 

[nishant_datta]

hey liz, recently my Metriclima zebra, which is also a maternal mouth brooder, was holding. I didn't change a thing in the tank but added some tight hiding places.. it helped a lot as the fry immediately went into the tightest crevices and didn't come out until a few days later for feeding.. Good luck.

 

[Red Devil]

hey liz, recently my Metriclima zebra, which is also a maternal mouth brooder, was holding. I didn't change a thing in the tank but added some tight hiding places.. it helped a lot as the fry immediately went into the tightest crevices and didn't come out until a few days later for feeding.. Good luck.

Thank you..that is what i am going to do with these guys..they are still young so if it does not work out that is okay too..they are the only ones in the tank ..male and three females and a dragon goby youngster.. so maybe they will make it a family project .. but the main thing like you said is hiding places.. just incase old man or another female get jealous.. thanks i will keep you posted..just did not think that is was possible..July when i picked them up they were an inch themselves and here it is sept and breeding already