Crenicichla atabapo

[root]

hi guys, been around for a year now, but only started my 1st post today, so thought i might as well post more...

here's a pair of C. atabapos that i've kept for more than a year now..

very nice pair but still cannot figure out how to trigger them to spawn... any one who've had luck with these?

here's the pair:

 

[Hadrian]

LOVELY!!!! Really awesome and great pics too.

 

[Frostyone]

WOW! Those are BEAUTIFUL! GL breeding them.

 

[l3raD]

Amazing fish! Love the eye's!!!!!!

 

[RexFish]

Wow they look great, how big are they?

 

[Peanut_Power]

Gorgeous pair of atabapo!! Congrats and Welcome to MFK!!!! I'm sure you are very proud of them, I know I would be!!

Getting them to spawn is tricky. We still aren't really sure WHAT the trigger is that gets them to spawn. Lugubris pikes are uber difficult to get to spawn. There have only been a few cases where they have spawned, and those were rare instanaces. Few things that might help are:

Live Foods (condition the female)
Temperature drops
Water Changes
Lower pH (below 7.0)
Lower softness
Photo Period
Availability of spawn sites
Tank size
Tank mates


Those are some of the things that I can think of that might effect whether or not if they are going to breed. Just keep trying, its not impossible to do! It would be a first if you got your atabapos to breed though!! GO FOR IT!

 

[saltydog_1]

something i have done with tougher to breed species is to do my water changes at the same time a storm front moves in. it has something to do with barometric pressure i think. either way it seemed to help. but this was not with pikes. your fish are beautiful, best of luck.

 

[ShadowStryder]

Very beautiful Atabapos. I lurked around here for quite a while myself before I started posting so you aren't the only one.
As stated above, Lugubris are the toughest species of pikes to breed, many on here are trying to do so. Really tough to match the exact variables in the wild that would trigger a spawn. Jeremy (Peanut Power) pretty much covered the possible triggers.
GL

 

[root]

thanks for the warm welcome and all the nice comments guys!

Gorgeous pair of atabapo!! Congrats and Welcome to MFK!!!! I'm sure you are very proud of them, I know I would be!!

Getting them to spawn is tricky. We still aren't really sure WHAT the trigger is that gets them to spawn. Lugubris pikes are uber difficult to get to spawn. There have only been a few cases where they have spawned, and those were rare instanaces. Few things that might help are:

Live Foods (condition the female)
Temperature drops
Water Changes
Lower pH (below 7.0)
Lower softness
Photo Period
Availability of spawn sites
Tank size
Tank mates


Those are some of the things that I can think of that might effect whether or not if they are going to breed. Just keep trying, its not impossible to do! It would be a first if you got your atabapos to breed though!! GO FOR IT!

thanks for the pointers, jeremy.. would just like to ask about the photo period, this would mean the amount of light in the tank a day? any suggestions?

here're individual shots of the pair:

the male:

the female:

 

[root]

i've got another question which i've never found a definite answer, if you notice the caudal spots on the pair is of different size, i mean, the male's spot is so much bigger than the female's...

is this usual, or are they different 'variants' or something??

here's the pair pic again for comparison: