I used to have a breeding pair of Cutteris (purchased from a LFS) until last year. I got the bright idea to move them out of their 20L where they where so successful, into a 75 with other cichlids. It was all good for a while until I added a Neet that went psycho and killed the male Cutteri of the pair. That was a sad day for me, I really loved that Cutteri pair. They bred several times, and were a good looking couple. On my next order from TUIC (Nov 07)I asked Jeff to sell me an adult male cutteri. He had an adult WC that was a bit bigger than the male he replaced, and the colors looked a bit different as well.
He turned out to be the most shy cichlid I ever owned, with no interest in the female even when she threw herself at him with her do-me eyes. He was far more interested in staying hidden and running for cover if I stepped foot in the room, a far cry from the much bolder but smaller male he replaced. Somtimes "Wild Caught" = insanely aggressive, sometimes it means insanely shy and jittery.
After a while I added a couple of Burmese Border Botias to add more activity to the aquarium, didn't seem to phase the male Cutteri much. Then I added 3 Giant Danios, he seemed to come out of his shell a little more, but still not interested in the female. Then as a last resort I added in one of my Neets (not the psycho one) to see if that would stir the pot and get his competitive juices flowing.
A couple more months passed, I decided to give up this weekend. I figured I'd try the Cutteris in the 150 even though they're much bigger than the fish in there now (who will some day be bigger and meaner than them). I had that move planned for Sunday July 6th. They seemed to need a change of pace. But as I was talking on the phone yesterday and walking around the house while talking, I stopped by the 20 long Cutteri tank and in mid sentence said in a stunned voice, "holy crap, they finally bred!". I was pretty shocked. There were free swimming fry with both parents protecting them. I was happy the male decided it wouldn't kill him to get it on with the other sex.
. I was losing faith in him, but by God, his boys can swim!
The pics and videos I took are pure crap, but they're on the way. I had trouble with the correct lighting levels, if I put too much light on the tank the Cutteris would hide. I had to sneak up on them. The female used to be much bolder with her old mate, but I think the personality of her new one has rubbed off on her.
Alright, the crappy pics will be here very shortly.
He turned out to be the most shy cichlid I ever owned, with no interest in the female even when she threw herself at him with her do-me eyes. He was far more interested in staying hidden and running for cover if I stepped foot in the room, a far cry from the much bolder but smaller male he replaced. Somtimes "Wild Caught" = insanely aggressive, sometimes it means insanely shy and jittery.
After a while I added a couple of Burmese Border Botias to add more activity to the aquarium, didn't seem to phase the male Cutteri much. Then I added 3 Giant Danios, he seemed to come out of his shell a little more, but still not interested in the female. Then as a last resort I added in one of my Neets (not the psycho one) to see if that would stir the pot and get his competitive juices flowing.
A couple more months passed, I decided to give up this weekend. I figured I'd try the Cutteris in the 150 even though they're much bigger than the fish in there now (who will some day be bigger and meaner than them). I had that move planned for Sunday July 6th. They seemed to need a change of pace. But as I was talking on the phone yesterday and walking around the house while talking, I stopped by the 20 long Cutteri tank and in mid sentence said in a stunned voice, "holy crap, they finally bred!". I was pretty shocked. There were free swimming fry with both parents protecting them. I was happy the male decided it wouldn't kill him to get it on with the other sex.
. I was losing faith in him, but by God, his boys can swim!The pics and videos I took are pure crap, but they're on the way. I had trouble with the correct lighting levels, if I put too much light on the tank the Cutteris would hide. I had to sneak up on them. The female used to be much bolder with her old mate, but I think the personality of her new one has rubbed off on her.
Alright, the crappy pics will be here very shortly.
