Finally! My orangeheads got busy!
- Thread starter DaveB
- Start date
They're already at the wiggler stage. That's faster than I expected. The mom is now tending to a pit of them just behind the rock. I don't think my digicam lets me manually focus and it won't auto-focus on them so I can't take a picture, but they're there in their tiny black wiggly tailed glory. This makes them already more successful than their tankmates, who always ended up eating their eggs after picking them up. I just wish I could get a picture.
Here they are guarding the pit, though you can't pick the eggs out from the sand. (My tank looks like crap zoomed in with a flash.) As you can see they've got some decent terrain there and all the other fish are way across on the other side of the tank except the loaches coming by once in a while. They seem to be doing a pretty good job.
Last pic is the other male. He's starting to grow some trailers, which is cool. I've had him for over a year now.
Here they are guarding the pit, though you can't pick the eggs out from the sand. (My tank looks like crap zoomed in with a flash.) As you can see they've got some decent terrain there and all the other fish are way across on the other side of the tank except the loaches coming by once in a while. They seem to be doing a pretty good job.
Last pic is the other male. He's starting to grow some trailers, which is cool. I've had him for over a year now.
She's spending an awful lot of time with an empty mouth and the wigglers in the pit. She goes back and gets them but it seems kind of dangerous. Though I guess they're both doing a good job guarding the area. I'm just worried that the current in the tank will end up carrying them away a few at a time every time she sets them down.
If I net them out would she swallow them? I know I can pull my africans out when they're holding, but I worry that that'd freak her out and she'd eat them. Since I'll be gone this weekend I kind of want to put them in the 20g.
If I net them out would she swallow them? I know I can pull my africans out when they're holding, but I worry that that'd freak her out and she'd eat them. Since I'll be gone this weekend I kind of want to put them in the 20g.
I removed a holding female once, via a small plastic bucket and she spit the fry inside the bucket during the excitement of the transfer. I sat the bucket on the floor for a moment and she gathered the fry back up rather quickly and I put them into an empty tank. A few hours later the fry were gone. IME the fry tend to die when transfered in their first week. So I think she ate them at the point she realized they were not going to live.DaveB said:
Since they seem to be doing a good job, I wouldn't intervene and give them a chance to practice being parents. I watched quite a few spawns get snacked on when mine were learning how to care for their young but now I get to watch them care for the youngsters very successfully. I think it's worth being patient and think the fish benefit from it.
Dave~
I have experienced the same with my Steiny Nieva, (as you have with your OH) what I have done is let her hold for a short time, (say a week) then I pull her to a breeder cage in the fry tank (10) and it may take a day or 2, but she will spit the fry for easy removal.....That's just what has worked for me with my mouthbrooding Geos.
Ill get you OH Shots tonight, Got the Camera ready and will be rollin' They are not that big, compared to my Albios....Hard to pick out the group, as they are with Albios & Alfitrons in the 220, but may switch them and the "Nieva" group as I have Nieva coming out of my ears...You Need?
Nuthman~
I have experienced the same with my Steiny Nieva, (as you have with your OH) what I have done is let her hold for a short time, (say a week) then I pull her to a breeder cage in the fry tank (10) and it may take a day or 2, but she will spit the fry for easy removal.....That's just what has worked for me with my mouthbrooding Geos.
Ill get you OH Shots tonight, Got the Camera ready and will be rollin' They are not that big, compared to my Albios....Hard to pick out the group, as they are with Albios & Alfitrons in the 220, but may switch them and the "Nieva" group as I have Nieva coming out of my ears...You Need?
Nuthman~
An hour ago the wigglers were out and doing fine and the parents were defending them ferociously. And now I just walked past and nobody was holding or guarding anything. I think someone must've gotten to them. 
Unless they have a super secret hiding spot they trust...
Unless they have a super secret hiding spot they trust...I did a 25% WC (less than the usual 50) and re-scaped the tank a bit when adding some new plants today. Didn't take more than 2 hours before they were at it again. Same rock, same volume of eggs. We'll see if they can protect them properly this time. If they fail again they're going into the 20g growout in a few weeks.
Seems like 13 days between attempts is a bit quick. Hopefully they don't run out of energy.
I also added three of the juvies to the tank. So that gives me 7 orangeheads and 4 satanoperca in the tank now. Unfortunately the dominant adult males put the two super colorful juvies in their place so they're not showing the incredible color they had in the growout. But the potential is there so I'm sure it'll be back.
Here's how the tank looks after the additions. Going to find out where to get CO2 filled up tomorrow and stop putting that off. Now that I have tall plants again it's time to keep them alive.
Seems like 13 days between attempts is a bit quick. Hopefully they don't run out of energy.
I also added three of the juvies to the tank. So that gives me 7 orangeheads and 4 satanoperca in the tank now. Unfortunately the dominant adult males put the two super colorful juvies in their place so they're not showing the incredible color they had in the growout. But the potential is there so I'm sure it'll be back.
Here's how the tank looks after the additions. Going to find out where to get CO2 filled up tomorrow and stop putting that off. Now that I have tall plants again it's time to keep them alive.
