First FH breeding attempt...(all advice welcome!)

[Cohazard]

Well, the eggs are unfertilized. I don't know if either of the parents are shooting blanks, or if they just need more practice.

Do the first couple batches usually come out infertile?

How long should I wait between spawns before putting them back together again? They weren't eating while they had eggs so I separated them.

 

[cichlaguapote]

I'm hoping for that color and pattern with blue pearls in parrot shape so I can name the strain, or would that just be another kirrin?

Just me but I would wait to see if you can produce the same thing regularly before thinking about a whole strain. Really IMO that's what makes a strain is the ability to produce something that is different then the strains we have and be able to do it regularly with a set formula. The new "platinum" strain for instance. It's a new strain but someone got it down to where most in that strain look the same.

Well, the eggs are unfertilized. I don't know if either of the parents are shooting blanks, or if they just need more practice.

Do the first couple batches usually come out infertile?

How long should I wait between spawns before putting them back together again? They weren't eating while they had eggs so I separated them.

How big is your male? There's a possibility he's not mature yet. It can take young fish a chance or two to get it right. But there are some where it's just in their nature to be parents.

For them not eating while they had eggs that's normal to me. The male may eat but the female will be busy guarding the eggs and not really thinking about eating. You should condition them before they breed so they have enough fat for a couple days to hold them over. That's why to me it's way easier to breed older/more mature fish. Usually they're bigger and a few days if they won't eat and are well conditioned won't hurt.

As far as how long to wait I think you're going to have to wait a little to let the female build up some more eggs. I'd try again in a month or two.

 

[Cohazard]

Thanks for the input cichlaguapote

I know I would have to be able to produce it consistently, which is why I asked whether or not such a fish would even qualify as a separate strain or just a variation of a kirrin. Got ahead of myself though lol

I have them separated since the female has lost a lot of her belly and she still didn't want to eat today.

The male is appx 6-7" TL, so he is likely still immature?

When the two golden plats spawned, they were eating the 'loose' eggs that got kicked up while they were fanning, but not the ones sticking to the slate.

When the male golden and the kirrin spawned, neither were eating eggs thank fully, and were taking turns fanning the eggs and occasionally challenging each other?

 

[cichlaguapote]

It's normal for her not to want to eat.. even without having eggs for a few days after breeding she will eat very little. Probably for the next couple days/week she'll barely eat as she'll be stressed but she'll eventually get back into eating.

Your male is pretty big. I would give him another try in a few months. He might just need practice. After the next spawn we can come to a better conclusion about him.

Not sure about the "challenging" you're experiancing, FH can nip at each other a bit during breeding, but the rest sounds like normal behaviour.

 

[Cohazard]

It looked like the pre-spawn behavior, tail slaps, lip locking, etc.. only they were doing it intermittently after they had already spawned, between taking turns fanning the eggs.

I will give it another shot in a month, thank you for the help