First Mono Sebae

[Mbargas]

https://****************/catalog_pages/brackish_water/monos_breeding.htm

 

[Ulu]

https://****************/catalog_pages/brackish_water/monos_breeding.htm

I have seen videos where they are now breeding them in captivity but in the past they were all wild caught. I have not actually been trying to breed these fish. All the fry in my possession were the product of pure serendipity.

 

[Ulu]

Well I did the gradual change in salinity thing. The fish started to get sick.
I did a serious system flush and cleaning and I am dosing in the salt.

I will bring them from zero back to 1.010 within a day, and increase salt from there. The mollies and guppies will all be transferred out to my other tanks.

I have one fish with a lesion and I will put him in the sump alone for a while. I will give him a serious salt bath.

These 6 monos are still in a 55g with 42 g sump. I think that I have arrested their development by keeping them in a system this small. Less than 100 gallons of water.

I’m gonna have to come up with a better situation for these fish or they will all get sick. So far only one of them is having a problem visibly but that means that they’re all starting to get sick and will get worse.

 

[Ulu]

 

[Ulu]

I have brought the monos up to 1.020 slowly, and they are doing better. The lesions seem reduced.

I was worried about the guppies and mollies in the breeder dying from salt, but so far they survive and they eat like pigs.

I’m not sure how these fish will respond to salt water 24/7/365. They are supposed to swim back to freshwater to breed, but I don’t know if this is an annual thing or just once in a lifetime.

I’m not interested in breeding these fish. I have enough already. But I want them to be healthy, and the guppies and mollies were always sacrificial feeders for the big cichlids.

Actually the monos are big enough to eat the guppies as well now. I have been told that the guppies will not breed in full salt water. I have moved dozens out & plan to take most of them out and put them into my freshwater tanks.

Again this is mostly to feed the big cichlids.

 

[Ulu]

I did a filter change last night and these guys are looking much brighter. You can see the yellow on the fins, which was never evident in freshwater or brackish.
I haven’t fed them live guppies yet, but they are eating live earthworms, market shrimp, and Omega One pellets quite readily.

I think they will improve even more with more live food.

 

[SourAngelfish]

You’re doing good with these guys. I will let you know adult monodactylus similar to archers and Scatophagus are fully marine as adults, I’ve found they do better/live longer in these conditions

 

[Ulu]

You’re doing good with these guys. I will let you know adult monodactylus similar to archers and Scatophagus are fully marine as adults, I’ve found they do better/live longer in these conditions

Thank you.

I agree but I am still far from understanding their physiology.

At some point they swim back up straam like salmon to lay eggs right? They can’t breed in salt water, If I understand correctly.

And I am assuming that after that adventure in difficult swimming and breeding, they perish. My idea was to hold them off as juveniles as long as possible; but I have overdone it.

Fortunately they do seem to be recovering from the skin problems There’s still a little bit of cloudiness on one of the eyes and you can see it in the photographs.

It is the fish on the far right, and he has improved since I took that photo. (Post number 36 above.)

 

[Ulu]

About three years ago I was directed to a link on the aquarium fishnet work but I never could get it to work. I never followed it up until today, but it was a story about how to breed these fish in captivity.

Evidently you can trigger the breeding by simply altering the water salinity in a certain way. In three years I have never done it thus, and so no breeding has occurred.

But I still don’t understand about their lifecycle in the wild.

After reading that article I would assume that these fish will breed over and over during their lifetimes, and do not have to swim all the way to the headwaters of some crystal pure spring.

 

[Ulu]

Today was the first big water change since I went completely salt water with these fish. There’s still quite a lot of air in the water right now.

They are really happy though. Perhaps they think they’re going to get to breed. Lol

They are looking much brighter overall and the scars are much less noticeable.