GT breeding (?) help

[happycichlid]

hi and good day sirs,


i think my GTs are also about to breed (male about 3", female 2"). may i just inquire if your GTs also became aggressive towards one another during the process? My female GT keeps flaring and charging at the male GT (who seems to have grown a slight bump in his head) and trying to nip at his gill area causing the loss of several scales. Is this normal? I'm worried my male GT might not be able to take it, although he's almost twice the size of the female. I also noticed that the GTs' colors seem to have gotten darker.

hoping for your advice.

 

[Aquanero]

Sounds like normal courtship, The male should be fine. I had two GT's a while ago that used to get very aggresive during breeding.

 

[happycichlid]

thanks for your prompt reply sir. i'll observe the pair further. do you think they're large enough to breed? i've only gotten them a couple of months ago (really grown attached to the male)

 

[Aquanero]

Yes, they are big enough to breed. The female will pretty much stop growing once she breeds.

 

[balton777]

Yes, they are big enough to breed. The female will pretty much stop growing once she breeds.

You mean WHILE she breeds or will she stop growing forever?

I have a 2.5" female GT that has just bred for the third time. I hope she isn't 2.5" for the rest of her life!

 

[Aquanero]

The female I had breed at about 3.5" and never got any bigger. The male was about 4" and contiuned to grow normally but she stopped. Then I read somewhere female GTs do stop growing once they breed, I thought that was very strange too. Maybe someone else has some insight on this.

 

[happycichlid]

thanks for your input sir Aquanero, I guess it can't be helped if she really wants to breed. don't mind having a dwarf female GT considering how aggressive she already is.

 

[happycichlid]

they finally spawned, and i was about to do my regular weekly water change tomorrow. is it safe to do a water change while there are eggs? if not, how long should i wait?

thanks

 

[Aquanero]

Yes, do it. It might piss the parents off a little but once the fry are swimming it will be more diffacult. Just stay away from the eggs, remove the water from the other end of the tank.