Heroina isonycterina
- Thread starter ryansmith83
- Start date
Awesome fish. Love these guys. I have some geo taps, gymno balzanis, and a chocolate cichlid. I love the species and love learning about this guys in particular. Thanks for sharing.
I finally have a male and female pair. They spawned this afternoon and the eggs already look totally different than the ones from the female/female spawn last week. Fingers crossed!
[video=youtube_share;L18HC85TP08]http://youtu.be/L18HC85TP08[/video]
We've been having thunderstorms every afternoon so that tends to set most of the fish off. I've also got spawns from severums in other tanks, and the Bolivian rams that are sharing the tank with this particular pair of Heroina also appear to be courting. Otherwise, I haven't done anything special. They get large weekly water changes and I mainly just feed a variety of pellets (NLS Thera, Hikari Cichlid Gold, Xtreme). My water is warm in the mid 80s, probably 84 or so, with a pH of 7.6 and a GH of 7 (which equates to about 120ppm, and considered "soft" according to my API test kit).
[video=youtube_share;L18HC85TP08]http://youtu.be/L18HC85TP08[/video]
We've been having thunderstorms every afternoon so that tends to set most of the fish off. I've also got spawns from severums in other tanks, and the Bolivian rams that are sharing the tank with this particular pair of Heroina also appear to be courting. Otherwise, I haven't done anything special. They get large weekly water changes and I mainly just feed a variety of pellets (NLS Thera, Hikari Cichlid Gold, Xtreme). My water is warm in the mid 80s, probably 84 or so, with a pH of 7.6 and a GH of 7 (which equates to about 120ppm, and considered "soft" according to my API test kit).
We have wrigglers!
Only about 20 - 30 hatched. I'm not sure if the male is still a bit young, inexperienced, or just had bad aim. Either way, we know the eggs will hatch in my water parameters.
I'd try to get pics and video but the female has moved them to the very back of the pleco cave and they're impossible to see without a flashlight. If they survive to free-swimming stage I'll get some video then.
Only about 20 - 30 hatched. I'm not sure if the male is still a bit young, inexperienced, or just had bad aim. Either way, we know the eggs will hatch in my water parameters.
I'd try to get pics and video but the female has moved them to the very back of the pleco cave and they're impossible to see without a flashlight. If they survive to free-swimming stage I'll get some video then.
All the males have better aim now, apparently.
I've currently got three pairs with fry. I was on vacation a week or so ago and came home to spawning everywhere. I moved one pair to their own 40 breeder and they currently have free-swimmers. Then two more pairs formed and spawned in the 55 gallon grow-out, and they are currently guarding wrigglers. It's all-out war in that tank.
Heroina shouldn't be too hard to find in the near future.
I've currently got three pairs with fry. I was on vacation a week or so ago and came home to spawning everywhere. I moved one pair to their own 40 breeder and they currently have free-swimmers. Then two more pairs formed and spawned in the 55 gallon grow-out, and they are currently guarding wrigglers. It's all-out war in that tank.
Heroina shouldn't be too hard to find in the near future.
Next month will be a year since I received my wild Heroina. I still have eight adults which has resulted in three breeding pairs. Several batches of fry have been culled due to poor pectoral fin development. For this most current batch I have been adding Epsom salt and calcium chloride with each water change to boost the mineral content of my water. It seems to be working. At 1/4" the new batch of F1s all appear to have normal finnage so far. If that's the case, fry will be available in a month or so, just in time for (hopefully) warmer shipping weather.
Another pair has spawned tonight. Here are some pictures and a video of the female in breeding dress while the male stands watch.
[video=youtube_share;q-XYVNSQp1o]http://youtu.be/q-XYVNSQp1o[/video]
Another pair has spawned tonight. Here are some pictures and a video of the female in breeding dress while the male stands watch.
[video=youtube_share;q-XYVNSQp1o]http://youtu.be/q-XYVNSQp1o[/video]
