Hoplarchus psittacus / Parrot Cichlid Spawning

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notho2000

notho2000

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Aug 16, 2010
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winnipeg, canada
This young pair (26 months) of Hoplarchus psittacus has been spawning about once every two weeks. This is their third spawn, this time placed on a rock. The first spawn was laid on a small piece of irregularly shaped driftwood. I removed the piece after two days to try an artificial hatch, but most of the eggs fungused. I ended up with two fry. I felt that the immaturity of the male along with the spawning substrate ( rough wood, ouch!) may have contributed to the low fertility rate, so I thought I would provide a more "ovipositor friendly" surface. I placed a rock in what I thought was a perfect spot for the pair to use and to allow me to have a good vantage point for a video. Well for their second spawn, they ignored the rock and put the eggs down on the largest piece of driftwood in the tank. Since I couldn't remove the eggs, I let nature take its course. About 35-40 fry resulted but within a day they "disappeared". This video shows a little of the third spawning, with the eggs being put nicely on THEROCK. I guess I outsmarted them!! :thumbsup: I'll likely pull the eggs tomorrow and hopefully, I'll get a decent hatch.
[video=youtube_share;dByKtXc3KRY]http://youtu.be/dByKtXc3KRY[/video]
 
This third spawn from a young pair of Parrot cichlids is successfully hatching out. I estimate an 80% hatch rate. the fungused eggs 'random pattern indicates these eggs were most likely not fertilized. The male is young (26 month) and his fertility should improve with age (or he'll learn to take "better aim":thumbsup:). Most of the eggs are unhatched at the time this video was taken, but hatching has been going on since late last night. My water is not softened and this may be slowing things down. It looks as if there are 50-60 fry on the bottom, with maybe a couple of hundred to go. Here's a video of the situation.

[video=youtube;sPGLCqieLL4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPGLCqieLL4&feature=player_detailpage[/video]
 
dogofwar said:
Good stuff, Jim!

Matt
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flowerpower said:
Didn't know they spawned so young. Well done!


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woofy said:
Awesome! Congrats! Want!


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s1c said:
:nilly:Good STuff :D
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fishfanatic46 said:
Beautiful pair of parrots


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Thanks for all the kind comments everyone.
 
Very nice! Congrats! I've found that young males seem to get better with each new batch of eggs. Fry seem to be stronger, too. Most of my first-time pairs end up with weak fry for some reason, but usually by the second or third batch it's a great hatch rate with strong, healthy fry. I hope you'll keep us updated. I miss my psittacus and I love seeing people have success in spawning/rearing them.
 
Hey Ryan,
Thank you. What you say seems to be true (and I've seen it with other species). The fry in this third batch are larger and more vigorous than the ones from the first two spawns. I'll follow up over the next while on the progress of the fry.
Jim
 
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