I spend most of my time over in the crenicichla section, but had to share this over here. I have seen a few people spawning these, so I'm crossing my fingers.
My 180 show tank has had a group of Hoplarchus psittacus growing out...and growing huge...for the past year and a half. They have been doing very well, but no mating or bonding activities had occurred. This past week, that all changed, and 2 of the large fish took possession of the left half of the tank, and started digging (note, sorry about the glass...not about to clean it and risk freaking them out):
The one with the bolder pattern is the male, based on tube observation.
Here's the area they've been working on. Sorry about the reflections.
If I hadn't clipped the tail, this would be one of my favorites, showing the colors best. This one was taken without flash, so it's not as sharp as some of the others.
That was all on Thursday or Friday. As of Saturday, the male was more active in chasing the other fish to the right side of the tank. Keep in mind that these are hefty fish...but so far, there had been no injuries, just chasing, until Monday: one of the unpaired fish is now taking some damage, due to the crowding on his end of the tank.
On Sunday evening, here's what I saw going on:
and
I'm really excited about this happening, since I have read accounts of people taking 5 years to get a spawn, or having to keep the temp very high. I just have very soft water out of the tap, plus a sock of peat in the sump of this tank. Temp is just above 80. I'll have to be ready with some dividers...or I may set up one of my 150 stock tanks, which I normally use outside during the summer, to move the other fish out.
My 180 show tank has had a group of Hoplarchus psittacus growing out...and growing huge...for the past year and a half. They have been doing very well, but no mating or bonding activities had occurred. This past week, that all changed, and 2 of the large fish took possession of the left half of the tank, and started digging (note, sorry about the glass...not about to clean it and risk freaking them out):
The one with the bolder pattern is the male, based on tube observation.
Here's the area they've been working on. Sorry about the reflections.
If I hadn't clipped the tail, this would be one of my favorites, showing the colors best. This one was taken without flash, so it's not as sharp as some of the others.
That was all on Thursday or Friday. As of Saturday, the male was more active in chasing the other fish to the right side of the tank. Keep in mind that these are hefty fish...but so far, there had been no injuries, just chasing, until Monday: one of the unpaired fish is now taking some damage, due to the crowding on his end of the tank.
On Sunday evening, here's what I saw going on:
and
I'm really excited about this happening, since I have read accounts of people taking 5 years to get a spawn, or having to keep the temp very high. I just have very soft water out of the tap, plus a sock of peat in the sump of this tank. Temp is just above 80. I'll have to be ready with some dividers...or I may set up one of my 150 stock tanks, which I normally use outside during the summer, to move the other fish out.
