Nanochromis Transvestitus Breeding

[Petri.chard]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post. Looking for advice on what to do with fry? Not sure how in-demand dwarf cichlids are tbh. I haven’t seen many being sold.

I built a 20 gal long blackwater breeding tank for my first cichlids (a pair of Nanochromis Transvestitus from my LFS, not sure if wild or tank-bred).

The LFS pair didn’t bond, so after 2 months I had 4 more shipped from wet tropicals (wild-caught) to see if one of the males would bond with the female from my LFS.

Long-story short, after a month of mating displays between my LFS female and the wild-caught male, I went out of town for 3 days and came back to the new pair swarmed with fry.

They look about a week old right now and are free swimming but still following mama. Very cute to watch!

Zero idea what to do with them once they outgrow the 20 gal long. I was hopeful but honestly wasn’t expecting they’d breed, so I turned my breeding tank into a regular backwater tank with black neon tetras and Pygmy corys… kind of regretting that decision now that the tetras might prey on the unexpected babies.

Any thoughts? Should I just invest in some smaller tanks to separate the fry once old enough?

I also have two additional bonded pair adults. One pair in their own 7 gal tank, another pair in my 55gal discus tank. They’ve yet to spawn though.

Considering trying to make multiple tank-bred lines and maybe they’ll live and breed more readily over time? Keep in mind, I had to use very acidic, near 0 kh/gh water before they spawned. I would swing the ph down to 5 and fed frozen live for 2 weeks. ph is currently 6 because I’m too scared to lower the ph with the new fry in the tank.

Nanochromis Transvestitus seem uncommon, so not sure if they’re worth investing in tank-breeding (though they’re currently my favorite fish due to the challenge). The soft-acid water seems to deter folks, so maybe a tank-bred line would be beneficial?

Thanks for reading,
-Richard

 

[danotaylor]

nice one Richard. I am not certain of the demand as I am not into dwarf cichlids my self. As a temporary solution you could purchase one of these hang on side fry savers.

Amazon.com

I use one for my tropheus & mdoka fry until the fry are big enough to go into a grow out tank. They are air driven and recirculate water from the parent tank. At some point you would need to move them to a 10gal or something but this will buy you some time.

 

[DJRansome]

Welcome to MonsterFishKeepers! Will your local LFS take some of the fry? Is there a cichlid club in your area? You might want to post this in the African Riverine forum.

 

[tlindsey]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post. Looking for advice on what to do with fry? Not sure how in-demand dwarf cichlids are tbh. I haven’t seen many being sold.

I built a 20 gal long blackwater breeding tank for my first cichlids (a pair of Nanochromis Transvestitus from my LFS, not sure if wild or tank-bred).

The LFS pair didn’t bond, so after 2 months I had 4 more shipped from wet tropicals (wild-caught) to see if one of the males would bond with the female from my LFS.

Long-story short, after a month of mating displays between my LFS female and the wild-caught male, I went out of town for 3 days and came back to the new pair swarmed with fry.

They look about a week old right now and are free swimming but still following mama. Very cute to watch!

Zero idea what to do with them once they outgrow the 20 gal long. I was hopeful but honestly wasn’t expecting they’d breed, so I turned my breeding tank into a regular backwater tank with black neon tetras and Pygmy corys… kind of regretting that decision now that the tetras might prey on the unexpected babies.

Any thoughts? Should I just invest in some smaller tanks to separate the fry once old enough?

I also have two additional bonded pair adults. One pair in their own 7 gal tank, another pair in my 55gal discus tank. They’ve yet to spawn though.

Considering trying to make multiple tank-bred lines and maybe they’ll live and breed more readily over time? Keep in mind, I had to use very acidic, near 0 kh/gh water before they spawned. I would swing the ph down to 5 and fed frozen live for 2 weeks. ph is currently 6 because I’m too scared to lower the ph with the new fry in the tank.

Nanochromis Transvestitus seem uncommon, so not sure if they’re worth investing in tank-breeding (though they’re currently my favorite fish due to the challenge). The soft-acid water seems to deter folks, so maybe a tank-bred line would be beneficial?

Thanks for reading,
-Richard

View attachment 1566034

Welcome aboard

 

[cockroach]

Nice breeding.
I was looking into this but then received 2 females which I only noticed when another member pointed it out.

Slightly envious of your tank, in a good way!!

Do you have a pic of the male?

 

[Petri.chard]

Nice breeding.
I was looking into this but then received 2 females which I only noticed when another member pointed it out.

Slightly envious of your tank, in a good way!!

Do you have a pic of the male?

So… it happened again. My second pair in my discus community tank just started breeding this week and now I have two different broods. Honestly shocked that it happened again.

Here’s the newest brood with the male:



Here’s the original brood with both male and female (red belly):


Overjoyed they’re readily breeding, but also concerned what to do with over 100 fry once both broods mature in a 2-3 months.

 

[danotaylor]

Are you close to any retailers that ship? Maybe you could offer them wholesale to someone who can ship them to buyers

 

[cockroach]

Interesting! thanks for the shot of the male.

I read a few accounts that tank décor is important as broken line of sight is required for a pair to not hunt and destroy each other. What is your tank set up like if you are running two successful pairs. Besides something definitely right.

If you don't mind, could you explain or show a full tank shot of your two setups?

How are they with the discus? They require similar water params so that's a match. Do they show any aggression toward the discus? Or are discus cichlid enough to stand their ground?
What are your water parameters in each tank as I have only read that soft water is a must for breeding.