Nicaragua Cichlids (breeding pair)

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joey02

joey02

Piranha
MFK Member
May 22, 2007
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Canada
thekingofdiy.com
I couple days ago, i picked up a breeding pair of Nics(Hypsophrys nicaraguensis) I know there a breeding pair as i watched them spawn at the LFS, and they had around a hundred fry or so from the spawn. I'd like to know if there are any tips/recomendations, that could help with getting them to spawn in my tank. The female is 4 inches, the male is 6 inches.

So heres the setup:

Tank - 92gal corner bowfront.(Fluval venezia 350)

Filtration - Rena XP3 and a Fluval 405(both filled only with bio-max)

Decoration- Bare bottom, huge pice of malaysian wood, lots of silk plants, and two flower pots on there sides(hate them, but figuered it would help)

Water Chemistry - Ph 7.2, not sure of the hardness but its on the hard side. high buffer capacity. Temp is 81-82F. ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are not measured due to having good filtration and at least two 40% water changes a week.

Tank mates - 3 uaru a. ranging in size from 6-8 inches. Besides the initial introduction of the new fish, there is zero aggresion between any fish.

Diet - Mostly Hikari foods, hikari Sinking gold, hikari excel, hikari discus bio-gold, romane lettuce, frozen blood worms.


So given the current set-up, i feel it should work, but i may be missing something. any tips/ideas that could help??:)
 
i think about now it should take them a few days to settle in with their new surroundings and if the bond hasn't been broken they should start the courship in a few days,
 
make them some small caves
 
I would just get some slate rock in there, that should work or the nics will dig to the bottom of the tank and lay their eggs on the bottom glass in the pit.
 
If they were just breeding / raising fry, it might take a couple/few weeks for them to settle in and breed again.

I'd lower the temp to the mid-70's, feed them well (supplement current food with earthworms, superworms, mealworms, etc.) and in a couple/few weeks, do a big water change and up the temp to about 84. They'll breed in a flowerpot. I could always tell when a pair had bred because of the change in color of the female and her staying in the pot. You might give them a a couple of different sizes of pots. Mine like smaller ones.

Chances are that they'll pound the Uaru. If you want to breed them and raise the fry, other fish in the tank will have to go.
 
Yesterday i purchased a new bowfront tank for this pair. Tank size is only a 30gal, but filtration is an Xp3.
They laid eggs today, so i was surprized they did it so fast. they eggs are an amber color so they look fertile. i'll post pics if they hatch.
 
the best way i found to breed these fish place a flower pot standing up big enough for both parents place a peice of slate on top of pot with enough room for parents to get in and out i found the female stayed in there more then the male good luck mate hope it all works out
 
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