Paretroplus menarambo with fry

[ciclasoman]

I am happy to share with you the longest a pair of menarambo has cared for their fry- 23 days post spawn and still going strong. I use a long dropper to feed them live baby artemia (6 inches long). The parents used to bite me but recently they welcome my hand- really odd. I removed all sources of vibration from the pump and limit noise to what is generated outside the fish tank- parents and fry seem to behave more naturally imo and this may be the reason that after more than a decade of removing fish eggs, I finally got the parents to care for their own. I assume that sound and vibration interfere with their normal breeding behavior. These fry should behave more naturally than artificially raised ones if exposed to less noise since it’s possible to induce temporary and permanent hearing loss.

 

[tlindsey]

I am happy to share with you the longest a pair of menarambo has cared for their fry- 23 days post spawn and still going strong. I use a long dropper to feed them live baby artemia (6 inches long). The parents used to bite me but recently they welcome my hand- really odd. I removed all sources of vibration from the pump and limit noise to what is generated outside the fish tank- parents and fry seem to behave more naturally imo and this may be the reason that after more than a decade of removing fish eggs, I finally got the parents to care for their own. I assume that sound and vibration interfere with their normal breeding behavior. These fry should behave more naturally than artificially raised ones if exposed to less noise since it’s possible to induce temporary and permanent hearing loss.

Congrats!!!

I personally never heard of them spawning in the home aquarium.

 

[ciclasoman]

Congrats!!!

I personally never heard of them spawning in the home aquarium.

Oh, yes! They will spawn but eat their eggs soon after. The response to noise is remarkable, it makes them rather skittish and they eat their eggs shortly after. I also have a night light that functions as a moon light. Having the light on didn’t seem to make a difference by itself until I started trying to make the tank less noisy.

 

[cockroach]

Awesome work.

Do you have more info on the tank? Size and water params?

 

[ciclasoman]

The tank holds 240 gallons, it houses about 8 Paretroplus kieneri and 8 Paretroplus menarambo. Water temp is around 76-78 degrees and pH 8.2, conductivity 700 microS.

 

[cockroach]

Are there any concerns of the two species cross breeding?

Nice size tank. Any FTS?

 

[Bertie07]

Lovely fish and congrats on the spawn. Always wanted to keep some myself but could never find any

 

[ciclasoman]

Are there any concerns of the two species cross breeding?

Nice size tank. Any FTS?

None, menarambo and kieneri are dramatically different and no hybrids have been documented. Kieneri, however, is known to hybridize with Paretroplus nourissati.
I am not sure what FTS stands for

 

[ciclasoman]

Lovely fish and congrats on the spawn. Always wanted to keep some myself but could never find any

Thank you, Paretroplus menarambo is one of my favorite fish. Old world exotics has them regularly or you can find them on aquabid.

 

[J. H.]

None, menarambo and kieneri are dramatically different and no hybrids have been documented. Kieneri, however, is known to hybridize with Paretroplus nourissati.
I am not sure what FTS stands for

FTS = Full tank shot.

Congrats! Beautiful fish and quite an accomplishment. How did you eliminate vibration in the filter? How quiet is the room? (Not that I have Paretroplus, just curious.)