Ptychochromis grandidieri - Why This Particular Rock???

[notho2000]

A pair of Madagascan cichlids, Ptychochromis grandidieri 'East Coast Gold' has just finished spawning. The female is resplendent in her gold breeding dress. Two days ago, a pair of P. oligacanthus spawned on this very same rock. The eggs "disappeared" the day after they were laid, and this pair immediately siezed the opportunity... er, rock for their spawning site. I wonder what is so special about this particular rock? There are plenty of others in this tank. Well, it is "front and center", and these fish are definitely "show-offs".

[video=youtube_share;gwh_ZRkQF0k]http://youtu.be/gwh_ZRkQF0k[/video]

Here's a still of the 'oligacanthus' pair over their eggs two days ago. Check the rock.

 

[viejafish]

The female has a humongous and the largest egg tube I'v seen. You are spawning so many variety of cichlids. How many set ups do you have and how do you manage the thousands of fry you generate routinely.

 

[notho2000]

The female has a humongous and the largest egg tube I'v seen. You are spawning so many variety of cichlids. How many set ups do you have and how do you manage the thousands of fry you generate routinely.

I agree about the ovipositor - humungous is right. All the Madagascans are similar in that regard. I've got about 40 aquariums on the go right now and despite the large number of spawns that seem to occur, only the odd spawn will I pull out some fry, especially if it's a rarer fish or one I haven't spawned before.