Rotkeil Severum Spawn!!!

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abarilot

abarilot

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Mar 4, 2009
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By the Beach!
Well I got a pair of Heros sp. "Rotkeil" (red shoulder) about 3 weeks ago from my fish club and what do you know last Thursday they spawned!!! I came home from a long field day and they were guarding eggs on a piece of driftwood. The only annoying thing is they are in my 60g gymno tank and I was planning to transfer them to my newly setup 150g... oh well these kids couldnt resist each other :naughty:

I'm pretty new to the raising fry business so I would appreciate any pointers. Right now the pair is guarding the eggs and the eggs are light brown so I do believe they are fertilized. Both are rather young too, male about 4.5" and female 5". I've read that severums are not the best parents so what should I do to help ensure their first spawn is a success? Both are rather young too, male about 4.5" and female 5". Also if I do get fry how long should I wait prior to trying to feed them? Oh should I let the parents try and raise the young or should I pull the piece of driftwood and aerate the eggs? I do feel bad for all my gymnos right now cuz they are all cowering in the corner of the tank but the severums are going aggro on them yet.

On a side note, how aggressive are a mated pair of severums without fry? I plan to add them to my 150g and I'm a bit worried about them beating up my SAL.

I'd post pics but my glass is gross and I dont want to clean it and disturb the pair.... gimme a few days! Cheers!
 
I now have wigglers! The parents have isolated them into a small divet in the piece of driftwood. So how long till I have to worry about feeding these little guys? Brine shrimp napoli sounds like good starter food? They are sooooooo tiny! Anyone have experience or advice?
 
dbcb314;4425666; said:
pics!
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I would but algae is growing on the glass and making the pictures out of focus, plus it looks gross. I'll post some once I'm not too worried about disturbing the parents cuz they freaked yesterday when I just put the algae scrapper in the water, didnt even try to clean!!!
 
Getting baby brine shrimp is a good idea. Can you see the yolk sac (yellow belly) or has it been absorbed yet?
 
The fry will grow much faster if you hatch your own baby brine shrimp. I've raised groups on the decapsulated brine, but I had two problems: a bunch of the fry didn't eat it and died, and the remaining ones grew really slowly. The decapped stuff is okay in a pinch, but I think live is still the way to go.

It takes 3 - 5 days for free-swimmers, so you've still got time to buy some BBS and hatch it before they're ready to eat. :D Congrats on the spawn.
 
ryansmith83;4425996; said:
The fry will grow much faster if you hatch your own baby brine shrimp. I've raised groups on the decapsulated brine, but I had two problems: a bunch of the fry didn't eat it and died, and the remaining ones grew really slowly. The decapped stuff is okay in a pinch, but I think live is still the way to go.

It takes 3 - 5 days for free-swimmers, so you've still got time to buy some BBS and hatch it before they're ready to eat. :D Congrats on the spawn.
Click to expand...

When did you remove your fry from the main tank? I just checked out the fry and they definitely still have their yolk sacks. Also what is a good method for removal of the young from the main tank to a fry raising tank?

There is a lfs that sells live BBS so I'll probably just buy from them, but I do have some brine shrimp eggs so that's not a bad idea to hatch my own... I just wasnt too successful last time I tried.
 
Baby brine are only good for the first few hours after they hatch. Usually the LFS sell adult brine, which would be too large for fry. It's really easy to hatch your own... 2 liter soda bottle, box of rock/ice cream salt, water, an air pump with airline tubing, a desktop lamp or some other light source, and brine eggs. 24 hours later you have brine.

I leave mine with the parents until free-swimming or just before free-swimming. You'll see them start to "jump" around, trying to swim. This usually happens a few hours before they actually go free-swimming. Get a piece of hose or airline and just siphon them out of the main tank. I put mine in a 20 gallon bare-bottom tank with a heater and sponge filter. Make sure the water is from the parents' tank, or that it at least has the same temperature and pH.
 
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