Stalsbergi spawn-to pull fry/when?

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C

cypho23

Jack Dempsey
Jan 7, 2011
4
0
31
near Des Moines, IA
I have had my WC pair of andinoacara stalsbergi for a few weeks. Was fortunate enough to have them bond without too much rough stuff. I now have a cloud of fry(guessing 200-250) that are being guarded fiercely by mama. Papa patrols the tank and keeps everybody in the know.

I have been spot feeding fry and they are growing quickly. How big should the fry be before I attempt to remove them for growout? Will the parent fish decide to reject them at some point?

I am a Tanganyikan guy and this is my first spawning of a large Central or South American. Have enjoyed observing the parenting behavior very much.

Anyone else have any input? Thx in advance.

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You can move them now. I move mine as soon as they go free-swimming. Use a hose to siphon them into a container and then move them to a grow-out tank. You'd be surprised how strong and hardy fry are once they start eating and growing.

Be prepared -- the parents are going to attack you and/or the siphon hose, and they'll probably be angry with their tankmates for a while once the fry go missing. I sometimes leave a handful of fry with the parents just to keep them from going berserk.

Great looking pair!
 
I'd leave the fry with the parents for about 3 weeks. At that point remove about 1/2 to 3/4 or however many you want to grow out. The parents will keep guarding the remaining fry until they're ready to spawn again. At that point they'll probably eat the remaining fry or just stop watching over them...depending on the size of the tank.
 
Good job, I lost my Female Stalsbergi but I don't know why, can you tell me tell what you keep your PH at, and other water parameters... Temperature, etc... I had them in the tank with other cichlids in my signature block and they all are doing fine...

Anyway, It makes me feel good to see the success that others are having with this cichlid, it will make me work harder to be successful also. I will be moving the pair to their own tank to a 90 gallon, do you think that will be adequete enough for a pair?
 
My pair is in a 6 foot, 150g tank. Tankmates include three amph amarillo, a red devil, and a couple more smaller CA's. The stalsbergi pair are the biggest fish in the tank. Male and female are both near 7".

This tank is my only tank with CA's or SA's. All my other tanks are either Tang or Malawi. I didn't change my water parameters for the introduction of the stalsbergi pair. My ph is at 8-8.2. TDS is very high(prob in 700ppm). I premix all my water from tap in a 200g storage tank and add sodium bicarb, epsom, and salt to mirror Lake Tanganyika parameters.

The stalsbergi adjusted well after acclimation. It's hard to display their coloration with my pathetic photo skills, but they look awesome.

Did nothing special to get them to spawn. Just fed them well for a couple weeks and kept fingers crossed.
 
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