TO OFTEN CICHLID SPAWN, QUESTION?

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NWatson

NWatson

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2009
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Cincinnati
When there is a spawn in the tank already and the pair is ready to spawn again but the female holds the clutch is this natural? As many of us have experienced the male is often ready before the female and before the last spawn is on there way. In a natural environment how does the spawning process happen ? What size are the fry/juvies before the parents spawn again? Does the female holing the clutch have any effect on her.......is this natural? How often do wild species spawn?
 
The frequency of spawns will depend on the age of the pair. The younger the pair the more prolific they will be and will slow down as they mature but usually with larger clutches. IME all my pairs are ready to spawn every 4-6 weeks with or without the previous spawn being removed. The pair will either allow previous spawn to eat new clutch. Other times they'll protect new clutch. All depends on the pair. Best bet is to have a holding tank ready to place spans.
 
Freshwaterpredators said:
The frequency of spawns will depend on the age of the pair. The younger the pair the more prolific they will be and will slow down as they mature but usually with larger clutches. IME all my pairs are ready to spawn every 4-6 weeks with or without the previous spawn being removed. The pair will either allow previous spawn to eat new clutch. Other times they'll protect new clutch. All depends on the pair. Best bet is to have a holding tank ready to place spans.
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Right, the post is more about what is natural and what occures in nature. What you have expressed is what myself and many others including you have seen.:)
 
Good question I don't have an answer to. As you said we've all experianced spawning chiclids in are aquariums but in a natural environment is there a season or seasons? Does the first batch of fry swim away at 4 to 6 weeks and the process starts over again? It is an interesting question I have thought about too. My inclination would be that egg production coinsides with the end of parential care.
 
Some things in the wild we can not match. In the wild when the male is ready to spawn and the female is not a lot of times he will pair up with another female that is ready to spawn. I think in the wild the dynamics are a lot different. I would probably remove the first spawn.
 
Okay fellahs, I am not asking about my fish other then in nature would the female hold eggs as they do in aquarium setting. The question is about wild breeding behavior. Aquanero is on the right path. Just thought I needed to try and clear that up. :)
 
Ok, then what do you mean by holding the eggs? to my understanding they dont hold eggs, when they have to lay eggs they will lay them. its like having to go to the bathroom, when you gotta go, you gotta go lol but I dont think anyone is gonna have a definative answer to your questions as does anyone really know what goes on in the wild as there are many variables that affect spawning behavior and the psychology of the fish. Im sure some fish will pair out and stick together for a spawning season or more. whereas other fish like the males may bounce around and spawn with multiple females. And i wonder about the spawning wether there is spawning seasons or is it year round in some places because its warm all year round.
 
Freshwaterpredators said:
Ok, then what do you mean by holding the eggs? to my understanding they dont hold eggs, when they have to lay eggs they will lay them. its like having to go to the bathroom, when you gotta go, you gotta go lol but I dont think anyone is gonna have a definative answer to your questions as does anyone really know what goes on in the wild as there are many variables that affect spawning behavior and the psychology of the fish. Im sure some fish will pair out and stick together for a spawning season or more. whereas other fish like the males may bounce around and spawn with multiple females. And i wonder about the spawning wether there is spawning seasons or is it year round in some places because its warm all year round.
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As I stated in the first post it seems females hold eggs......have you not noticed this? They will spawn again while there is a previous spawn in the tank but they seem to hold the eggs longer....maybe not. IME my pairs do not lay as often if there are fry from a past spawn even though the female has eggs and seems to hold them for a longer period of time then if there were no fry in the tank. I was also not asking about aquarium fish just pointing out something I have noticed in my pairs. I did not expect a definitive answer but though it would be a topic worth discussing. I know there are people who have studied wild fish behavior and was hoping people would chime in who have studied wild fish behavior or read up/sat in on lectures of this behavior. There are many hobbyist who have collected wild fish many times and I'm sure could post some interesting thoughts. As I stated in my post I asked about the natural spawning process, what size the fry/juvies are before the parents spawn again and how often wild cichlids spawn. Yes this it a broad question as I am sure it varies from species to species but I was hoping for a thread that would discuss the natural spawning behavior in cichlids. I have personally seen in a very large aquarium males with multiple females and another male seem to act as a pair with the second female guarding the fry until the dominate male would leave the other female and chase him off.......then the smaller male would come back and act as a pair again? Also I have seen fish in the wild of different species care for fry. Hopefully more can chip in about this subject.
 
Im sorry if i came off wrong, i didnt mean to sound like a dick cause i agree with you and im just as interested as you in finding out as much as possible:) and i havent noticed any of my females holding eggs longer, i wish they would though cause it seems to me that im constantly moving fry around and it would be great if i could take a break lol Ive tried methods to postpone them but wasnt very successful. and back to your original question, i figurede males would be prolific with multiple females. and i think it would be awesome if someone out there has video footage of this in a large aquarium or in the wild. I also wish i had the luxery cause i would definitely go out and film them in their wild habitat and study them. too bad i didnt have a clue what i wanted to be when i grew up lol

I talked to a friend of mine who does collecting and he's only been in the spring or early summer months. He told me that he's seen pairs moving fry up and down rivers protecting fry, diggin pits for the fry in different locations for intended moves lol I would love to hear info from some of the seasoned collectors. I saw some videos that Skip put up on you tube of Don Conkel giving a presentation just recently. and i really enjoyed it.
 
I used to have 3 different pairs of convicts that I bread for feeders they would spawn about every three weeks. If I didn't want them to spawn I would just leave some fry in with them. Also helps if the female is smaller, then you can make caves/hidding places for her that the male can't get into.
 
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