tube dropped, but what now????

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Nibbler80

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 23, 2008
62
0
0
ogden, ut
i have a male and female seperated in my 55, and i think her tube has dropped (if someone has a pic of a fh w/tube dropped it would help me to be sure as i am completely new at this). so for 5 min. i took the divider out just to see what would happen. the female kept circling the male and cozying up, and the male was responsive at 1st while the continued to circle, they also had moved a bunch of gravel, but then after a few min. the male just would chase her and lip lock with her to the point she was getting stressed and tore up. so what do i do now? what is the norm for the whole egg laying process between male and female.
all help is appreciated. also, after a tube has dropped, how long do i have to put them together for things to happen???
 
After her tube is dropped it should be very soon they'll breed.

What size are male/female?
 
it sounds like it is about to happen. flowerhorns like it rough:D. if you don't have the time to watch them, you can try turning off the light and covering the tank with a blanket. i did this while i was at work and it stopped the fighting until i was back to keep an eye on things. make sure no light is getting in. after a full day of this, my fish settled down until after they spawned. you should keep a close eye on them after they spawn because they can start fighting again. females get nasty once they have their way with the male. it is fun to watch them anyway.
 
the male is like 4" and the female is like 3" or so.
so how long generally after i remove the divider to things happen, then once they eggs are laid what do i do at that point? how long do i let the female get beat up before i give up?
 
If he's chasing her and she's not responding to him any longer then put the divider back in. Hopefully she has laid eggs for him by now..........
 
locking lips is normal its just part of the breeding cycle. you will know when the time is right when the female will act like she is laying eggs but nothin is happening. from that point you can almost set your watch for a few hours to maybe a day. i got 4 breeding pairs so i got a good idea how it works. by the way good luck with the fry. as far as the filter. you may want to get a really good spong filter so babys dont end up in filter would like to see the parents
 
i let them loose again this morning for like an hour. her tube is massively visable, and she wants to circle up with the male, but he has resorted to either chasing her into a corner, or snuggling up to her just to turn around and either rip her lips off of bite her. i had to seperate them because the female was getting shredded at that point. so do i just give up at this point and keep them divided?
 
they are too close in size. male flowerhorns need to dominate the female to get her ready. she won't lay eggs for him if he is weak. they need to fight and lock lips so he can prove that he is strong enough. when they are close in size they fight more it takes him longer to prove his strength. you should probably separate them and pump him up. he will grow quickly and gain size on her. wait until he is larger than her by 2 inches at least and try again. if he is larger, she will know he is stronger than her and she may submit easier.
 
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