Who's the daddy?

[twhittle]

So I have this 9 inch rtm female. She laid eggs and they look to be fertilized. I'm trying to figure out who the father is. Here is what's in the 125 gallon with her that's male.

5 inch convict
7 inch jack dempsey
4 inch red terror
9 inch oscar
6 inch green terror

Which one of those could possibly have bred with her?

 

[ragin_cajun]

Any one of those fish could possibly have bred with her.

 

[twhittle]

Strange.

Any one of those fish could possibly have bred with her.

I've never heard of any of those as being compatable with an rtm. I guess anything is possible.

 

[ehh]

It's more likely that it's the convict or the jack demspey as Central American hybrid are pretty common.
But I'm sure anyone here will tell you anything is possible.
I'm surprised the male isnt projecting the best with her. Weird. Hit it and quit it... Jerk.

 

[Frank Castle]

I vote Jack Dempsey.......females reject smaller males generally when there is a larger stronger male, and SAs can't hybridize w/ CAs AFAIK. Convict was probably shunned unless the JD wasn't willing.....it's a good question - I would say keep them all together and wait until it happens again or even again to the point you catch them on the nest. Could always set up a video camera for when you're not there

 

[joegriggs]

I don't think there has ever been a documented case of an Oscar hybridizing, or at least outside it's genus so i'd take that off the list. Convicts are extremely active and it wouldn't surprise me if he turns out to be the Dad, but Frank is right in that the size and gender are likely to play a part in the courting and in this case the Convict is the smaller male. I'd go with the Jack Dempsey.

 

[Covetous]

I'd say you can rule out both the green terror and the Oscar. And pretty safe to say the festae is too small to be excepted. So In my opinion your left with the Dempsey or Convict. Dempsey hybrids aren't unheard of. But Convict hybrids are much more common. So I'd have to guess it was the convict. Their spunky little horn dogs.

 

[jonclark96]

I'm with Ehh. I'm surprised whatever male in the tank that fertilized the eggs isn't helping defend the spawn. In all the cases of a random hybrid pair that has formed in my tanks, and I'll admit there have only been a few, both parents defended the eggs.

 

[joegriggs]

Although unusual, it is quite common for one or both of the parents to stop defending the eggs/fry. Especially on the first few lays when the parents are first maturing to the scene. This will normally result in the eggs going bad or being eaten, but it's not always the case. In fact I have a breeding pair of Electric Blue Acara, but the strange thing about this pair is that the male seems to leave the female to it once the deed is done and they've had multiple spawns. Various factors can have an affect on this though, I'm under the impression that I've got one super lazy male. Unfortunately at this stage it would be the best way to differentiate the parents from the rest. Maybe watch the female RTM and see if she behaves somewhat lightly or forgiving towards any of the other fish approaching the area. I've had situations where the male has been shooed off by the female because he started to eat the eggs, but then over time deceived the female into allowing him back into the area for him to feast on them.

Just remember that as long as the eggs are a brownish colour and aren't white, they're fertile and still alive.