roskam3001 Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Does the male need to be able to fit into the female's shell for breeding to occur or does he swim over her shell and 'bomb away' after the female has laid her eggs. I'm asking because I have a pair - the male is up around 10cm and the female is 6-7cm - the male calls the largest shell his home while the female seems to spend a bit of time in each of three other smaller shells. I can't see how there is any way the male could fit into the three smaller shells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 He doesnt need to be able to get in there. In fact sometimes the female might prefer it if her cant. They are often quite happy to 'bomb away' as you put it. One or both of them quite often fans the shell directly after to make sure some gets in there. So, IMO, not essential he gets inside. HTH, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucifersJester Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Mine bred in a shell the female could hardly get into herself. As Eddie Salita said they fan the shell and it seems to get in there - my one and only hatch was over 80 fry! Alas - I lost all my Tangs in a catastrophie. Good luck with your breeding these awesome little fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novafishy Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 In your experiences in breeding these guys, is there a way to sex them besides size differences? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 They are pretty much monomorphic from what I know Novafishy. So, other than size, and sublte differences in shape and patterning/colouration, not that I am aware of. There may be a suble difference in the finnage or colouration I dont know about. I havent kept these in a while, maybe some other current keepers have a trick or two... Cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novafishy Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Thanks Jason. I've got 3 around 8-9cm. I assume they have reached breeding maturity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I have not seen them get any larger than that, and their max size is generally listed at 3.5". So well and truly ready to breed. Perhaps you have 3 males there? cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novafishy Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Perhaps, but i really certainly hope not! Do you find that males generally don't hide in shells, and just the females do? Or do both sexes hide in shells? I've got 3 shells big enough for them to fit in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I agree with Jason...sounds like three males to me too. The females are noticably smaller in my experience. Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
novafishy Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 But they don't fight whatsoever. They live in harmony in a pretty smallish tank..with some minor rockwork. Do males fight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 When I kept them I always found them to be pretty tame. Especially when you compare how Occelatus and multi males can treat each other.... which was often to the death if left alone... Once the pecking order was established its was pretty peaceful from memory. My females used to prefer shells more than males too. Males would quite happily swim around all day without entering theirs. They certainly arent as devoted to their shells a say occies, or brevis or multies ime. hth, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roskam3001 Posted April 12, 2006 Author Share Posted April 12, 2006 My pair differ quite noticeably in size. As I said before, there is about a 4cm difference between the male and female. I have had the pair for a few months now without any breeding. Can those who have bred them before tell me if they get shy, breeding wise, if they are in a community tank. They share the tank with a small colony of moliros so the male hecqui would be almost the biggest fish in the tank (5 footer). Any hints/tips to try and promote some breeding would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilli Powder Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 I'll get some photos up for you tonight but yeah, definitely sounds like three males at 8-9cm. The females would be a max of 6cm! They are less colored than the males but no distinguishable marks or patterns! My breeding pairs seem to like larger shells! They are about 3/4 size of a clenched fist! This is the male: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.