Guest Panga Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 I bought a pair of Lionheads from a shop ages ago. They are are about 14cm for male and 12cm for female. I have had no luck with these fish spawning at all. I had another smallish female 8cm that was in my display tank.She was so fat in the belly and healthy as so i thought i would add her to the other lionheads in the 2 foot tank to see if i could get any action with new blood. Within seconds the male spotted her and took to her by letting her into his cave ( something the other larger female never done ). The male then chased the larger female away and doesnt seem to like her at all now. Now the small female has moved into a terracotta pot next door to his cave. She has not left this cave for 3 days now and from what little light that enters the door of the cave can tell she has lost her enourmous bulge in the stomach region. Every time you try and peek at her in the cave the male leaves his cave and covers the door stopping you viewing the female inside. He seems very protective of the cave and wont let the other fish near either. Im not game to look into the cave with any light source as i dont want to ruin the eggs.I was wondering if The Cichlid Man or any other Lionhead keeper could tell me how long eggs take to hatch ?how long till they should be free swimming ?and any other info that i might find helpful ?Thanks heaps in advance :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 I'm thinking your original pair may have been two males, I think females are normally quite a bit smaller than males?Haven't bred them myself, sorry.But this reply will bring your post back up to the top and Ben or someone might see it! I think Jason (dances) was asking about breeding lionheads some time back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Thaks for the info :D :D The original pair i had got are female and male but i dont think they were a pair that had spawned before. I think they were sold as a pair ( Male & Female ).Here is some pics anyway :D Male Female that come with maleFemale i added from my display tank :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 I think Fiona is right, 2nd pic looks like male to me & 3rd is for sure a girl, fry should be wrigging about in 3-4 days, well mine did, Good luck john : : : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 coool thaks heaps for info dobbin4your a champ :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The cichlid Man Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Troy,How are you buddy.First of all it does sound like she has some eggs in the cave. I usually use a torch and shine it quickly inside the cave (Just don't do it all the time). Once you know the eggs are there just let the parents be until the fry are free swimming. From the time the eggs are fertilised it takes about 8-10 Days to hatch and become free swimming. Remember the eggs that i had in the shell, You saw them on the saturday when the eggs had been there for about 5 days well 4 days later they were wriggling. I left them for another 3 days with the mum and then put them down in the net box in the mini reef with an airstone blowing across them. They were left in the breeding net for a futher 6 days to grow in peace and then i put them in there own 20 inch tank. They are doing really well and i haven't had any deaths. I feed them with Hikari Algae discs, Sera florena discs, Sera Mikropan and baby brine shrimp (In cycles of course).If you want more info feel free to call me or email me anytime.Regards,Ben :^: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Great. Only wish the All Bllacks were champs too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Yeah i remember the female in the shell and i remember what the eggs look like :D I just wasnt game to attempt to look as from what i can tell she has them in the very top of a terracotta pot. It has been turned upside down with a door cut in it. Everytime i try to look to the best i can through the door, she is up in the top of the pot in the dark above the door and soon as she notices a change in the light from a shadow from me looking ( as lights from other tanks caused the shadow ) she comes down to door level to investigate. Thats when the male comes and blocks your view aswell. Its also a bit hard to see into the roof without disdurbing the pot, so i think i will sit it out another week or so as this is day 3.They have cleared out the gravel so it down to the glass. Im using the reflections from the glass to try and see movement. I cant notice any yet but i will keep you guyz informed.Im so excited. I really like the lionheads :D :D Thanks heaps Ben and everyone who has replied to helpyour all rock :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Hi all, The first two you bought are definately both males and the third looks female. As the others have said it sounds positive. Just a question for a lionhead expert - I heard that they pair up for life and won't find another mate if their partner dies. Is this correct?merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Hi merjo,I heard that they pair up for life and won't find another mate if their partner dies I have read the same information about the lionheads. I am very interested in knowing if this is true or not if anyone knows the facts.Day 4 and the female is still in the cave and the male is still guarding it. Still cant notice any movement inside the cave apart from the female. Usually she is the first out and about for food at feeding times but she still remains in the cave. I guess that must be a good sign. :D Thats 3 that have said it is male now. Cool i have a few females here i can try with him when they get bigger. With anyluck i will get myself another pair :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loko Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 :D hey panga!congrats on that mate, it looks like a good sign of new baby humpies! smasha will be thrilled! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Hi Guys -It is a commonly held belief that lionheads do mate for life. I do not think it is true (although in the case of very old pairs it may be). When I spawned this fish quite a few years ago - I had two pairs spawning at opposite ends of a 4' tank.... at one point they were spawning as two distinct pairs - later they spawned as a harem (1m:2f). I suspect that, at least in young fish (as mine were) the pair bonds are relatively plastic.HTH - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted November 25, 2003 Share Posted November 25, 2003 Thanks for the info Dave. I was curious to the answer as i have read it on many occations that they pair for life only and have also read they will pair again if you loose one of the pair. I wasnt sure which of these would be true.Its handy to know that yours "later they spawned as a harem (1m:2f)". That give us hope of pairing fish up if they have lost there partner tragically. :D Yeah Smasha will be very happy as i took the female lionhead from her display tank to put with my male. Hopefully i will have some to replace it with soon as things are looking very promising :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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