mezzacam Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Well... I have a pair of Julidochromis transcriptus, that are a proven pair though have not bred for me yet. Just a couple of questions regarding them... Which one is male and which one is female? 1 is clearly larger then the other, being around 8cm and the smaller one being around 4cm Some sites say larger is male, then other say larger is female so I am confused about that. My second question is regarding their behaviour. They are in a 2ft on their own, with a rock pile in the middle and a ceremic log (One end open, one end close). The larger one, as soon as I placed the log into their tank took to it instantly. It never left it and only poked it's head out, then would dive back in when I came close. During this period the little one would swim around the rest of the tank, and only now and then approach the log... but never go in (that i saw) Now though, Only the small one stays near the log (Outside the enterance) and will go back in when I get close... And the big one will hide in the rock work... Is this possibly breeding behaviour? Any input would be greatly appreciated. And as a side note: I caught 2 of my holding lepto females and put them in seperate fry savers... One spat early, 2 babies slightly form but still with an egg sack... Though they could swim fine. (Only about 1 more day untilt hey will have no egg sack) The 2nd female spat today and another 4 fully developed fry! Wow they are big! I have no idea how the female could hold so many at that size in her mouth! Just crazy! So I have 6 little fellas in a fry saving being fed up on frozen BBS. Cheering. Also my multies (in the same tank) have another batch of fry! Far out do they ever stop! I have 4 stages of fry now... It's funny how one pair of adults will look after ALL the babies, and keep them in a certain area... Like a nursery! Will have to try get some pics of it... Looks awesome. Anyways i'll stop raving now! Thanks, Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormboy Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 I had a pair of dickfeldi a while ago and noticed the same dimorphism and I was always of the opinion that the larger of my fish was the female as it was less aggressive and had slightly duller colours. I always suspect unusual (healthy looking) behaviour to be pre-breeding. Changes are rarely at random and given that they are the only fish in the tank and they are a breeding pair, I would at least keep a close eye. Good luck and congrats on the leptos . well done. -Mat- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Now..how to put this delicately The male has a black bit on the end of his pee pee. Females don't exhibit the black spot. Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobaltcraig Posted May 30, 2006 Share Posted May 30, 2006 Now..how to put this delicately The male has a black bit on the end of his pee pee. Females don't exhibit the black spot. Andrea ← /quote] Gotta say I have these fish as well and have never really looked that close or had the urge to Cheers Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzacam Posted May 30, 2006 Author Share Posted May 30, 2006 Now..how to put this delicately The male has a black bit on the end of his pee pee. Females don't exhibit the black spot. Andrea ← Ummm I think I just won't worry about it so much. lol. But will keep an eye out for this "black bit" in the futgure. Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormboy Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 You are a master of tact Andrea Does this dicstinction hold true for all Julies or just the transcriptus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 All julies Mat Also the female is usually the larger (provided age is similar). Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAZ Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 Andrea......you spend waaaaaaayyyy too much time wiff ya fish!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 31, 2006 Share Posted May 31, 2006 I'll back up the comment that the female is usually the larger. With the behaviour you describe, your fish may have eggs. Let me say here also, if and when you do have fry, when it comes to the time to remove the young, keep in mind, many times that I have removed all the young from Tanganyikan substrate spawners, the larger fish (female) seems to blame the smaller male for the young's disappearance, and KILLs it. Moral - don't remove all the young (only the biggest), and keep an eye on increased aggression towards the male if and when you do remove any young. Once they start to fight (if I can call it that as it is a one sided affair), the pair bond is broken, and you'll have little joy in trying to reunite them. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzacam Posted June 1, 2006 Author Share Posted June 1, 2006 Thanks a tonne Craig, now there's some useful information I hadn't found on the internet! Will keep it in mind if they breed. Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakes Posted June 1, 2006 Share Posted June 1, 2006 The 2nd female spat today and another 4 fully developed fry! Wow they are big! I have no idea how the female could hold so many at that size in her mouth! Just crazy! ← I have had female cyps spit up to 13 fully developed healthy fry at one time. I agree it's quite amazing at the capacity of these fish to hold so many large babies. Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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