cooder Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Hey all, One of my young black calvus females has eggs. she has a fat tummie and her egg laying tube is sticking out slightly. you can also see small ball shapes in her abdomen when she is up against the light. I believe tat the two fish arnt paired, (because they arnt always with eachother ect.) but when she goes near my largest males shell, he head shakes and displays and she seems to cooperate but then the nearby calvus or my N.Pulcher interrupt by bashing her into a corner of the tank. she is small and not very high up in the cichlid pecking order... Anyway my question to you is would i be able to move the male and the female into the only other tank ive got (which is only 21 litres) a see if they do the deed?? or would it be too dangerous?? i would be monitoring the tank closely to see what happens, if i did. Thanks in advance, Cooder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisshy Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 a 21ltr tank probably to small but if thats all ya got it will do .... anything to stop her from being beaten up .... take out the ornaments that they like an caves an place in small tank but try not to over croud the small tank keep an eye on them for a couple of days.... with regular water changes cause small tank .... a 2ft tank is only about $40 bucks brand new for tank only...at the end of the day if you want fry move them....Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 hmmm, i would have to pull the tank apart to get to them. its full of rocks. and my skills at catching fish are limited lol. ill give em some more time and see what happens. Im pretty sure they arnt comfortable anyway, but ill get some more opinions Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damoq Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 I agree with Maswa, i'd take the other fish out, if her tube is down and he is shaking when she goes near his shell then it sounds like they are ready, moving them will change all that, even if only temporarily, so if you have to pull the tank apart anyway then move the other fish. If it works then you can enjoy raising the fry (which takes a lifetime). But the rewards are great as these are great fish. Good luck with it. Cheers, Damo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted May 23, 2011 Author Share Posted May 23, 2011 thanks damo, ive decided to move the pulcher, phase 1 complete. ive got the divider in, so he wont scoot over to the other rock pile, where it will be imoossible to catch him. Next phase is get the prison tank furnishings ready. 3rd phase is turn off all lights and try the "bright light in the eyes" method! Ill update later on tonight... Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 the pulcher is now in the prison tank and the female calvus is in the shell. most likely with eggs... Ive never bred or raised fry before and need some tips, i havnt got fry yet but wil just ask the Qs now incase i get some. Q1. because the calvus are in a community tank, im thinking i should take the female and shell and put them in the breeding net. should I? and also how long after i notice fry should i seperate them? Q2. what do i feed baby calvus? i feed 1mm sinking NLS and occasionally chopped up raw frozen prawns or blood worms. could i feed the finely chopped up blood worms? finely ground NLS squirted into the shell? Q3. I have brine shrimp egg/salts ect mix that need hatching, but i dont have an airstone or the right container to hatch them in. is there any other way to do it, because fresh hatched baby brine shrimp would be the best food. Thanks for the help so far, would love for someone to help me answer these last questions..... Cody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawn87 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uNkHPuGaqo hope it helps this is one of the better videos as its a simple step by step instruction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damoq Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Good on ya Cody, sounds like it did the trick! I used to feed my fire fin comp fry on newly hatched brine shrimp which was great but hatching them was sometimes a hassle so i started to grind up nls pellets with dried baby shrimp and dried krill and it works really good. I usually wait til they are free swimming and then take the female away and raise the fry separate and make sure to feed them a few times a day and also make sure the water is always tip top! Let us know how you go. Cheers, Damo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Hey guys, They have definatly spawned... I was just watching the male squirt milt into the shell. How many times do they do it when they are spawning? ive seen him do it about 5 times tonight and numerous other times this week. could i be mistaken? i dont know. the only real indicator is if you have fry lol so ill wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damoq Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Mine usually breed in a barnacle shell and i can usually see the eggs stuck to the side when the female moves in and out of the shell. If you spook them they usually lay sideways against the side of the shell to protect the eggs from other predators so you'll have to be a bit sneaky to catch a glimpse of them. Keep us posted!! Cheers, Damo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Q1. because the calvus are in a community tank, im thinking i should take the female and shell and put them in the breeding net. should I? and also how long after i notice fry should i seperate them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Can anyone help!?!? Its been 10 days tommorow so what should i do?? put the female and shell in the fry saver?!?! should i keep her in the main tank longer??! should i put her into the fry saver? WHAT SHOULD I DO?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damoq Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hi Cody, You will have to take them out otherwise you wont be able to enough food down to them in their shell. I usually get a separate fry tank with a sponge filter and empty the shell into it and all the fry fall out and the female usually wedges herself in the shell and then i put the shell (with her) back into the main tank. The biggest thing to remember with them is feed them 3-4 times a day but because you are doing this then you also need to make sure the water is always fresh (just a small amount at a time not to shock them too much). Good luck with it, Damo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 Im still not sure what to do, ive had a different opinion saying leave them in. i dont know?! Ive noticed a change in the femal and males behaviour, the male is alot more protective, a funny story, my syno cat came near the shell to eat the nls on the bottom and the male picked it up and threw it lol, the female is out of the shell alot more and they have made a pit around the shell. Im thinkng this is for the fry to take refuge in. so should i put her in the fry saver and start squirting food into the shell or not? i havnt actually started trying to feed the fry yet, so i think i will. what i want to try is crushed up nls and mulched blood worms mixed with a little water squirted into the shell with a syringe (spelling?) Also i havnt got a fry tank setup as of yet, but i do have a tank with a seeded filter, that contains the imprisoned brichardi. the problem is it doesnt have a heater and it gets cold in the morning. the brichardi can bear it but im not sure if fry could. need to get a heater.... more opinions? i might just go on damos words? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowie Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 In a community tank the fry will get eaten youll have to remove them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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