bdo. Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 After around three years of cichlid keeping, I finally have a pair of parents in my tank and some cute little fry. There is quite a nice story behind this family also...I bought a pair of transcriptus from another forum user around 18 months ago. As I had read in some of my research after deciding to add some julies to my tank that they were generally monogomous and many only ever had one breeding partner, I thought it was important to get a pair that were already bonded.However, sadly, only a couple of months after adding the pair to my tank, the male managed to find a very small hole in the roof of the tank, where the filter outlet hose went in, and took a leap of faith. I did not find him in time and I was devastated that the partnership had been broken.Desperate to find a new mate for the female that was left in the tank, I managed to track down a lone male from another fellow 'forumer' and quickly added him to the tank.And now, another year or so on, they have successfully bred! I did not even know they had laid eggs. I also knew they were quite 'secretive' breeders, and as all my attention had been of my female saulousi who looked like she was holding, not until I saw the tiny fry the other morning did I know they were expecting.Anyway, clearly I am a little excited, but just thought it would nice to share this story of love, and that after one broken relationship, my female transcriptus was able to find another partner.Here is an iPhone photo of a couple of the fry. Sorry about the sh*tty quality, I will try and snap a decent one on my DLSR when I get the chance.Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hey mate,Congrats on your first spawn The first cichlid I ever spawned happened to be transcriptus 'gombe' also.Love the blue highlight streak on the edges of their fins.Goodluck with the fry.CheersJoel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo. Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Cheers mate! Yeh, that blue streak is awesome, they're definitely a good looking fish! Stoked to have a few more of them in the tank now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Well done on the spawn. It is great to year that years of dedication has paid off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I love Julies. I have two species here. Regani kipili and a marlieri species. Previously I have had another regani species and ornatus. Did you know that transciptus gombe are actually a marlieri, and the transcriptus is a misnomer. If you have got babies that big it is quite likely that there are other smaller one too. The bigger fish tend to become visible when mum and dad want a bit of space to get it on again. My regani are going off like rabbits, and I am constantly pulling fry. My Marlieri are slower and have 2 fry only. I find making sure they have a good private cave with a flat surface is the most important thing to get them going strong. Well done and enjoy a great fish. I would suggest get rid of the africans from the rubbish lake and get more tangs...... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo. Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks Ged!!Well there you go! Still learning I guess. I wondered why I couldn't find too much info when I search "transcriptus gombi", "marlieri gombe" is coming up with a lot more stuff!Haha I don't know about completely ditching the Malawis, but now I might split then into lake-specific tanks, or start a julie tank.Well yeh, these guys have a pretty sweet cave to themselves, and a whole series of passages leading in and out of it. (Which might explain why I never saw the eggs...) And its made out of pretty smooth rocks so seems like they've got an ideal environment.Hmm yeh I reckon some of the fry are now 10-15mm so they must have been in there a little while now. I have spotted some smaller ones closer to 5mm though, whether or not they're from the same spawn I don't know. I think I have counted 8 altogether.Approximately how many does a regular julie produce from a single spawn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 they are a step breeder so you will have a couple of spawns growing upby the sound of things, congratulations nice liitle fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo. Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Ahh I see, that makes sense judging from their size(s). I don't know how I didn't spot them any earlier... I would assume though that the fry stay very close to their parents until they are big and confident enough to venture outside their cave? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 The fry first off tend to sit at the top of the cave on a flat surface. You got to be lucky to see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priscacara Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Grats on the spawn! No matter how long someones been in the hobby I expect they always get excited with succesfull spawnings and its great to share the experience, thanks for including us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo. Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 No worries! I'm glad to have something to share with everyone I also have a question for anyone that could help...I am hoping to move my entire tank and its contents down to my new place and I have already, with the help of my local aquarium shop, devised what I think is a good plan. HOWEVER, now that I have the fry, I am wondering when will be an appropriate time for the move?I don't want to stress the fry OR the parents. And, as there is currently heaps of rocks, caves and therefore hiding places in the tank at the moment, that I will inevitably need to move these in order to catch all the fish and bag them up. BUT I'm hesitant to remove these hiding places and expose the vulnerable fry to the rest of the fish in the tank.As mentioned above the fry are currently around the 10-12mm mark. And I do not have any other tanks running at the moment that I could use as a holding tank, but DO have a couple of small ones I could set up to use for this purpose if needs be.Any suggestions or advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 for replies on moving tank and fish please go to the new post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam_J Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I started with a pair about june last year....I now have about 40 at different sizes, people comment on them all the time , I paid $5. For the pair. What is the average purchase price in a lfs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo. Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 WOW! Good effort! Hopefully mine do the same, just might need to find a bigger tank for them... Haha. I've seen 3-5cm juveniles/adults for anywhere between $30-$40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam_J Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 WOW! Good effort! Hopefully mine do the same, just might need to find a bigger tank for them... Haha. I've seen 3-5cm juveniles/adults for anywhere between $30-$40. how much!? to think i was going to use thm as feeders..... i had better take better care of these me thinks lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo. Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 i had better take better care of these me thinks lolHaha yep!!! I'm sure prices will differ from LFS to LFS, and it will depend on the variety and their size, but yeh, from my experience, they're generally not one of the cheaper ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdo. Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Growing fast!!Uploaded with ImageShack.us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.