I have babies!

[barrettsline]

Great news! It would be a happy ending for you to get a happy couple out of it.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.253262,-95.211453

[Complexity]

I have MORE babies!!! I just saw brand new Pelvicachromis fry in my other 29g tank!! This time, mom and dad are both caring for the fry just like they should.

I knew she laid eggs by the way they were both acting. She stayed in a specific cave, coming out only to eat. He remained guard outside that cave day and night, chasing off anything that dared to come close. Even when she came out to eat, he guarded the cave and also protected her.

They have been paired up for awhile now and I have never seen him show any aggression towards her. So it's no surprise to see both of them caring for the fry together now.

I'm so excited!!

The first set of fry is still doing great. I have fry in two tanks now!

[barrettsline]

Have you been able to get pics lately of the first batch?


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.256262,-95.212255

[Complexity]

I haven't tried, but I can try later. I just fed them so it'll take a little while for them to settle down, but maybe dad will have them at the front of the tank where I can photograph them. They're still looking like fry, but they're bigger and act more aware now.

[barrettsline]

Very good, I'm gonna get out the camera and shoot some pics of the wife's fahaka and my fry tank. After I move fish and drain my 150.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.256129,-95.212264

[Complexity]

Great! I'll look forward to seeing them!

The difficulty in getting pics of the pelvicachromis fry is that the tanks are heavily planted. That's great for the fry, but terrible for getting pics. It's hard enough to just see the fry, no less get pics.

[barrettsline]

Great! I'll look forward to seeing them!

The difficulty in getting pics of the pelvicachromis fry is that the tanks are heavily planted. That's great for the fry, but terrible for getting pics. It's hard enough to just see the fry, no less get pics.

The troubles and tasks we must undertake! Lol!


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.256209,-95.212184

[Complexity]

The troubles and tasks we must undertake! Lol!

[aquabee]

Awesome news Vicki!! :)

[Complexity]

Thank you! I'm so thrilled! I've been wanting pelvicachromis babies ever since I started keeping aquariums again! I finally figured out why they weren't having babies, fixed that problem, and now they're breeding like pelvicachromis should!

And, finally, this last male and female are raising the babies together which is what I enjoy about this fish so much. I'm really loving this!

[barrettsline]

Thank you! I'm so thrilled! I've been wanting pelvicachromis babies ever since I started keeping aquariums again! I finally figured out why they weren't having babies, fixed that problem, and now they're breeding like pelvicachromis should!

And, finally, this last male and female are raising the babies together which is what I enjoy about this fish so much. I'm really loving this!

That's awesome that the hard work time and effort has finally paid off! Got any updated pics of the parents?


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.531956,-95.157766

[Complexity]

No pics right now. I'll try to get some tomorrow. I just checked in on them, and they have the fry in the back of the aquarium. I don't want to distract them too much because I have a couple of loaches in the tank that might enjoy a fry snack if the parents aren't paying attention. I haven't been able to see how many fry they have yet. Just barely able to even see them.

[barrettsline]

yeah between my catfish and loaches, the fry that survive in my former Mbuna Cichilid colony, I know are tough as nails. I have had about 10 reach adult hood, Hopefully that number will grow very well once them move.

[Complexity]

I've thought about moving them, but then where would I put them? Into the dumping ground of my 75g? There's only 2 of them, and I've had them for several years now. They're just dwarf chain loaches, and they're more pesky than anything, but for fry, I don't know. Might be a problem. I'll just have to keep an eye on things.

[Complexity]

It's time for an update!

UPDATE on Fry 1:
It's been almost 6 weeks, and the first set of fry is still doing great! The dad pelvicachromis has been doing an excellent job of protecting his babies this entire time. They still look like fry, of course, but getting bigger. It's hard to tell how many I still have, but there's at least 10, most likely more.

The female pelvicachromis is continuing to do well in my 75g tank. Her tail is healing up nicely, and it looks like it may grow back completely.

Given how well they have both done, I may put her back in the tank with dad to breed again once the fry is gone. I'll just have to remove her to let the male do all the baby raising once they're freeswimming. I was planning to get rid of the dad, but now that I see how good he is at raising the babies, I just may keep him.

UPDATE on Fry 2:
The other set of fry appears to be gone, but I'm not surprised. :( This mom and dad are less aggressive, and as such, I believe they didn't care for the fry as closely as they should. I'm not exactly sure what happened to the fry, but I had noticed that the parents would leave the fry unattended at times, like to eat, which would have given opportunity for them to become snacks to the other fish in the tank.

The two are displaying mating colors so it won't be long before they breed again. They may have already done it as it looks like the female is back in her cave, but I'm not positive if she's just getting the cave ready or caring for eggs yet. I'll give them another chance to raise the fry with other fish in the tank, and if that doesn't work again, then I may have to remove some of the other fish to help them out a little; although, I honestly think it would be best for them to learn how to be better parents. It's not as if I need fry. The whole point is to enjoy their natural breeding process, and part of that includes protecting the fry from other fish in the tank.

UPDATE on Pelvicachromis in 75g:
While I'm at it, I wanted to add a quick update to the 16 pelvicachromis I have in my 75g tank. I bought 14 of them as fry to grow out together. At first, I thought they were going to be all females (sex is affected by pH and temp), but now it appears some/all are going to be males. It'll take more time to know if I have a M/F mix, but if I do, then I hope to have some pair off and breed. So far, because they're all so young, there's no aggression between them, but that'll change as they grow to breeding age. At that point, I may have to cull some out to prevent them from killing each other. But for now, all seems to be going well.

Sorry, no pics still. The tanks are so heavily planted, it's really hard to get pics. I may try to get another video of the fry at some point with my iPhone as the fry is easier to see when they're moving in a video than in a still photo.