chriscoli
Administrator
As some may know, I had some difficulty piecing together a pair of these....but I've finally got a female that hasn't died on me.....and a female that is really a female. Yes, I know....the devil is in the details, right? Having fish that are alive alive and having both a male and female are quite prerequisite to spawning.
So, I've got a reverse trio (2M, 1F) in a 15 gallon tank, tons of driftwood, and water sprite. It's so dim in this tank, I have to get my flashlight to see what's going on. They've got choice of coconut huts. Other tank companions are a few clown plecos growing out. I was concerned about them competing with the Plecos for caves, but the Plecos can't fit into the coconut huts, and although the Pelvicachromis do go into the pleco caves occasionally, it seems to be a transient thing.
Anyhow, last night I noticed both males on their own and no sign of the female (normally, one is ALWAYS escorting her somewhere). Worried that I had lost another female, I started searching with the flashlight.....and there she was, guarding a whole batch of wigglers in a coconut hut! So, hopefully, this batch will make it, but I have two concerns......first, it's her first brood so her mothering skills are as of yet unproven.....second, their last waterchange had more tap water in it than usual ( they normally get RO cut with tap water) and I've been letting my tanks cool a little, so between these two factors, I'm likely going to get a skewed M to F ratio in the fry.
But, anyhow, I'm glad that spawning was on their minds, and I'll post pics as soon as I can when she's got the fry out and about.
So, I've got a reverse trio (2M, 1F) in a 15 gallon tank, tons of driftwood, and water sprite. It's so dim in this tank, I have to get my flashlight to see what's going on. They've got choice of coconut huts. Other tank companions are a few clown plecos growing out. I was concerned about them competing with the Plecos for caves, but the Plecos can't fit into the coconut huts, and although the Pelvicachromis do go into the pleco caves occasionally, it seems to be a transient thing.
Anyhow, last night I noticed both males on their own and no sign of the female (normally, one is ALWAYS escorting her somewhere). Worried that I had lost another female, I started searching with the flashlight.....and there she was, guarding a whole batch of wigglers in a coconut hut! So, hopefully, this batch will make it, but I have two concerns......first, it's her first brood so her mothering skills are as of yet unproven.....second, their last waterchange had more tap water in it than usual ( they normally get RO cut with tap water) and I've been letting my tanks cool a little, so between these two factors, I'm likely going to get a skewed M to F ratio in the fry.
But, anyhow, I'm glad that spawning was on their minds, and I'll post pics as soon as I can when she's got the fry out and about.
!
