Nasuta Dilema

jeffmo78

jeffmo78

Members
As a few of you know I have a wonderful 135g aquarium that houses my gorgeous WC O. Nasuta Kipili and my large group of Cyp. "kavalla". I've come to a cross-roads and I am wondering if I may be worrying needlesly. My dilema is this. When I purchased the Nasuta they were only available in pairs. I wanted more then 2 fish so I got 8. 4males 4 females. I begged and pleaded with the person I bought them from to get me more females but he could only get pairs. Ideally i would prefer to have 10 females and 3 males. And hopefully through spawning and so forth eventually I'll obtain these numbers. My question is will my current ratio ever "work" ? Am I being too anxious for them to spawn? (i've had them since July 2011) The Cyps have spawned so I'll rule out water conditions for now. Don't read into this incorrectly they are all healthy and colorful they dig pseudo spawning pits ( i say pseudo cause they just dig and I have yet to catch them displaying). I know they'd prefer to be the dominant fish in the aquarium but to tell the truth I think my Cyps fill that roll at this time. At the same time the Nasuta are so peaceful/docile it's not really a surprise.

My guess is I am being a typical impaitent hobbyist....which tbh isn't really an issue I love this aquarium and these fish and have no intentions on changing anything (short of adding more females). But I have checked with every retailer that I can find and they all say the same thing that getting females is impossible. :angry3: Need some fellow hobbyists to pat me on the back and tell me its going to be ok. :blush:

Jeff
 
mscichlid

mscichlid

Founder
Don't worry. Your coveted fish will show up when you least expect it. Albeit it may take a while. Just don't stop looking and networking. :)
 
Charlutz

Charlutz

Members
Yes, you're being impatient. Watch your fish and see how they behave once they are used to your presence in front of the tank. You'll learn a lot about how they are interacting and whether you'll need to modify the group. If you want to make it a female heavy group, you could just remove a male or two to another tank. Be careful as the dominant male may focus on the one other remaining male to harass. We sometimes spend too much time looking for the ideal ratio. I've bread foai in a 3m:1f tank and a 2m:2f tank. I've also bred boops in a 2m:2f tank and a 1m:2f tank. While you might want an excess of females long term to spread out aggression and maximize fry production, the fish will breed if they want to breed no matter the ratio. As they said in Jurassic Park "Nature finds a way."
 
jeffmo78

jeffmo78

Members
I agree with both of ya'll assesments. Mostly I just wanted some outside input. This tank is quite peaceful and fun to watch for extended periods of time. I am sure its just me (it usually is lol). Thanks for the advice!!
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
I'm pretty new to featherfins, but I have a group of O. nasuta as well.

How big are your fish?

My nasuta (Green Tiger Magara) are in a 125 with Cyp leptosoma. The adult male cyps generally run the tank. Like you, the cyps had been breeding for a while. Only in the last couple of months have I seen holding female nasuta. The male is about 4.5"-5" and the girls are about 4".

They went through a phase of him maintaining a nest and trying to spawn for about a month and then cooled down again. He's since abandoned his pit (built atop a rock pile, btw - very cool).

In terms of group numbers, Charlie's been doing this for a while, so I'd go with his advice. I had a quad of larger nasuta, but lost a female unexpectedly last month. Ended up getting more via mail order at 2" or so. I introduced them and no one bothers them at all....other than the occasional male cyp dive bombing, lol.

Like Charlie said, patience.
 
jeffmo78

jeffmo78

Members
Well....how do I start this reply. I'll cut to the chase. They spawned sometime today!! I was completely shocked. I snapped a few photos to share as well. Thanks again for the advice.

This is the assumed proud father. I didnt catch all the action but he was the fish keeping the rest of the fish pinned down on the other end of the tank






Here is the holding female. This turn of events also suggests that I have 3 males and 5 females. I suspected this fish was a sub-adult male for the longest time because its anal fin came to a slight point where as the other female have a clearly oval or round anal fin. Which is good news to me! I promise i was in disbelief and stared at this fish for about 15 mins or so but i can clearly see eggs in her mouth when she faces me.



 
jeffmo78

jeffmo78

Members
Tony, Sorry i just now saw your reply. The males are approx 6-7" and the females easily 4-5 inches. They're awesome fish!
 
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