Recent spawns.

[Becca]

I've had 2 types of Dicrossus spawn in the last week- 2 female maculatus in a 20 long were guarding eggs/fry and one female dicrossus in the 33 is guarding eggs. I pulled some freeswimming maculatus fry to a breeder box and so far, so good. The last batch got eaten after 2 weeks. I'm not sure the filamentosus will hatch because the 33 doesn't have ideal parameters, but we'll see.

The most interesting part of all of this is actually the way females change and learning what physical and behavioral indicators can tip you iff to the presence of fry or eggs.

The other interesting thing I've witnessed in both is mobile platform spawning. If they pick a leaf attached to a plant, they don't move it. If the spwning site is a detached leaf, the female will move it around and even turn it eggs down if a threat approaches.

As Jeff Michels mentioned in his talk last year, female macs have yellow ventral fins and female fils have orange. Both have clear ventral fins until either actively spawning or actively guarding eggs. Orange ventrals were what tipped me off to the filamentosus eggs this morning. They were laid sometime last night under "moon lighting."

I can't figure out how to embed videos from my phone, but here are two to compare.
Female Dicrossus maculatus and fry: http://youtu.be/XgSRk_nDxak
Dicrossus filamentosus with eggs.: http://youtu.be/B6c6pgWteYo

Sent from my SCH-I435 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[jonclark96]

Congrats on the spawns. Neither fish are your run of the mill stuff! Well done.

 

[Becca]

Thanks! Hoping I can raise a few fry this time around. Wish me luck!

Sent from my SCH-I435 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[men_arell]

Awesome! Congratulations

Sent from my SM-N900T using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[rsretep]

Congrats on the spawns Becca must be doing something right

 

[chriscoli]

Congrats! Those are awesome little fish!

I've found that my D filamentosus are much less tolerant of other males than the D macs. Are you seeing the same thing, or is it that I just have an unusually angry D filamentosus?

 

[zackcrack00]

Congrats we know you've been trying! Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[Becca]

Congrats! Those are awesome little fish!

I've found that my D filamentosus are much less tolerant of other males than the D macs. Are you seeing the same thing, or is it that I just have an unusually angry D filamentosus?

I only have one male filamentosus, but at batfish there are a bazillion males and one female and the female was bwating on the boys. I did have 2 males 12 years ago and recall that I moved them to a larger tank because one wss picking on the other.

My D. Mac males get aggressive with females when they're feeling frisky. Two males can get along fine with no females and the sub male in my tank with females has maintained a smaller size and duller coloration. He hides a lot and gets chased off by females if he approaches. The 2nd male in my tank with no females has developed normally.

They are ideally kept in harems, but good luck telling females apart from juvenile males, particularly with maculatus. There's a subtle difference in head shape and ventral fins on males are slightly longer. You'll also never see shimmery blue streaks in females ventral fins, from what I've seen.

Can you tell I spend hours wat hing these fish every day?

Sent from my SCH-I435 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[festaedan]

Thats awesome!

 

[Becca]

So an update - I successfully pulled some D. mac fry to raise in a breeder box. I probably managed to suction out 10-15, but I only have 4 left due to a hole in the netting over the output of my breeder box (oops). I kept wondering where they were going and finally thought to inspect the overflow grate... d'oh. One of the females is already guarding more fry in the main tank. She was comically determined to keep her wigglers on the same leaf the eggs were laid on - when they fall off, she scoops them up in her mouth, cleans them, and spits them back onto the leaf in a glittery little pile.

While the first D. filamentosus spawn didn't make it, they've already spawned again. I spotted eggs on the same leaf as the first time late on Sunday. I did a small water change and replaced what I took out with rain water, just in case it might help them hatch. Yesterday morning there were eggs, but yesterday afternoon they were gone. I figured they got eaten but noticed the female guarding a leaf on a ludwidgia plant. She's piled the newly hatched wigglers on a leaf the size of my thumbnail - they were still there this morning, so maybe she'll manage to raise a few.