Breeding Eunotus

[cdawson]

I've got two pairs, in two separate 15g's but no matter what I do to condition them they still don't spawn. They're definately male/female so it's not a sex problem. Both females just don't seem interested in spawning yet.
They're only about 4 months old at the most, I've heard of really young dwarfs spawning before. Could this be a problem?

 

[Zapisto]

be patient

 

[cdawson]

I am being patient....=(

 

[Mike Wise]

I would be patient for about another 4 months. After that I would worry.

 

[greg kilgore]

Forgive me posting to an old topic. I just joined the forum.

I'd try putting all four in a three or four foot long tank. Or put the females in with one of the males. The females may fight over the male. This has worked for me with eunotus before. Watch for one of the females to hide up high in the tank. The other one has won a breeding territory. Careful though, females can be rough on each other.

The reason I like long tanks is that folks can escape from whoever decides to be a bully and usually no one gets hurt. Unlike many apisto breeders, I don't like ten gallon tanks (15 is better but not great) unless I have a proven pair. Even then the small tanks don't allow males to escape from mamas who think no one should be within a foot of the young'uns, even dad.

 

[JG]

On that note, would you prefer a 20G long or 42G wide (36"x18"x15")? I have both and am trying to decide on what to use in a breeding situation.

 

[greg kilgore]

I always lean toward the bigger tank. 20 long is a nice tank though. The 42 is close to the 30s I like to use. It really depends on the fish.

If a pair has been breeding like clock-work and I'm looking to get a big happy spawn, I'll put them in a small tank, watch closely and yank the male as soon as the female disappears. Then I'll leave the female and her babies alone in the small tank and let her raise them.

If I'm waiting for a female to get interested, I'll use a big tank so I don't miss the spawn and risk the male getting killed by protective mama. I don't watch tanks with waiting games too closely.

This applies more to one-pair tanks than tanks with more than one pair or with dithers.

 

[cdawson]

Why does everyone yank, the dad. I've always heard that male knows that he shouldn't eat the fry. My borellis and cockatoos have raised them as a joint effort. The male patrols the outside perimeter while the female care for the young. If the male spots a fry getting too far away from the mother he picks it up in his mouth APPEARING to eat the fry, but then swims around to the brood and releases the fry back into the group.

 

[greg kilgore]

I yank the dad because mom will kill the dad. In a tank with only the pair, mom is very hard on dad. In a big community tank, mom will allow dad to be first line of defense (also he's not the only target). I don't think mom means to kill dad, but mom means for dad to get farther away than the tank permits and dad gets beaten up badly.

My most beloved fish died this way in a four foot tank. I had my best eunotus male and his mate in a 40 long thinking this would provide enough room for him to escape mom. This worked for several batches of fry. Then shortly after a batch were free swimming, dad suffered heavy domestic violence which ended his life. In my experience, eunotus females are much worse on dad than the few other apistos I've bred.

 

[greg kilgore]

Whoops, not finished.

I also think this behavior is similar to mom's reaction to her fry after a certain point. Mom will tend her young for a good while. Then she will ignore them. Then after a while, she'll harrass them. I don't think she means to eat/hurt them. I think she's ready to breed again and she needs potential fry/egg snatchers farther away than the tank will allow.

 

[cdawson]

Whoops, not finished.

I also think this behavior is similar to mom's reaction to her fry after a certain point. Mom will tend her young for a good while. Then she will ignore them. Then after a while, she'll harrass them. I don't think she means to eat/hurt them. I think she's ready to breed again and she needs potential fry/egg snatchers farther away than the tank will allow.

ah, I guess eunotus are more aggressive to the male during brood care then? Or their general brooding territory is larger than borellis and cockatoos?