hemichromis fasciatus spawn issues

[cornbread_5]

Ok so I managed a pair of the guys , I have them in a 40 breeder with drift wood and some floating plants , they managed to spawn twice but for some reason the fry never make it to fry swimming not sure what the cause of this is can anybody help me

 

[aquaticclarity]

What is the pH, hardness, and temperature of the tank water? Also, how big are the fish?

It's possibly that the fish aren't fully mature yet or that water chemistry is causing a low to no fertilization rate. I've also had some mid size cichlids that several people in my local club passed around and all of us could get them to spawn and tend to the eggs but NEVER got wigglers. It seems that the male was infertile. But that isn't overly common in my personal experience, especially with wild caught fish.

 

[viejo]

Try pulling the eggs if possible & incubate artificially. It's best to use fresh water & on the softer side if possible for incubation. That way you will have a better idea as to the problem, ie, if you get fry, it's a environmental problem in the tank ( and no, the artificially raised fry are not likely to grow up being bad parents .)

 

[cornbread_5]

well i dont think it is a fertility problem because they made it to wigglers just not free swimmin

 

[aquaticclarity]

If the eggs made it to wigglers I wouldn't think the water was an issue either. More likely it's just a younger pair of fish getting the hang of things or one fish doesn't completely trust that the other is a good parent so the fry get eaten. If the adults spawn shortly after eating the wigglers then you just have an overly active pair and you'll have to follow Larry's advice and pull the eggs and raise them yourself.

 

[cornbread_5]

there probably about three or four inches i use tap water and the water is hard temperature is about 84

 

[cornbread_5]

this is there third spawn after the second one the male was upset and rough up the female a little bit nothing bad just a split fin

 

[aquaticclarity]

At least cool the tank temp down if you can. Unless that's just the room temp that the tank is in.

 

[cornbread_5]

after I realized the temp I turned it down to high 70s