wild P. sacrimontis spawning

[GoDSMiLe]

Anywho, just thought I'd let you guys know for those who have been following my posts, my wild P. sacrimontis spawned either yesterday or today, I'm not sure when as I've been at the beach.

The male earlier in the week started excavating a gravel pit underneath a knot in the wood in the tank by removing gravel piece by piece. Today when I went to feed my fish after getting home, she was in the pit and he moved back under his favorite root.

The female had her most amazing colors to day, she was so dark she was nearly black, the stripes where ivory white, and her red belly was scarlet. Her face seemed to sheen an irredescent green I'd never seen in her before, amazing stuff.

She's currently guarding the eggs pretty well, but isn't going out of her way to kill any od the syno nigrivetis in the tank with her. The male does his fair share of chasing, but not to the same extent as the female, and only takes on deep colors like her when attacking the catfish.

Its the first time I've spawned wild cichlids before, so I'm pretty psyched. I'm thinking I might have to rush and set up my 38G and get it established with some old media to put my male and synos in so the female can raise the fry without them getting eaten up. I might try my hand at raising BBS, but if I can't, do you think crushed flake or Hikari FirstBites will work?

Thanks for reading my ongoing saga.

 

[Randall]

Spawning Pelvicachromis sacrimontis

Hello GoDSMiLe,

Congrats on your Pelvicachromis spawn!

Pelvicachromis spp. are bi-parental cave spawners; both parents tend the free-swimming fry. For this reason, it might be best to leave your male with the female and fry. If he reads the same books that I do, he should defend the fry and territory.

Whatever foods you choose, it's a good idea to mix it with water and then squirt it into the shoal several times daily.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[GoDSMiLe]

Thank you very much Randall. I remember reading your comments somewhere before about mixing it and squirting it into a group with a turkey baster, which I will be sure to get for that very reason.

You're right, he does seem to look after the eggs, just not with the same intensiveness as the female, who sits underneath them. He just sits under his root a couple of inches away and drives the synos when he sees them.

I have a question, as usual. The pair is in a 15G with 4 young 1" Synodontis nigriventris. The parents right now are doing an amazing job of chasing them, but I am fearful for the fry if the eggs hatch. Are the synos good enough fry predators that I should be worried about the fry's safety? I do not need all the eggs, which I would roughly guess to be around 40, to make it but I'd like to see some. I was thinking of either moving the synos, putting up a divider, or transferring some to a specimen container with an airstone. I would just move the synos right away, but I'd like to see the parents defend the fry if I could, at least with the first batch. What would you advise?

Mike

 

[Randall]

Pelvicachromis sacrimontis fry

Hello Mike,

I'd be concerned about the Synodontis sp. as well and, in your position, would remove them. Having done so, it might be a good idea to add a few small dither fish (tetras or Nanostomus sp.) to the mix. They will give your Pelvicachromis something against which to defend their fry.

Good luck and take good photos, please!

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[GoDSMiLe]

Sounds like good advise, I'll add 3 cardinal tetras from my other tank, as they don't seem to be the most adept predators I've ever had. I'll try to post pics, but I doubt they'll be good, as the driftwood I use is still very fresh and leaks tannins into the water.

I'll try taking some if/when the fry become free swimming, as pictures of her under the root won't be very interesting.

Mike