chubby cacatuiodes

[vancat]

Hi helpful people,
About 2 mos ago I was given a beautiful pair of triple red cacatuoides. They have grown considerably and seem very happy in their 72g planted tank.

The male is always displaying to the female, but she mostly swims away from him. I have seen her follow him upon occasion. She has turned bright yellow upon occasion also, but so far they have not taken up residence in either the coconut shells or clay pot (although both have been seen going in & out of the pot when I first put it in).

That's fine if they don't want to spawn. But yesterday I noticed the female looked a little chubby in the abdominal area, although she was not bright yellow at the time. Maybe she had just eaten alot- I had recently fed them live blackworms. Or could it be eggs?

Any insights?
Thank you!

 

[vancat]

She's not chubby today!

 

[Neil]

Is she gaurding a cave? If not, it was probably the food. They can get very large in the belly after eating a large meal. With apists, it is usually more apparent that they have eaten alot, than it is that they are holding eggs.
Neil

 

[vancat]

nope, still waiting for her to get interested in a cave. I guess she just ate alot of worms!!!
thanks!

 

[vancat]

OH! stupid me! I just realized I had a batch of baby mollies in there and they were dissappearing...nothing like live food, huh?

 

[Jason]

Dear vancat,

Do you have many hiding places in your tank? If your female was bright yellow it is possible she had laid eggs somewhere but you didn't notice it.
Also, in my experience, a short period of separation helps to induce spawning.
Jason

 

[vancat]

hi jason,
it's a 72 g heavily planted tank with driftwood, coconut shells, and a clay pot. I will
continue to keep a close eye, especially when she goes yellow.

It's really hard for me to catch any fish in there without destroying everything....

Thanks for your input!
vancat

 

[hedylogus]

On a related note, I have a trio of Cacatuoides in a 20 gallon long. Both females have spawned once (both unsuccessful). The wierd thing is, however, is that one of the females is yellow almost ALL the time. Maybe it's possible that the color change merely reflects a willingness or desire to spawn, rather than actual spawning activity. ???

 

[vancat]

That's what I was assuming. Kinda like, hey guy, I got my new yellow dress on. Let's go dancin'. haha