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Dicrossus filamentosus

wethumbs

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
476
I am waiting my maculatus eggs to hatch. The female got the male hiding in a corner, payback time for bullying her before they spawned.

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Apistomaster

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
703
Location
Clarkston, WA
Very good.
I have had D. filamentosus spawn dozens of times over the years but I still haven't had a female provide brood care. They have always eaten their eggs by the next day.
I have had more success breeding wild Discus than I have breeding any of the Dicrossus species. The D. filamentosus are one of my favorite SA Dwarf Cichlids despite the troubles I have had in propagating them. I have had many friends have good results. I have even tried artificial hatching methods but without mum's care very few eggs hatch.
 

Mark C

New Member
Messages
8
Location
Melbourne Australia
Well done big spawn ,they look like there doing great .I got home tonight to notice i have free swimming D.Filmentosus fry not as big a spawn as yours about 30-40 ,i hope can raise them ,BBS at the ready .
IMG_0841.jpg
 

Apistomaster

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
703
Location
Clarkston, WA
I just received two trios of young adult wild caught D. filamentosus. I am going to keep trying. I refuse to believe they are should be about as difficult to breed as previous pairs of wild S. haraldi that have bred for me. But it is a sobering thought that I began spawning both wild Discus and D. filamentosus back around 1969 and out of dozens of D. filamentosus spawns I have yet to have had a female provide brood care. I love and hate these Dwarf Cichlids because of my experiences but I haven't given up. Every 6 to 8 years I give them another try.
It will take a couple weeks to get the new ones into breeding condition and I sure hope to break a 4 decade streak of bad luck.
 

Apistomaster

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
703
Location
Clarkston, WA
I've been meaning to ask the successful breeders of D. filamentosus how they have achieved their best results.
I have two trios to experiment with.
Here are the questions that come to mind but I am open to different methods other than the three below.
1. Using a pair and leaving the male in.
2. Trios leaving the male in.
3 Or removing the male and allowing the female(s) to provide all the brood care.

I know how the text books recommend breeding them but I am looking for the most contemporary feedback.
I have 2 nice trios and several 20 Longs, two 29 gallon Tall style tanks and 40 gal breeder style tanks to choose as breeding set ups.
I have bred dozens of Apistogramma species but D. filamentosus deviates from harem and pair set ups, depending on which Apistogramma species we are discussing.
I am in a good position now to do whatever I want.
I appreciate any advice experienced breeders have to share.
 

mummymonkey

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
185
Location
Blairgowrie (UK)
Well I used a 24 x 12 x 12 tank. Thin layer of sand and wood covered with Java fern (the female spawned on a Java fern leaf).
When the female spawned she stood guard over the eggs but left them to feed. She chased the male away if he came too close.
I removed the male as soon as I could, trying not to disturb the brooding female (not easy).
As soon as wrigglers appeared she moved them around the tank every few hours.
Free-swimming from about 5 days post hatch. The female cared for the fry for about 3 weeks before gradually losing interest in them when I removed her.
Fry grow slow to begin with.

I have another pair who I think may have spawned so I'll see if this female is as proficient as the other one.
 

Apistomaster

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
703
Location
Clarkston, WA
Hi mummymonkey and fellow successful D. filamentosus breeders.

I have never had a problem breeding this species; I've just never had a female follow through with her brood care duties.
I am inclined to set up both my 29H(30 X 12 X 18 High inches) tanks and only use a pair per tank and remove the males shortly after they complete their egg laying.
I have lots of RO water and T. cattapa leaves to reproduce their native waters the best I can.
I will need to condition my two new trios for three or four weeks before setting them up. I'll try two different pairs to double my chances.
I can make good use of the rehabilitation and conditioning period to ensure the breeding tanks are well established. I won't have to start from scratch. I just have to provide some cover and get some of the plants growing well before I add fish.

It is funny how some fish breeding projects just get under the skin and as both a life long fish breeder and trout fly fisherman, I'll be damned if I am going to allow a Dwarf Cichlid beat me. I think like a fish. Now that is nothing to brag about but it is often very helpful. It is a coincidence that I first spawned wild Blue Discus and Dicrossus filamentosus in 1969 when I was only 17 years old but I went on to breed and raise fry from three more pairs of S. haraldi by 1970. It is absolutely unacceptable for me to not be able to say I have successfully raised any D. filamentosus fry after having bred them far more many times than I have bred various pairs of wild Discus over the decades.
And besides, D. filamentosus has always been one of my favorite Dwarf Cichlids and it will be a nagging sense of failure until I raise at least one single brood of them. I am going to give them another good try. It isn't like they are worth anything compared to the fish I breed for sale but it has become a matter of honor.
Thanks for all the advice and sharing of your methods.
 

gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
Hope they do better for you this time Larry. 40 yrs of practice oughta be enough. Sounds like me with chocolate gouramis: one of those "Someday-I'm-Gonna-Succeed" fish. BTW - Is there any difference in hardiness or parental care reliability between the Rio Negro and the Orinoco varieties of filamentosus? Do the Orinoco ones still show up in US shops, or are they mostly all Rio Negro now?
 

Apistomaster

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
703
Location
Clarkston, WA
I think they are being brought in from both areas.
They have wide range and if you get fish which originate from Colombian exporter then their D. filamentosus are likely from Orinoco tributaries.
Fish from exporters in Manaus will have the Brazilian populations.
They are mainly and initially a part of the by catch from collecting Cardinal Tetras.
 

georgedv

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
335
Location
South Carolina
At what size/age do they breed? I have five unsexed about 1" in a 20l. I have made no effort to reduce pH or GH, but do atleast one 50% water change a week. As is my water is 6.9 and "soft". I have not measured for awhile. Other than RO and rainwater what other ways can I reduce pH below 6 and GH?

This is my first chalanging breading project...any help will help.

Thanks
george
 

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