Okay, so I have one breeding pair in a 30g. I posted about their first spawn in that tank (the dad was eating the fry so I moved them to a breeder net and the parents chewed them all up trying to "save" them from the net). Well, they spawned after that, but somehow the male wasn't paying attention so none of the eggs were fertilized. So a week after that they spawned again, with major success. They have about 20 babies that are getting big, and the male isn't eating them this time. There's a lot of java moss in the tank so when they're not swimming around they're sitting in moss or on top of the terra cotta pots and just chillin'.
In the 150g tank (with angels, severums, plecos) TWO PAIRS managed to lay eggs. Well, actually two females and the one dominant male. They laid eggs on opposite sides of a 5 ft. tank and he was actually going back and forth guarding each nest and interacting with each female. One female laid on a piece of wood, and unfortunately lost the babies as soon as they hatched as there was no place to hide from anyone else. Then the male stayed with the other female.
The other female laid her eggs inside of a clay pot. Normal, right? Not exactly. I got some hornwort and planted it in small pots because i don't have any substrate - they're just sitting there in the tank like normal flower pots, though the hornwort looks like little planted pine trees. Well, she took one over, laid her eggs on the side of it, and when her babies hatched of course they all fell into the pot and were safe from the other fish. I wanted to keep them, so I got my Eclipse 12 acrylic tank that was just being used to store sand, and put it in the big tank. I lifted up the flower pot (wigglers, mama, and all) and put it in the little tank. (there's a fry in the flower pot in the little tank in the big tank in the hole in the bottom of the sea). Then i covered it up with random fish safe materials i.e. some drilled plexiglass and a pond plant basket.
The thing is, I managed to find the magical honduran-catching device. They all keep getting in there, getting chased by the pair, getting out, and then coming back in. Now I know how to trap them, which is helpful - make a trap you DON'T want them going into. The parent fish won't leave. They understand the borders of the little tank and stay in it even while chasing other fish out. When the cover comes off they get a little nervous. I really think they feel safe in there.
Now the fry are free-swimming, so the female is taking care of them and following them all around. The other female that lost her babies is also in there now. After a few days of flaring at the pair through the plastic, she finally got in - and the pair accepted her!!! So now I have a happy threesome in the little tank. The male is attending to both of them (I think the "new" female is laying eggs as we speak in the same flowerpot) and nobody is eating the babies. The new female is completely uninterested in them, and the other female is not threatened by the new one. When a different honduran gets in there, all three of them band together to chase the intruder away.
Very cool.
P.S. - Buy some hondurans from saganco in the classifieds!
P.P.S. - pictures tomorrow
In the 150g tank (with angels, severums, plecos) TWO PAIRS managed to lay eggs. Well, actually two females and the one dominant male. They laid eggs on opposite sides of a 5 ft. tank and he was actually going back and forth guarding each nest and interacting with each female. One female laid on a piece of wood, and unfortunately lost the babies as soon as they hatched as there was no place to hide from anyone else. Then the male stayed with the other female.
The other female laid her eggs inside of a clay pot. Normal, right? Not exactly. I got some hornwort and planted it in small pots because i don't have any substrate - they're just sitting there in the tank like normal flower pots, though the hornwort looks like little planted pine trees. Well, she took one over, laid her eggs on the side of it, and when her babies hatched of course they all fell into the pot and were safe from the other fish. I wanted to keep them, so I got my Eclipse 12 acrylic tank that was just being used to store sand, and put it in the big tank. I lifted up the flower pot (wigglers, mama, and all) and put it in the little tank. (there's a fry in the flower pot in the little tank in the big tank in the hole in the bottom of the sea). Then i covered it up with random fish safe materials i.e. some drilled plexiglass and a pond plant basket.
The thing is, I managed to find the magical honduran-catching device. They all keep getting in there, getting chased by the pair, getting out, and then coming back in. Now I know how to trap them, which is helpful - make a trap you DON'T want them going into. The parent fish won't leave. They understand the borders of the little tank and stay in it even while chasing other fish out. When the cover comes off they get a little nervous. I really think they feel safe in there.
Now the fry are free-swimming, so the female is taking care of them and following them all around. The other female that lost her babies is also in there now. After a few days of flaring at the pair through the plastic, she finally got in - and the pair accepted her!!! So now I have a happy threesome in the little tank. The male is attending to both of them (I think the "new" female is laying eggs as we speak in the same flowerpot) and nobody is eating the babies. The new female is completely uninterested in them, and the other female is not threatened by the new one. When a different honduran gets in there, all three of them band together to chase the intruder away.
Very cool.
P.S. - Buy some hondurans from saganco in the classifieds!
P.P.S. - pictures tomorrow
