View Full Version : Pics of baby Stappersi shelldwellers
I have a nice little batch of stapps that are about 3 weeks old now. Thought I would share some pics..............cute little buggers !
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/morroman/emgfishpics/DSC02125.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/morroman/emgfishpics/DSC02116.jpg
One of the Parents....
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/morroman/emgfishpics/DSC00209450.jpg
mooman
02-24-2006, 11:04 AM
Nice work EMG. Can you tell me a little about the behavior of the parents and how it's changed is changing as the fry get older?
Well, I removed the babies as soon as I noticed them coming out of the shells. The last time I left them in they all disappeared.
When I saw them I put them in a seperate hang-on tank in the home tank...along with the mom. I figured the fry would be more relaxed and happy if mom were in there with them watching over them.
After it looked like mom wasn't showing as much interest in them...I removed her back into the home tank and put the fry in a 5 gallon fry tank I set up for them.
I have 3 adults Stapps in a 15 gallon, 2 females and 1 male. The male is very territorial and was not allowing one of the females to settle in any of the shells...so she spends most of her time swimming around the top or among the few plants I have in there. After I replaced the mom back into the tank wtih the others, she too was prevented by the male from settling in any of the shells. So....I took him out for a day to let the girls find a spot of thier own. When I put him back in this morning....the mom has established a piece of ground, but the other female is still on the outs.
I don't know or not if eventually they would leave the fry alone...If they spawn again while I still have this present group of fry, I'll probably let them stay and see what happens. Perhaps if I only had one male and one female that would make a difference too....don't know... :huh:
mooman
02-24-2006, 1:30 PM
Hmmm...Well they are cichlids, and everyone know cichlids sometimes take some practice to "get it right". I'll be interested to hear how the next spawn goes. I'm particularly interested in how long the parents will watch over the fry before losing interest, and what the fry do in this case (always get eaten, find an empty shell of thier own....). Keep me updated EMG.
Ohh, off topic, but I've seen you post comments about not being too sure about shipping fish. I just wanted to let you know that I recently revamped a friends tank and took 9 neon tetras with me. They had to stay in a bag for 24hrs. I skipped aclimation (after that period it's reccomended that you simply dump the fish imediatley upon opening the bag). All nine tetras are still alive two weeks later if you can believe it.
Yeah, I probably shouldn't worry too much about it.....but I'm concerned about having to reimburse the buyer if the fish don't make it. It's just easier for me to take them down to the lfs and not have that worry. I'm sure not to loose out if I do that. :huh:
I'm not a big time breeder....I just do a spawn from time to time as the mood strikes me...
TipStylez
02-24-2006, 3:58 PM
MAN WHERE DO YOUG ET SHELLDWELLERS?!...
i hate seattle cause theres not much cool fish like this, just the petsmart/petco stuff or expensive show LFS...
Lol...man I feel for ya Stylez !! I can't imagine not being able to find a variety of fish for my tanks..though there are some I would like to have that I havn't been able to find around here yet, but it's only a matter of time before they show up somewhere.
There must be over 10 different LFS in my area that I know of...and I only regularly visit about 5 or 6 of them. I picked up the shellies at the newest store, which just opened up last Dec. Very nice place with lots of both fresh and saltwater fish.
You might try asking the lfs if they can special order something for you....just a though....
Well, I just found one deformed little fry in with my stapp babies...hhmm....crooked back. The rest all look fine, just this one out of about 30 or so.
I have a soft spot for weaklings.....*sigh*....I know any responsible breeder would "OFF" the little guy immediately...but....I'm not a bigtime professional breeder, just a local schmuck who occasionally takes the time to raise a spawn now and again..........SOOooooo !
I tossed him in my Multi tank to sink or swim as he can. So far nobody seems to have noticed that he's an oddball and doesn't belong. I'm not sure how this is going to work out, but maybe if he grows up along with all the other fry in there...he'll find a nitch someplace, and as long as he/she doesn't pose any problems with the multis...it can stay.
Stapps are generally more aggressive than multis, so if it starts to give them any trouble as it gets larger...IF it gets larger.....OUT it goes....somewhere...lol... ( :rolleyes: This is exactly how I ended up with 4 deformed little rams in a 2 gallon ! )
carpediem
03-05-2006, 7:30 AM
Sweet, I love them...
mooman
03-06-2006, 8:53 AM
Your too much of a softie EMG. Give me a call if you need an executioner. :Angel: You can ask wildcats. I'm cold bloooded. (ala Dave Chapel as Rick James)
Keep an eye on that fry. Hate to see him get bigger and start to raid your multi spawns inside the shells.
Lol Moo, I think the multis did the deed for me. I haven't seen him since I turned the lights off on that tank that night.
If I did more breeding I'm sure I would become as ruthless as you Moo....lol....but I only do a spawn here and there and I tend to become attached to the "group". I think it's just the habit of taking care of them and watching them grow that I get attached to... :huh:
But I get over it pretty fast after they go to the lfs.... :D
An update on the Stappersi fry...
All doing very well. I 've had to remove one little fry that had developed a crooked spine, but all the rest look very good.
Not the greatest pic, but these guys are pretty busy !
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/morroman/emgfishpics/DSC02971.jpg