Lamprologus Ocellatus gold fry video and pics!

My gold occie female's second batch (first was lost during an 18 hour power outage). She is a very good mom protecting her babies and chewing up food for them. They are very adventurous little fry though and are constantly trying to leave the shell to go exploring. Mom doesnt like that much and sucks them up and shoves them back in the shell. It is hilarious to watch. They dont come out too much when the camera gets close, but I was able to catch some in motion

[video=youtube;0b08p51UM3Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b08p51UM3Q&feature=youtu.be[/video]

These pictures dont do her justice. She has much more beautiful lavender coloration on her sides.

Cute babies!


Mom with a very inquisitive baby


Her in her nursery. She has chosen the best corner for my viewing pleasure. Right next to my desk! This better shows her true beauty!

Thank you! Its easy when they're not moving lol. Cant get decent photos of my forktail rainbows for anything!

Thanks! I like the looks of the turbo shells, but I may change to something lighter. The occies keep trying to move and rearrange the shells and they are just too heavy for these little guys. Going to wait and see though. Definitely dont want to rearrange the tank with the babies in there.

Update:


Only one fry survived from this spawn. I think most got eaten and will probably remove this next batch; I have an empty cycled 5 gal. That one fry is getting big and doing well. Hangs out by dad who mostly ignores him but ferociously defends against the dreaded siphon. I keep trying to get pictures but the kid still hides when I get too close


The pair has spawned again. I'm not sure when or where, but I see a bunch of tiny new babies in dad's territory and a couple by mom's shells. This is the first day I've seen them, so I've either been missing them and they're older than I think, or mom is having a hard time keeping them together. I'm going to be upgrading these guys to a 46 bow in a couple of months so I think I will have the areas less crowded with shells so that she can dig a bigger sand pit to keep them together. These little fry are far too feisty and adventurous for their own good!