spoot
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Post by spoot on Jun 18, 2010 9:43:45 GMT -6
2 Males, 4 Females, 3 Months, 0 Fry.
No idea what I'm missing. I have had a couple that looked like they were going to burst, but the next morning they are back to normal size and not a single fry in the tank. I built a mesh cage out of some plastic screen, but I just can't tell if the female is just over eating from picking at algae/diatoms or gravid. They are red tux swords with a lot of black, so finding a gravid spot has proven to be useless for me. Any tips on what behaviors/appearances I should be watching for? Anything in particular I can do to trigger a spawning?
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reagan
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Post by reagan on Jun 18, 2010 11:06:16 GMT -6
Are you sure you have female. Not a joke. other questing how old are they, what size tank and do the have cover
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spoot
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Post by spoot on Jun 18, 2010 11:20:01 GMT -6
Yea, positive on the females. No sign of a Gonopodium on any of the four. One of the males was a late bloomer, so I have double, and triple checked the rest. I can post pictures later if needed. The females are approx 3" or so. The age I have no idea. They were probably 2 to 2.5 inches when I got them. The tank they are in can be seen in the tank setup thread titled long weekend. One end is fairly open with just some rock work. The other end is so thick with rotala you can't see the back. I just moved them from a 46 bowfront to a 55. Tank mates are Kribs and Gold Barbs.
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Post by bunnie1978 on Jun 18, 2010 11:20:33 GMT -6
A trap might be a good idea. They might be having the babies - providing food for themselves and their friends!
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spoot
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Post by spoot on Jun 18, 2010 11:29:25 GMT -6
A trap might be a good idea. They might be having the babies - providing food for themselves and their friends! I made a 6x4x5 box out of needle point type plastic and put some fishing floaters in to make it float (Go Go DiY), I just can't catch the devils without chasing them all over the tank. How long should I keep her in there once I suspect? Would I just put a clump of java moss at the bottom? My worry with the trap/box I made is that I would just be keeping them in a little container for her snacking convienence. |
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Post by mruble on Jun 18, 2010 15:35:03 GMT -6
There should be no doubt between a gravid female and a "stuffed" female. Leave the female in the breeder net you have built until she has babies. Put plants inside the breeder net so the fry can escape the mothers hungry mouth. The kribs and barbs probably contributed to elimination of the fry - check the plants again, a couple of fry should of got smart in time. Check the net daily. Once the babies are born, put momma back in the tank - she does nothing to assist the babies.
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Post by bunnie1978 on Jun 18, 2010 15:56:47 GMT -6
You can get or probably even make one that lets the babies stay away from mom too... with a V trap at the botttom. I have one that uses air suction to move babies into a seperate compartment. That one is pretty cool. I know there is a way to tell when livebearers are about to bear... but I don't know what it is.
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spoot
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Post by spoot on Jun 19, 2010 11:02:31 GMT -6
Here's some pics of the one I suspect to be gravid currently.   We tried putting her in the cage I made last night. She did not appreciate that one bit. It stressed her out really bad, but I decided to give her over night to get use to the cage. This morning she was in the same spot she was in with it last night, and wouldn't eat. I took her back out and put her in the tank. I guess I'll see if I can hunt down a regular breeding net today. For some reason she didn't like mine at all. |
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Post by bunnie1978 on Jun 20, 2010 18:36:03 GMT -6
Looks to me like she's got a little more time.
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reagan
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Post by reagan on Jun 21, 2010 12:10:42 GMT -6
they may be eating the fry
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spoot
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Post by spoot on Jun 23, 2010 12:26:15 GMT -6
Anger... frustration... hatred... these are paths to the Dark Side, and the swordtails are leading me there quickly. The gravid suspect was netted and placed in the home made breeding box. The next day she was back to normal size, no fry in the moss, no corpses, nothing. Just smug fish lips all the way around. I put a nice wad of java moss in that box, and posistioned it right above my rotala that has grown to the surface just incase they slipped through the mesh. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing wrong.
I'm going to make another box using fine window screening instead of the needlepoint stuff. Hopefully that will provide some answers. As morbid as it may sound a still birth would be considered a step forward at this point. Just something to let me know if the swords are even attempting.
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Post by bunnie1978 on Jun 23, 2010 19:26:43 GMT -6
Something I did one time was seperate mom into a small tank, like a 2 1/2gallon, and then for the gravel, I used larger rocks and then when she dropped the babies, they wentinto the cracks until they started moving. Needlepoint might have holes too big for these purposes.
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Post by ree123 on Jun 23, 2010 19:48:00 GMT -6
Large marbles two layers thick in a 2 1/2gal. tank with floating plants added or scrubbie pads added, a sponge filter, warmth, either a heater or sit the tank up high in your fishroom to gain the additional heat and patience. Watch and wait. Good luck. And don't forget the water changes and good feeds.
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spoot
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Post by spoot on Aug 3, 2010 9:07:14 GMT -6
Apparently I'm not doing it wrong afterall. Just missing the births. My java moss bed on my slate stack has got huge. I was cleaning it up this weekend and a 3/4 inch orange and black fry darted out. I have him isolated with some krib and a gold barb fry in a 10G.
I figure since I had one, more will follow eventually.
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