A. cacatuoides fry

[soh15]

I have 1 male and 2 female A. cacatuoides in a 30 gal heavily planted tank. They are the only fish in there. One female now has 30+ fry swiming around. They are eating and doing great. Question is should I take the adults out? How long will the others stay away from the fry? Thanks

 

[tjudy]

I leave the fry in with the adults for two weeks, then move the fry to a bare-bottom ten gallon tank with java moss and a piece of driftwood. I can pump the food to the fry and do 50% water changes more easily in the ten than in the breeding tank. I get a batch of fry from my pair once a month with this system. She spawns again about two weeks after I take out the fry.

After the fry have been in the ten for a month I move them to a 40br growout tanks. They are about 1/2" long at this point. Basically, I move the older fry out of the ten the same day that the next batch is going into the ten. After a month in the 40 br with lots of food and water changes the juveniles are 1"-1.25" and sexable. Luckily I have several tanks to play with. My first batch from this pair will turn three months old on February 15, and they will be 1.5" - 1.75" long... and I will be seeking homes for them.

 

[fishgeek]

ted how do yo catch the fry without damaging then , i assume you dont net them

andrew

 

[tjudy]

At two weeks they are almost 1/4 inch long. I do net them, but I use a brine shrimp net that is very soft and has very small holes. It takes me a few hours to do the job. I remove the wood from the tank and let everything settle down. THe female will gather her brood. I catch as many as I can until they are scattered again. I go away and come back a hour later and they will have been gathered up again. I do this until I cannot find any fry. If teh tank is bare, you can put a mass of java moss in the tank. The fry will go to it for cover and actually get into the tangle. You can then net out the entire mass of java moss. I do not have a bare tank for breeding, so the fry tend to hug teh gravel where they are camoflaged.

 

[fishgeek]

you find they do ok being moved that early?

 

[tjudy]

No problems so far. I let the first batch go four weeks, and ended up with four. At two weeks there are a lot more. My female has a batch that became free swimming on Monday, so I will move them around the 13th - 14th.

 

[fishgeek]

thanks ted prehasp that explains my lower fry numbers , i leave them in with parents for a lot longer

and apoalogies for hijacking your thread soh15

andrew

 

[soh15]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[soh15]

So far so good, Both females now have about 30 fry each. They seem to take great care of them along with the male. I started a 10 gal to move them to after it cycles. Anyone around Saint Louis Mo wanting to trade some fish in about 1 month or 2 let me know.

 

[nightowl1350]

Congrats on the 2 spawns Great looking fish and fry.

 

[soh15]

3rd batch of fry now. It is really cool to see 3 different sizes in there. I started to take them out last night and put them in a 10 gal. No deaths at all. Do they have more fry every 3 weeks?

 

[john x jro]

ok so basically i live in syracuse NEw york and was wondering if there is any brreeders around b/c i really want a pair of cacatuoides