Agassizii Eating Eggs....Advice appreciated.

[Sinbad]

I have bred A. Agassizii on a number of occasions, the first time almost 20 years ago. At the moment I have a trio of double reds and the females are good egg layers, but the last two spawns have been eaten < 24hrs after having been laid.

Initially, I had them in the breeding tank as the trio and one female laid a clutch of 40-60 eggs which were all gone by the following day when I arrived home from work. That night, the second female laid a slightly larger clutch of eggs, perhaps 70-75, and they too were all gone by the following evening when I got home.

I decided to remove one female and let the pair spawn again, which they did about 16 days later and the very same thing has happened again.
I know that Agassizii are harem breeders, but I just thought that when both females were in the tank that the eggs may have been eaten by each females rival in some form of "jealousy" inspired raid. This has proven not to be the case. I'm not sure whether it is the male or the female who is eating them.
The male is a very nice specimen about 18 months old and in very good condition, his stomach doesn't appear to be any larger than normal but this is a little hard to tell as he is a good size anyway. Also, if he is the culprit and has eaten the eggs during the night or early in the morning he would have had 12-18 hrs to digest them before I get back from work, making it even harder to notice a full stomach.
The female's gut doesn't look any larger either, but the same applies to her also.
I would greatly appreciate any advice from other members who may be able to shed some light on this, or recommend a course of action to overcome the problem.
Regards to all,
Sinbad.

 

[Mike Wise]

This happens sometimes; more often with domestic bred fish. It might be time to think about artificially raising a brood. Some things that I've found that helps: put the breeding tank in an out-of-the-way place and as high off the ground as possible; keep a 3W night light on the tank 24 hours/day until the fry are freeswimming.

 

[Sinbad]

Thanks very much for the reply Mike.
Am I correct in assuming that the purpose of placing the tank in an elevated and out of the way position is to minimise the ammount of movement that's visible to the fish outside their tank?
The breeding tank that I have them in has an 18 inch flouro tube type light which provides the light during the day, so could you please clarify the following;
use the existing light as normal and turn on the 3 watt night light at the time the flouro is normally turned off for the night.
Or
don't use the normal flouro at all and just use the 3 watt night light 24/7.
Many thanks for your input on this.
Regards,
Sinbad.

 

[Mike Wise]

Thanks very much for the reply Mike.
Am I correct in assuming that the purpose of placing the tank in an elevated and out of the way position is to minimise the ammount of movement that's visible to the fish outside their tank?

Yes. Shaddows from above tend to be more disturbing to shy breeders.

The breeding tank that I have them in has an 18 inch flouro tube type light which provides the light during the day, so could you please clarify the following;
use the existing light as normal and turn on the 3 watt night light at the time the flouro is normally turned off for the night.
Or
don't use the normal flouro at all and just use the 3 watt night light 24/7.
Many thanks for your input on this.
Regards,
Sinbad.

You can use normal lights during the day, but a dim light at night helps. Shy females are not startled when the bright lights turn on suddenly. These disturbances often cause shy females to eat their eggs.

 

[Sinbad]

Thanks Mike,
going by your reply it sounds as though it is usually the female who eats her own eggs. Have ever known males to do so as well?

 

[Mike Wise]

Well, the female has more opportunities. Usually males aren't allowed near the breeding cave, let alone enter it. Still I've had male eat fry after driving the female away.