Apistogramma cacatuoides when to move them

[dwarf_puffer]

help they laid eggs what do i do ( cockatoos)

ive been told that these fish breed around every 3-4 weeks. i have 1 male and 2 females so i no its gona happen it just a mader of time. since they do breed ever month or so when do you have to move the old 1s out of the tank. mine are around 3.5 months and i dont think they could eat the babies but the male cou;d easly so im wondering at what age should they be move to a seperate tank. becaus ei dont wont the first batch to keep eating the next batches! thanks a bunchim also wondering what age can you sell them to pet stores and stuff. 1 more thing what sizes would be ok togerther like 1 month olds would they be ok with 3 month olds? no worry for time since i dont evern have eggs yet thaanks a million

JOSh

 

[cdawson]

Well, raising them to sellable size and getting eggs is two different things. IMO I would remove the eggs after the pair is done spawning and hatch them artificially. Tank raised fish have the tendency to eat their free swimming fry or wrigglers IME. Give it a shot though. If they don't eat them once they're free swimming then keep them in there for about 2 weeks, the female will be ready to spawn again after that.Once she spawns again she'll want to chase away all the old fry from the nest. She WILL kill them if she can't drive them off and the male will be helping her.

 

[dwarf_puffer]

so every batch i should be moving them?

every batch i shoudl be moving them ? what size tank should i have i was thinking of selling them at 4 months so like whould the new fry be ok with the ones i was gona sell what tank size if so. if there is another way besides buying lots of tanks please tell me i was thinking of dividers or something!? thanks
Josh

 

[tjd]

Josh, not to long ago I was having the same worries and questions. The following is what I have found through my experience and advice I was given.

1) Size matters more than age. I have had three to four week old fry eating eggs and newly hatched fry. I have also kept 1.5 month old fry with 3 month old, by the time the fry were 1.5 month old they were big enough not to be eaten. As a general rule, the older the fry the greater the difference in age you will be able to get away with.

2) When to remove the eggs will depend on your fish and what you want to get out of breeding them. If your goal is to raise as many fish as possible then the sooner you remove the eggs or fry the sooner the pair can get back to making more. If your goal is to observe some of the fasinating behavior then giving your pair a chance to raise the fry might be more the way to go.

Fry will usually do better and grow quicker if left with their parents (provided they are not eaten). At about 2 to 4 weeks the parents will stop taking an interest in raising/protecting the fry.

Also, the size of your setup and amount of hiding places will also impact the ability to sucessfully have multiple broods in the same tank.

Hope this helps.
Tom

 

[dwarf_puffer]

ok thanks

i have a 30 gallon and basically the longer u leave them in there the longer you will have to wait for the next group wow that good to no it makes sence but i never would have though of that (sry if this sounds sarcastic im not!) and then when the parents stop protecting them and lose interest i should remove themwhen the next group comes. i was wondering if when this happens i should put a piece of sponge over my filter so they dont get sucked up?

 

[cdawson]

It's best to use sponge filters in breeding tanks. Not only does it protect the fry from being sucked up they will actually graze on the microfauna that grows on the sponge filter.

 

[dwarf_puffer]

what does it look like

sponge filter what does it look like do you have a picture

 

[cdawson]

King ed pets carries hydro sponges, IMO the best sponge filter. Stay away from crap ones like those yellow things king ed sells. Those ones have no attachment for an airstone and are quite noisy. There are also some other ones that are suitable for a 30 gallon that king ed carries, they're in a black box with chinese writing on the outside as well as a little english. They branch off into two separate sponges.

 

[dwarf_puffer]

ahhh

ok those fish i was telling you all about. tehy have eggs . both females have own batch. the male has dug a pit beside a rock but theres no eggs is this where the fri go it weird tho cause my fish r only 4 months old i no this because i bought them of a breeder. and the male doesnt even have his ful colours yet. so when they hatch what do i feed them. all i have is blood worms and flakes. will the mother feed them unlit they can eat the blood worms? thanks alot. one more thing when will they hatch since they laid them last afternoon.

thanks so much josh

sry i cant buy that filter i dont live close to it and i dont have any money so ya thanks so much for the advice when i get some money im buying a new tank just for breeding with that filter in it.