Benitochromis nigrodorsalis "Moliwe color form" spawning

[dpien]

Hi all, I was very lucky last night to witness the first spawning of this young wild pair. They had every possible choice of spawning sites (pebbles, caves, bogwood, plants) in this set-up and selected a flat large stone.
The first two video's were taken whilst the female was laying the eggs and the male fertilizing them.
Then, interestingly, the third video shows how the female is first to pick up approx. half of the eggs for incubation - and the fourth shows how the male then picked up the remainder...
This morning the female is certainly holding a good clutch of eggs, but I can't be sure the male has any in his mouth. Both are not eating though...

These video's (in bad light) don't do justice to the beautiful coloration of this strain of this threatened species. They are right at the top of my priority list and I'm thrilled to have a breeding pair.

Thanks for looking...

 

[raymond82]

Very nice videos, great to see spawning from the beginning to the end!

 

[DaRe]

Nice. I would love a bunch of photos for our species database at ciklid.org!!

 

[sasikan]

great video . Hope they will hold to term for you .

 

[halmiris]

Great movies with beautiful and interesting fish. Spor .. and as many free

 

[dpien]

Finally, got fry from the other pair. The male and female shared mouthbrooding duties equally, but she became a bit aggresive 2 days ago so I removed her. Here is the male caring for and protecting the brood:

This is such a beautiful species, unfortunately the light in this tank really doesn't do them justice - they are stunning fish with very intelligent expressions!

 

[Ekona]

Very nice! Congratulations on the successful spawning and fry. What size tank are they in?

 

[dpien]

Thanks! The tank is 4 x 1.5 x 2 foot. They do need some space...

 

[halmiris]

Very nice! Congratulations on the successful spawning and fry