Breeding A.borelli?

[Raul-7]

I'm going to use flower pot saucers, sine they're short and createa loof roof so that the eggs stay close together. But my question is, If I cover the cave with Java moss but I leave the cave entrance open, will they notice the entrance? And I want to have a harem(2f:1m), do I need 3 caves or just 2 for each female?

 

[2la]

As I mentioned before, A. borellii is not really a harem breeder. The fish will explore every nook and cranny of your tank and should have no problems finding a suitable home. Often they find caves you never really intended to create in the first place! One cave per female is fine.

 

[Raul-7]

Sorry 2la, I just read that people always keep in harems...What would you recommend as harem breeder, A.cacatuoides or A.bitaeniata?

 

[farm41]

I believe that some have, I think Rick had some that spawned as a trio. All rules are not steadfast though. Cacs, Inca, panduro, and probably many more can be kept as trio's.

 

[cootwarm]

I read the same thing somewhere, that borellii pair up. So I was suprised when the dominant male spawned with 3 females all in the same week! I had 7(3m4f) borellii in a 30 gallon long. I think he would have spawned with the 4th female, except that after the first 3 females staked out their territories, there was no place left in the tank for her to claim.

The other 2 males remained small and with neutral female-like colors. They had short fins like the females, but when the dominant male wasn't looking, they could quickly turn their colors on and off.

I've since removed 2 pair and only keep a trio in that tank now. I've read were the batches of fry are smaller in a harem environment compared to a single pair. My 3 females had about 20 fry each. Even with the 7 adult borellii and 4 adult beckfordi pencilfish, I don't think I lost a single fry to being eaten. I counted about 60 when they were first free swimming and I still count about 60 now.

Two or three of the females tried to spawn again since, but my tank got infested with hydra which I think ate the tiny new free swimming fry.

Michael