Eggs in 48 hrs. Ferocious cockatoo female

[javoski]

This beauty spent 24 hrs in a plastic bag. Arrived at my 200l planted tank at friday night. At sunday afternoon, I found eggs!

The male arrived on saturday. I didnt see any kind of mating behaviour (they spent only the sunday together !!!! ... and I was outside home).

Now the female is on her own attacking the corys and specially the chinese algae eater, which must go tonight.

I already bought a filter for a new tank, to receive the couple. But things went so fast.

And she choosen the worst place to spawn. The algae eater PVC tube !!!

I saw they tangling in 2 nasty circle fights ... and the algae eater ran both times.

In the past, 5 SAE´s (sold for the LFS), a very big cacatoo (dead) and a viejita (swaped) all of them simply got off the way of the bully, who now cant stand the tiny golden female.

I love her!
And will make a really confortable planted tank for her.

 

[Nick S.]

Algae Eater

Now the female is on her own attacking the corys and specially the chinese algae eater, which must go tonight.

In the past I have had bad experiences with Algae Eaters. Attatching themselves to other fish causing infections etc., I sugest that you give the Algae Eater the 1 flush salute, or feed him to a cat and get 3 or 4 Ottocinclus Affinis. I have 3 in each of my tanks and they keep the plants clean and healthy with out causing any harm to my fish or my plants.

 

[javoski]

In the past I have had bad experiences with Algae Eaters. Attatching themselves to other fish causing infections etc., I sugest that you give the Algae Eater the 1 flush salute

Left him in the LFS yesterday, swaped for 4 portions of artemia :biggrin:

 

[nightowl1350]

Congrats on the spawn! An aggressive female is a good thing. She should be a great Mom. Keep us posted on how the eggs do.

 

[javoski]

An aggressive female is a good thing. She should be a great Mom.

Hi, Night!
She wait till the second batch to prove you right :biggrin:

She ate those first batch of eggs, in the 2nd night.
I guess she was stressed after the mess I had to make in the tank in order to catch the CAE.

But I didn´t worry because she kept her yellow dress .... and begun to guard a coconut cave covered with java moss. I noticed last week that she moved back for the PVC tube and was really shy (in terms that I see her little) and got back to her agressive behaviour, for cory´s despair. But I didnt manage to see eggs, as I refused to put light in the tube to inspect its interior.

And them, on last friday, my wife called me screaming, that the female was pasturing some fry all around the aquarium.

Late at home, I saw an amazing (even if expected) view, as she moved all the fry from one side of the aquarium to the PVC tube, right before the lights turned off. (maybe what trigered her behaviour was my face attached to the glass). She needed five trips in warp speed to acomplish that, geting 4 or 5 of the fry in her mouth, in each trip.

 

[javoski]

Will make a - at least for now - sad timetable

nov 10 - arrive at tank
nov 12 - laid eggs
nov 14 - ate eggs
nov 30 - free swinming fry
dec 7 - around 13 fry are gone, probably victim of cardinals
dec 13 - laid eggs
dec 15 - ate eggs after lights went off

She once again was faster than me, I was planning to move her to the new aquarium, and she laid eggs before I moved her.

New tank is with some blue-green algae. Will get rid of it and will move her there .... where she and her fries will have 70 liters all for them

 

[nightowl1350]

Congrats! She sounds like a great Mom and it is time to give the pair a tank of their own. I've moved eggs, but never Mom and eggs.....if you can pick up the coconut shell with her in it she may do ok with the move if you use water from the current tank and a cycled sponge filter (so the fry are not sucked up)

Enjoy the sights of Mom and babies...sounds like the wife is getting into it to

 

[javoski]

sounds like the wife is getting into it to

wife got so heartbroke sunday night, after I removed a clay pot with wigglers (into a netbreeder). The female was in the other side of the tank and went into warp speed looking for the pot.

she was able to find 2 or 3 wigglers that fell off the pot and ate them ... another ones fell into a plastic bag that I put into the netbreeder bottom (and are still alive). I hope that they will be big enough to not transpass the net when they become able to swin.

She sounds like a great Mom and it is time to give the pair a tank of their own.

I moved her on monday into the 70 liters .... where my big male was for the last 10 days. (The father of the wrigglers is another young one, that is claiming the 200l as his). The big male got pretty nasty with her ... and I moved him to the 200 liters (together with the juvenile male).

The female is in the 70 liters together with a pregnant molly, which is in there for cycling purposes. In 2 or 3 nights, I will move the big male back.

Probably in 2 days ... as she is an egg machine and loves to be faster than me :biggrin: