Finally got that Cren. compressicep spawn

[MsCichlid]

One of the pairs finally spawned. The bigger, more robust fish is definantly the male. The female stayed small with no evidence of being gravid. The only clue that spawning was eminant (sp) was that she cleaned every cave and then dug one to her liking. The fry are out and bobbing around with their huge egg sacks. The fry don't appear to stay in clusters nor do they folow the pair. The pair circles the entire area wherever the fry seem to bob to. 20 gal high, planted tank with an old SecondNature trickle filter. Temp 78, the pH is 4.8 and I have to check the ppm later.

Francine

 

[Cichlids1]

Francine,

Were there any other noticable differences between the sexes? I'm dowm to 4, but there are some smaller thinner one and a larger, thicker, bulkier one. After spending a few hours gazing into the tank, I cannot see any other differences.

 

[MsCichlid]

sexing compressiceps

The only other thing I noticed was that the male's dorsal has a smidgen more of a point at the end of his dorsal. The other method to try is to use a mirror to agitate the fish. Check to see if his yellow bands extend way down across his belly in the tan area. The females faded somewhere in the middle Another thing I noticed with my pair is that the male had two very distinct black spots in the black area between the first and second yellow bars. While the female's spots in that area were just smudges.

HTH,
Francine

 

[Z Man]

Great news Francine, just remember me when the time comes. I always tried to check out the caudal fins. The males are supposed to have very solid and straight vertical lines. In the females , I was told, the lines are always wavy and irregular. How does your pair fit that description?
Z Man

 

[MsCichlid]

ZMan,
The male's caudal stripes are dark and distinct while the female's are somewhat faded. I have another pair that I will check this description against. Since the breeding pair have spawned, it's hard to get a good look at them. The behavoir is rather animated whenever I get to close to the glass. I will let you know.

Francine

 

[Neil]

Congrats Francine,
That is great news! I love those fish. Mine were great parents and spawned several times in succession. The trick was keeping them from killing each other before they started and a little in between. Hope you have continuing success with them. Neil