Fry

[Pellegrino]

How old do you recommend me splitting up the fry from the parents

 

[Mike Wise]

It really depends on several factors. I the female isn't driving the fry away they can live with her for several months. If, on the other hand, the female is interested in breeding again the fry should be removed. Also that the breeding tank is large enough to handle all of the fry without stunting their growth. I personally prefer to keep the fry in the breeding tank, if it is large enough, until they are large enough to be removed with a net - about ½"/12cm.

 

[deliriouz]

As mike said but only to add that I find that I get higher number of fry when I remove the cave with the eggs and hatch them artificially. Way more work tho then getting the mum to do the job.

Also I find that the fry that stay with mum have higher growth rates that hand reared ones...maybe to do with the smaller numbers?

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[Mike Wise]

Also I find that the fry that stay with mum have higher growth rates that hand reared ones...maybe to do with the smaller numbers?

It's not numbers; it's behavior. Mothers are there for a purpose. They protect the fry from preditors. They use their yellow/black markings to signal danger and safety. Without her signals, fry tend to stay on the bottom and not move around much. They feed less and grow slower.

 

[deliriouz]

Thanks Mike..that makes a lot of sense.

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[boofeng]

It's not numbers; it's behavior. Mothers are there for a purpose. They protect the fry from preditors. They use their yellow/black markings to signal danger and safety. Without her signals, fry tend to stay on the bottom and not move around much. They feed less and grow slower.

This is so cool. I had no idea the colours signalled anything. Any recommended reading to understand this more thoroughly?

 

[Mike Wise]

Koslowski (2002) has a detailed chapter on ethology of apistos based on long duration videos of breeding apistos. It's in German. The classic case study is: Burchard, J. E. 1965. Family structure in the dwarf cichlid Apistogramma trifasciata Eigenmann and Kennedy. Z. Tierpsychol. 24: 204-209. This paper is in English.

 

[boofeng]

Thanks, Mike. Tried searching for Burchard on Google Scholar and it's behind a paywall. So much for the age of (low quality) information! (If anyone can email me a copy, purely for educational purposes, I would be most grateful.)

I did see a copy of Cichlid Atlas Vol 2 at a local library though and can't wait to get my hands on that.