Just thought I'd Share

[Zack Wilson]

I caught a few decent pics yesterday of one of my latest D. maculatus spawns. I've been so busy with kids and whatnot lately, that I haven't been able to get down to the fishroom much to observe or photograph. They fortunately decided to have this spawn in an open area where I could snap some shots. These are seven-day old fry, just short of free-swimming. They started swimming and feeding last night. Enjoy!

Tank Specs:

30"x18"x12"
Temp. 79F
pH 4.87
dKH 0-1
TDS 79

Mom, guarding and keeping everyone together, mostly.

After they hatched, mom moved them from the driftwood they were laid on, to a couple anubias leaves. Apparently they wouldn't all fit on one. The other half of the spawn was on the back of a nearby leaf, so they couldn't be observed.

Here's proud papa.

Never gets old watching a nice cloud of fry follow mom around. I'll post some more pics of the youngsters later.

 

[Tom C]

Beautiful fish and pictures!
Did you do anything special to make them spawn, other than good feeding and the right water parameters?
Peat filtered water? Is the pair the only fish in the tank?

 

[Gordon C. Snelling]

congrats still waiting for my macs to spawn. however I have my first spawn of filamentosus, hatched out today. How are you bringing your PH down??

 

[Zack Wilson]

Thanks guys. Hopefully I can snap a few shots of mom and the fry today. Still gotta get a macro lens so I can do some of those awesome shots of the fry like yours Tom. I love those pics you posted on the Nannacara.

I don't add anything to the water at all. I use about 90% RO water and then a small amount of tap. The pH naturally has settled at this point just below 5. At times I've measured it as low as 3.8, but I don't generally give pH much attention anymore, except when I note a spawn. At this point I don't know that I would say I do anything special, but it's sort of become routine to me. They get a diet heavy in redworms and daphnia, and I also have two 150 gallon water troughs outside that I harvest mosquito larvae from a couple times a week to feed the fish in my room. I change the water irregularly in the neighborhood of 30% every two to three weeks. As you say, good feeding and the right water is key in most situations.

Right now I have one male and two females in this tank, along with about 20 Nannostomus espei. They all get along very well. I have another pair set up in a 30 with just them and some endlers. The pH in that tank is more around 6, and I've had spawns from them as well. I'm thinking of setting up another trio in a third 30, but for now the rest of the maculatus are split between two 40 longs. They get along great as groups and very little fighting or intimidation occurs between males, although sleepers persist until the dominant male is removed. I've only twice had them try to spawn in this group setting, but it is a bit crowded, with about 20-30 macs in each tank.

 

[Tom C]

Thanks for that information, Zack. Looking forward to updates and some shots of the fry.

I'm not using a true macro lens. I use a Pentax DA 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 ED AL IF Lens with my Pentax K20D camera. With this lens I can't go closer than 40 cm. I just crop the 14.6-megapixels resolution pics to get close-ups.

 

[Apistomaster]

I have had 3 or my D. maculatus pairs spawn but so far the females ate their eggs. I bought them as small juveniles from Zack last summer.
Zack, you have the golden touch with these fish.

Try spawning your N. espei? Now raising their fry will be a real challenge. I have bred pencilfish to both see if I could but mainly to test my skill at raising such tiny fry. They can be a humbling experience. I tried and failed to raise my N. mortonthaleri, Coral Red Pencils.

 

[Zack Wilson]

Hmmm, that's interesting. I actually shoot with a nikon 18-200mm. I just can't seem to achieve the detail I'd like in pics of tiny subjects like the fry. I've been told consistently that this is due to the lens I use. Do you use a tripod Tom?

Well, the other female in the same tank just spawned today, and is guarding a nice clutch of eggs on a rock near the front. We'll see how those look when I get back home. I'll be gone till tomorrow afternoon, visiting family.

Now I just have to get my hands on some sp. "Tapajos", and then I'll have spawned the three commonly available species here in the US. Maybe someday I can get my hands on some sp. "Rio Negro".

The N. espei are actually captive bred. I got a wild group a few years ago and managed to spawn them a few times, and the current population is made up of those offspring. The eggs and fry were tiny. The first time I didn't even know I'd succeeded until a few days had passed and I saw some tiny slivers moving near the surface. The current generation is now nearing two years old though, so I'm getting ready to spawn them again. I've already seen them displaying and spawning in the main tank, so hopefully I can get them to do so in a more controlled/safer environment. Actually, if you want to try some really difficult fry, get some Elassoma okefenokee. Their tiny larval fry are some of the smallest I've seen, and laziest. I practically had to individually feed them with a pipette to get them to eat. I. werneri were kind of a pain too, with their tiny mouths, but at least they are active feeders, and I finally found a system with them that produced some good numbers of fish to adulthood.

Right now I'm trying to get my Poecilocharax weitzmani to spawn for me. If I succeed, that will be a big acheivement for me. I've had a group of about 20 weitzmani for almost two years now and have lots of beautiful males and females, but no spawns observed yet. I was recently told by Randy Carey that they may be a seasonal spawner. At this point they have to be nearing 3+ years old, so at least they aren't an annual fish, but I wonder how long I have to try. They don't appear to be reaching senescence. I'm trying a few things right now, so we'll see. But now I'm off-topic I guess, so I digress.

 

[Tom C]

Hmmm, that's interesting. I actually shoot with a nikon 18-200mm. I just can't seem to achieve the detail I'd like in pics of tiny subjects like the fry. I've been told consistently that this is due to the lens I use. Do you use a tripod Tom?......

No, I don't use a tripod. My camera has a shake reduction mechanism, though....

 

[Mike Wise]

No, I don't use a tripod. My camera has a shake reduction mechanism, though....

It think that with such magnified images a VR (Nikon) or IS (Canon) lens is as important as accurate focus. One of the advantages of Pentax & Sony digital SLRs is that the shake reduction is built into the camera body so any lens is stabilized. I recently bought a 20 year old malfunctioning Pentax camera for the lens (an SMC Pentax 35-70mm) for $40. The lens is auto focus/exposure and 1:2 close focusing. I'm really surprised how sharp and close this little, inexpensive, old lens actually is!