Laetacara curviceps surprise

[RCYates]

Hi

First, an introduction: my name is Ryan, and I'm from South Africa.

Now for the question:

Last week I happened to find a pair of sheepshead acaras at my LFS. The owner told me that they had actually spawned in the display tank a few times, so I bought them then and there.

I was hoping to have a bit more time before getting them though, they're very rare in South Africa, and at the moment the only tank I have cycled and ready is my 15 gallon 2 foot which already has 4 cories, 5 black neons, a male betta, and a very young ancistrus (about 4 cm long). I know its overstocked, especially since the flags are in there too now. I have another 15 gallon which is nearly ready for fish, and a 30 gallon which will be a while still.

Today the flags decided to spawn, much to my surprise. At the moment they're taking turns fanning the eggs and chasing off anything that comes into their half of the tank, except the betta.

So my actual question is this: What should I do?! I have cycled media ready for the second 15 gal (I'm just waiting for it to clear up, i'm using river sand as substrate), so that should be ready for fish by tomorrow.

Sorry about the long post, from the other posts I've read I'm sure someone will have some good advice.

TIA
Ryan

 

[Chris(wildcaught!)]

Hi Ryan!

I would try to move the cories, the ancistrus and the betta to the new tank. The problem with keeping the cories and ancistrus in the old tank is that they probably will try to eat the eggs.

But I would only do this if they are easy to catch, otherwise the Laetacara curviceps parents might be disturbed and the eat the eggs themselves. So it depends on your tank setup (heavily planted, etc.)

You could keep the neon tetras in the tank, then the parents will have something to guard the fry against. Feed the fry with newly hatched Artemia as soon as they are freeswimming.

Otherwise don't panic, if it fails this time they will surely spawn again.
Best of luck.

Regards / Chris

 

[RCYates]

Thanks for the advice Chris.

I was also thinking about removing the bottom feeders, but I really doubt whether I'd be able to catch them easily with a net. The thing is that the parents have been doing a very good job of guarding the eggs so far, and the other fish have displayed very little interest in them. I think I'll just let nature take its course for the mean time.

More questions:

The male does seem to be getting slightly aggressive with the female. He stays right next to the eggs fanning them, whilst the female hides nearby. Is she just feeling weaker because of the spawn, or is this normal?

Thanks again
Ryan

 

[fishgeek]

tank divider, i find that certain tetra's are much better predators than cory's

though in my experience they tend to wait for the fry to start spreading out then just pick them off pretty effectively
my worst have been neon's and rummy nose's

andrew

 

[RCYates]

A sad day

Thanks for the suggestion Andrew, it worked really well.

I made the divider from 2mm perspex with many drilled holes (including one that got away and hit my oregon pine floor...). Unfortunately, on Friday last week I had a filter mishap which caused a nitrite spike (went up to 0.5 ppm), to which all the fry succumbed. The parents also took some strain, but they're ok now. I did a few very large water changes, and all is back to normal. I also moved the parents to the tank I was planning on keeping them in (a 15 gallon with river sand as substrate).

The thing is, now they're extremely shy. They've been in the tank for about 4 days, and they'll only come out if the room is dark and quiet. I haven't seen them eat much either.

My questions:
Would some kind of dither fish make them feel any more at ease?

If so, what fish work well as dithers? Would a few otocinclus (maybe 3) work?

TIA
Ryan.

 

[cdawson]

Thanks for the suggestion Andrew, it worked really well.

I made the divider from 2mm perspex with many drilled holes (including one that got away and hit my oregon pine floor...). Unfortunately, on Friday last week I had a filter mishap which caused a nitrite spike (went up to 0.5 ppm), to which all the fry succumbed. The parents also took some strain, but they're ok now. I did a few very large water changes, and all is back to normal. I also moved the parents to the tank I was planning on keeping them in (a 15 gallon with river sand as substrate).

The thing is, now they're extremely shy. They've been in the tank for about 4 days, and they'll only come out if the room is dark and quiet. I haven't seen them eat much either.

My questions:
Would some kind of dither fish make them feel any more at ease?

If so, what fish work well as dithers? Would a few otocinclus (maybe 3) work?

TIA
Ryan.

Pencilfish as a dither is best, they don't bother fry. Otos should be ok as well.