My A. agassizii

[beleg]

Hello Volkan,

Here is the image you requested. Unfortunately this guy is even more shy than the pair, and runs away as soon as it sees the camera.. A typical behavior for my agas until now.. Still need to train them that the camera means no harm. :biggrin:

Meanwhile let me give an update about the breeding pair. The pair still live quite happily tolerating each other very well. I removed the neon , changed %25 of the tanks water (pH6.9 now as the lights turned off) and made some physical changes to the tanks layout removing some plants that needed brighter light. I also adjusted the driftwood which the female kept laying her eggs in a fashion that she probably wont like to use it anymore. She now keeps entering the coconut shell which is i assume where she will lay her eggs next time. Attached below are the images of the tanks new layout and the pair behind the coconut shell. I turned the entrance of the shell towards the driftwood to make the female feel more secure and for easy access to Java moss;

 

[beleg]

I have a question. The female has been in the brood colors since her last unsuccessful breeding attempt. Is that normal? Before she used to change to ordinary colors a day after breeding. Now most of the time she swims in the tank bright yellow with a black spot. The male never chases her any more. She shows him her belly when he is close but they don't fight.

Is this normal?

 

[Mike Wise]

This is normal for the domiant, sexually mature female in a tank. It seems that the 2 fish have accepted each other as suitable partners.

 

[beleg]

When i came home i saw that she laid eggs n the Terracotta pot on the left of the tank (hidden behind plants). She was showing her belly to the male whenever he was close but never chase him away or bite him.. I caught him and put him in a fry net. I hope that will make the matters easier.

 

[wasabi8888]

Any update on the spawn?

I have been following this.. have a male aga that may be rather similar in nature.. suspected that it's sterile after 4 failed attempts to breed (4 females)...

 

[beleg]

My last attempt also failed. I had separated the male from the female but she ate them although she was alone.

So i switched the males.. But the new male is quite aggressive one her. They still need time.

 

[beleg]

The female stops caring for her eggs always at the 3rd day. Can this mean the eggs hatch and she eats the wigglers?

I will give one last try with the new male aga and if i fail again then will try to take her eggs after 2 days. Is this a good idea?

 

[beleg]

I have contacted some Silica Sand factories and will be getting cream color silica (which it seems is the most available here) sand for much cheaper than pet shops.

Which size should i go for ? I use eheim cannister in my tank and if i get too small it might get sucked in i am afraid. Is 2mm ok? Should i go for 1 mm?

The chemical build of silica sand looks scary to me.. It has high AL2O2 (%0.5) and Iron (%0.4) levels.. Is this really safe?

 

[beleg]

The male i separated has a problem. His mouth seems to have come out. there is a red dot in the place her lips connect to the skull and the upper lip seems to have come out. He shows no interest to food. He doesn't even swim. Just stays in a point and doesn't move from there unless scared by a fish or movement.

What can cause such thing , since i never experienced something like this before. Fish in the main tank are all healthy.. I'll try to take his picture.

 

[Mike Wise]

Which size should i go for ? I use eheim cannister in my tank and if i get too small it might get sucked in i am afraid. Is 2mm ok? Should i go for 1 mm?

The chemical build of silica sand looks scary to me.. It has high AL2O2 (%0.5) and Iron (%0.4) levels.. Is this really safe?

I have used 2 mm sand in my tanks for more than 25 years. It should work well. I would not worry about the alumina or iron. Both are not highly soluable in water - particularly if you do weekly water changes.

 

[beleg]

Thanks Mike.

Meanwhile i have separated the sick male to a separate floating cup (2lt) in the main tank and dosed with Sea Omnipur A. It is supposed to have wide spectrum. I'll see if it helps.

 

[beleg]

Updates;

I have cured camallanus problem in my pair. The female has spawned 1 day after she got rid of her worms.. She has been extremely nervous with her new partner and always swims backwards to him with fins closed gills opened. After some not so dangerous bites she sends him away. She doesn't even think about eating worms when he is close, very nervous. Then again on the 3rd day she ate her eggs/fry.

This time i will try to remove the male as soon as they lay eggs. I don't have another tank for him though, is it a problem if i make him float in a 2l cup filled 1.5l cup with air stone and daily complete water changes. I can even put some small wood and floating plants to make him feel safe.

Another option is to separate the eggs after 2 days since she always eats them on the 3rd day.

Inputs appreciated.

 

[Mike Wise]

Can you put a partition in the breeding tank? Give the male 1/3 & the female 2/3. I do this was some species. I even had my Blue-line agassizii male fertilize eggs that the female laid on the other side of the partition!

 

[beleg]

I can try this.. Maybe should make a screen from mosquito net. I have a glass separator but i used that for larger fish.

Can overhead sheets (cellulose acetate?) be used for dividing tanks? The one we used to use to print presentations before the age of computers Its cheaper than acrylic and i don't have means to cut it.

 

[Mike Wise]

In the USA they make a flexible plastic mesh for needlepoint crafts that is inexpensive and comes in various sizes. It can be easily cut with scissors. Otherwise you might try fiberglass windowscreen material.

 

[beleg]

Update:

pH stable around 6.3 , KH < 2 after peat filtering and adding another coconut (2 caves). Water is brownish which i enjoy and don't complain. I hope the fish don't complain as well.. I didn't boil the coconuts.. Just cleaned them throughly of the meat inside. I hope thats ok.

I am still making a net to divide the tank. Hopefully will be ready before the fish spawn (any day now).

 

[beleg]

I have wigglers. I separated the eggs from the female. Turned the coconut upside down and put in a fry net. Been aerating it since then. The eggs started to hatch today. She laid like 40+ eggs and only 5 or so are lost to fungus.

Comparing with agassizzi eggs pictures on net, the eggs were more pinkish than red. I even thought they were not fertilized. What causes the eggs to be pinkish rather than red?

I need to make an incubator now.

 

[blueblue]

beleg: Congratulations!!

For the colour of eggs, essentially, it is species-specific and diet-related.
(for diplo and t. candidi, the eggs are always pale (white to yellow to mild pink)). For aggie, they are always pink to red. Observe that no matter the eggs are fertilized or not, they will appear like that (while ANY unfertilized eggs that have got some fungi on them will turn white with a lot of "hairs")

 

[beleg]

Cool. I was disappointed again when i compared your German gold aga. eggs colors.. I thought mine were not fertilized. Maybe the color of the eggs got something to do with the amount of red carotene the mother is fed.. i.e bbs

 

[Mike Wise]

You are right, beleg, it depends on diet, too. I once had a very large spawn from an old pair that were in an "old age home". I did not expect them to breed, so they were fed mostly dry foods. The eggs were grey-white - and viable! I got over 60 fry to freeswimming.