Nigerian Red - Reluctant Males

[TankWatcher]

For quite some time I have had 2 Nigerian red males and one female. One male had been in the community tank & for several months I had the remaining pair on their own in another tank. The male was quite aggressive to the female (not to the point where I felt she was in danger) but he would do nothing other than chase her away. She was sometimes quite brave & came to him, doing her shimmy shake dance in front of him and his only reaction was to chase her away. The female spent most of her time trying to keep out of his way, inter spaced with her attempts to tempt him.

On 28.12.06, I banished this male to the community tank & have moved the 2nd male in with the female to see if he was more romantically inclined. Peace reigns between the new pair and they are nearly always together. She shimmy's & shakes but once again, this male also does not appear interested in mating. At least he does not chase her away, so I assume at least, she should be happier than with her previous male.

The tank gets a 50% water change each week, is planted and the only other occupants are 2 otos.

Why haven't either of my males wanted to mate with the female & what could I try to change things. I'd love some fry in the tank. http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l128/TankWatcher/maleswapped28.jpg

 

[aquaticclarity]

TankWatcher

How big is the tank that you keep the “pair†in?

If it has a footprint of at least 24â€Âx12†and plenty of hiding places, ants, wood, and several caves, I would try rearranging some of the hard structure in the tank and putting all three fish in together. Most likely you will get a better pair bond this way and the new couple can but some energy into banishing the odd man out. A few dither fish over head would also be an added bonus but not absolutely necessary. The teaming up against an outsider of the same species seems to be one of the best and most consistent ways to help bump a fish into pairing up and actually spawning. Allowing the pair to actually destroy the third fish often makes for an extremely well bonded pair down the road.

By the way, what are your water parameters…pH, tds (ppm if need be), and temp? And what type(s) of food are you offering the kribs?

Jeff

 

[tjudy]

I concur with Jeff. If you are hesitant to offer up a valuable P. taeniatus to a developing pair, I suggest getting a few female P. pulcher and putting them in as the sacrificial lambs. Female kribs usually respond more aggressively to other female kribs anyway. You can also cut back on the size of your water changes... say down to about 20%. When the female is ready to spawn (and your image shows a gravid female) you will see her vent swell. When you see that do a 30-50% water change with R/O water if you have it, if not used aged water, that is a littel coolor than the tank water. That will sometimes trigger the spawn as well.

My experiene with P. taeniatus is that once the pair starts to spawn you will not have any problems keeping them going. The Nigerian form seems to be very prolific, but I do not know about the red variety as that is a tank strain. I assume they are just as prolific as the wild fish.

 

[TankWatcher]

Thanks aquaticclarity & tjudy for the advice.

if it has a footprint of at least 24â€Âx12†and plenty of hiding places, plants, wood, and several caves

It is a little smaller (20" x 13") but has all the other criteria. I originally did put all 3 together, but I'm not prepared to sacrifice any of the Nigerian reds (they're hard to find in Aus - not common at all). I had to rescue the more peaceful male very quickly. The aggressive male (who is now banished to the community tank) would have killed the other male in very short order - without any help from the female. Not only that, he was very aggressive towards the female - although I didn't fear for her life as he only chased until she retreated.

I'll look for a small sacrificial krib female - although I struggle with my conscience on that concept. Most female kribs I've seen are much bigger than my Nigerian red female (she is quite small - half the size of her male). I won't add a female krib unless I'm sure she couldn't kill my female, as I'm not prepared to risk her. She is my current favourite fish and in all probability, I would struggle to replace her, if she lost the battle.

I'll try a few dither fish & see how that goes - maybe some pencil fish?

what are your water parameters…pH, tds (ppm if need be), and temp?

I was surprised to find my pH is 7. The tank has ADA soil, which was meant to keep the pH low. Maybe the pH is the problem? I don't like yellow water - but would peat in the filter help? I don't know what tds is? My temp is 25C (77 F). kH is 2dKH.

what type(s) of food are you offering the kribs

Their main diet is spectrum, but once a week live brine shrimp. I also sometimes offer hikari frozen foods (daphnia, brine shrimp & blood worm).

I'll try the suggestions about the changes to the water change routine.

you will see her vent swell.

Excuse my ignorance. Is her vent in front of her anus (or exactly where should I be looking for this).

Thanks for all your advice.

 

[tjudy]

The vent is the area just in fornt of the anus, but they are so close together that you woudl be distinguish them... but that is the area that swells. Here is a picture: