pelvicachromis Taeniatus Moliwe

[Christople]

Hi all, I have a few questions regarding my moliwe. I bought a pair but they don't seem to be paired. My lfs doesn't sell just moliwe females but does sell just nigerian red females. would the moliwe pair with the nigerians if I can't get more nigerians

 

[tjudy]

They will cross, but that is not something we like to see happen. The fish are very different, and in a few months a paper will be published that will likely separate the Cameroon populations (including Moliwe) and the Nigerian populations into different species. They were originally described as different species, but were lumped in the 1960's. Breeding them together would create hybrids.

How old/large are the fish? If the female is less than 2cm and the male less than 5 cm, they are probably too young. If they are adults, there are a few things you can try to get them to form a pair. First, I would separate them for a few weeks. Keep the female in the tank where the pair will be bred. That will let her own the space, and when the male is reintroduced she may be more comfortable. Second, while they are separated pick up the water changes to at least one 50% change per week. Increase feeding and add a little more protein to the female's diet. This should condition her to spawn. Third, if they do not set up shop to spawn right away after reintroducing the male, add a female P. pulcher to the tank. They will see her as a territorial threat and team up to defend their space against her. THis may trigger the pair bonding you are looking for.

If the store can get you pairs of the Nigerian forms... they are well worth keeping in their own right.

 

[wethumbs]

I would also discourage you from crossing the 'Moliwe' with the 'Nigerian Red'. The end result is will be a fish that does not look like a 'Moliwe' or 'Nigerian Red'. I am not sure what to call that fish...maybe 'Moligerian Red'.

 

[Christople]

Okay I know that 10 gallons is too small for a pair but thats the best I could do to separate them and I'd just put the female in there... And I could get nigerian reds but not for that price... either 35 or so for a never before pair that has seen each other. or a tank where some of the pair are already nesting... I could buy more moliwe females because I just found out they don't form monogamous pairs... so I could keep three or two females... and I wouldn't keep the female in the ten gallon for more than 2 weeks, and it is going to be very heavily planted (doing a dry start)

 

[Christople]

also the male has a kinda concave stomach area

 

[tjudy]

Moliwe will form a monogomous pair for each spawn, and while the pair is spawning the other females in the tank will be chased away (or worse). I keep a male and three females in a 33-gallon 'long' aquarium that has a foot print of 48" x 13". I also have a lot of cover and structure for the non-spawning females to hide in, and keep four breeding caves as distant as possible and out of line-of-sight from each other. I have had this colony for about 8 months, and so far the male has spawned with one specific female 5 times and one of the other two only once.

The only Pelvicachromis that have truly 'harem' spawned (male with multiple females at the same time so that two females have fry at the same time) was P. sacrimontis. But I think that was a fluke. Once the fry were free swimming the whole pair-bonding relationships went to pot and neither female was successful in raising fry. I have a colony of P. sacrimontis now with 1 male and four females, but only one female is dominant and the others stay in the top of a floating mass of plants. However, I think that their presence in the tank makes the breeding pair better defenders and breeders.

 

[Christople]

okay so if the male doesn't like this female he won't ever pair up with her

 

[tjudy]

'Like' is a human emotion that I doubt is a part of a fish's psyche. If a male and female are not pairing, then there is something that is keeping them from going into breeding mode. You mention that the male has a sunken belly? Does he show his lateral line stripe a lot? He may be under stress of some sort. Maybe an internal parasite if he has not gained weight.

I have experienced males and females that were reluctant to pair up, and it has always occurred when I only had one of each sex in the tank. By separating them for a while and getting them into really good spawning condition, they formed a pair when reintroduced to each other.

 

[Christople]

it was the food... I guess he just wasn't eating.And I will separate them as soon as my dry start is done... then follow your steps... could you recommend a high protein food... Actually it is still concave but he swims acts and eats like all my other experiences with the pelvicachromis family. I don't think he has a parasite

 

[tjudy]

Pelvicachromis are primarily plant detritovours, and high protein as a primary diet is not good for them. That being said, increasing protein as part of a conditioning process is important. I use live food as a protein supplement. All the fish in my fish room get at least some baby brine everyday. When I am conditioning Pelvicachromis I will add daphnia and grindal worms. If live food is not an option, I would go with frozen or freeze dried blood worm, mysis (chopped), daphnia or mosquito larvae. If flake foods are the only option, try a brine shrimp flake mixed with vegetable and spirulina flake. My flake mix for everyday feeding is 30% veggie, 30% spirulina and 40% 'community tropical' (which is a mix of several things itself). When I am trying to condition females to produce eggs, I substitute the community tropical with earthworm flake (great stuff... not easy to find, but ZooMed has a good one now, and so does Brine Shrimp Plus) or brine shrimp flake. Brine Shrimp Direct also has some HUFA-enriched flake that I may try. I suspect that the dietary component our flake foods are most deficient in is fats.

 

[Christople]

I feed sometimes live and all the time frozen and I feed live brine or worms if I can get my hands on some. So what about the concave stomach thing... I don't think he is sick by his actions... also he is starting to accept the female by not chasing her away as much

 

[tjudy]

Is he a wild fish? How long have you had him?

 

[Christople]

he is a tank bred and I've had him for 3 or 4 dats now

 

[Christople]

days... sorry my bad

 

[tjudy]

He is still getting used to his new surroundings. I am a little concerned that a tank-bred fish is coming to you thin, however, because that is a sign of malnutrition. IF the fish came from a store, you can probably blame the stress of transport, change of environment and probably not being fed at all in the wholesaler's tanks. When we get fish over here that were produced commercially in Europe, they are usually is almost as bad a shape as wild fish. I have gotten just as many parasite-infested fish from European wholesalers as I have from wild fish.

 

[Christople]

the fish store I bought them from had a pair that bred while waiting to be bought and they kept the babies and no I have a pair of them... he is eating now and swimming all over

 

[tjudy]

Sounds like he is doing better.

 

[Christople]

yeah he is.

 

[tjudy]

Funny.... after saying that I have not seen two females of Moliwe spawn at the same time, in the same tank and with the same male... it is about to happen in my group! I posted a video showing what is happening on my blog: www.tedsfishroom.com