Spawning behavior

[Cubeology]

Well here I am again asking beginner questions.

I've had my pair of cacatuoides for just a little over three weeks and now she is bright yellow and has found a little space, I think she dug out herself under a piece of driftwood, so small she barely fits into it. It is under an overhang but she's gone further and is actually has a burrow under the wood itself. She rarely leaves this space and when she does it is only for a short moment and she rushes back to it.

Obviously this is some stage in the mating dance, I just don't know exactly where. The day before she was her normal plain self, so not too much could have happened yet, could it? They were following each other around earlier but I'm not sure who was leading and who was following.

Is there anything I should be doing? I don't even want to do anything to disturb them. Will I bother them if I change the water and clean the glass? Is there anything I should have ready in case there are fry? I have ordered a culture of microworms, coincidentally, that should be here Monday. Will the smallest fry eat them or will I need to acquire and figure out BBS; never messed with them before. Of course if she laid eggs in that itty bitty hole she's been going into the male will never fit in there to inseminate them.

Whatever happens, I just excited to see them doing their thing.

 

[Mike Wise]

Based on the female's behavior, she has eggs. The male doesn't need to get into the breeding cave to fertilize the eggs. Both microworms and BBS are eagerly eaten my new fry once they become freeswimming (about a week after spawning). I do regular tank maintenance. Just don't vacuum the substrate and avoid disturbing the area around the breeding cave. Good luck!

 

[Cubeology]

I guess whatever was going on went wrong because she's pretty much back to her old color and not interested in that cave anymore. He's also being a bit of a bully. It seems to have occurred right after I did a WC, although that may be coincidental.