Wierd Inka behaviour

[tleehm]

Recently the Inka female had a second batch of egg, but I wasn't able to move the growing fry off so the newly born got eaten by their brothers and sisters (not nice).

Anyway, I've removed the fry soon after (though it's too late already) and the female started to act strangely. She has started to collect air bubble from a leak in the sponge filter and place them in the pot to create a "gas chamber". Have you seen or head of such behaviour before?

I think repairing the air leak in the filter is the only way to stop her from doing it again.

Here's a picture of her achievement.

Please comment.

Thanks,
Thomas.

 

[blueblue]

It is very interesting and strange.
i have not observed this strange behaviour in apistos before.

By the way, i remember some friends in Hong Kong have the experience that
the female apistos try to lay eggs inside the flask near the place with air bubbles!! Would that be related?

 

[Mike Wise]

It is possible that she is mistaking the air bubbles for missing eggs/fry - in the same manner that some females guard daphnia.

 

[tleehm]

Thanks guys.

I've tried to stop her by fixing the leak in the sponge filter and release the air from the pot yesterday evening. This morning, she has managed to restore the pot to the way it was in the photo - and has been collecting air directly from the water surface.

She does not collect BBS, so guess she's psychologically not in a bad state yet.

I think she needs a holiday to get over the drama of loosing the newly hatched

Thomas.

 

[jose_vogel]

I agree with Mike Wise.

I saw females of trifasciata and borellii guarding and trying to group daphnia and the bubbles incident reminds me that behaviour.

 

[tleehm]

Bad idea

I return one of the fry back with her to try and get her settled. At first she got excited, got close and ...... snap....

I've seen her done this before, but she always release them back out. This time - she CHEWED it up.

Oh well - a real bad idea indeed (fortunately still got 60 odd fry left ).

Thomas.