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You guys might like this vid (breeding)

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
where do you get the live bloodworms?
Where ever you are in the world you can grow your own "Bloodworms", they are the larvae of non-biting Chironomid midges, and these occur in all the continents, other than Antartica.

I (in the UK) use plastic builders buckets, filled with rain-water and then 1/4 filled with a good layer of dead leaves. I float a cork on top as the females need a perch to lay their eggs from. I place the bucket in 1/2 shade and it will produce both blood-worms and mosquito larvae, I usually add some Daphnia as well.

We don't have West Nile Disease or Malaria in the UK, but these may be a hazard in other regions.

The bloodworms form tubes in the leaf layer, and you can collect then with a coarse net.

cheers Darrel
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
I never came across any mention that the males blow streams onto the females belly.

This is a common part of courtship - as described by Koslowski (2002) in the chapter on "Ethologie". This is part of the lateral display where the fish test their strength by 'flashing' currents of water at each other.
 

Borelliiguy

Member
Messages
52
This is a common part of courtship - as described by Koslowski (2002) in the chapter on "Ethologie". This is part of the lateral display where the fish test their strength by 'flashing' currents of water at each other.

This is true!

But I was talking about the male stimulating the female by shooting streams of water "from his mouth" onto her stomach. He'd swim beneath her and do this! Never came across anything that suggested this. Link me if you have some reference to that particular aspect of courtship.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
To be honest, I've never seen this behavior reported. Did you catch it on video? Apisto courtship is so fast that it's easy to miss things that occur. On another note, where did you get the wild color form of the Honey Dwarf Gourami? All I ever see is the cr@ppy domestic "sunset" form. I've been looking in stores in Denver for it for years!
 

gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
The navel-gazing scene in Borelliguy's video is around 3:30 to 4:30. I wonder if he does that to sniff for some hormonal cue that she's ready?

Re wild-type honey gouramis, I haven't seen them for many years in NC fish stores either, but Mark Denaro in PA gets wild imports fairly often.
I guess the major farms are just growing the red/gold domestic varieties now. To me it's not a honey without the black face and chest.
 

sasikan

Member
Messages
195
Location
edmundston new-brunswick canada
i bought the same honey gouramis last month in a local pet shop. chocolate throat chest and yellow body, females are grey with a black line running true the body. they might be importing them more now because i had not seen them for years
 

Borelliiguy

Member
Messages
52
To be honest, I've never seen this behavior reported. Did you catch it on video? Apisto courtship is so fast that it's easy to miss things that occur. On another note, where did you get the wild color form of the Honey Dwarf Gourami? All I ever see is the cr@ppy domestic "sunset" form. I've been looking in stores in Denver for it for years!

I didn't notice it until they were over some loose java moss. He would blow the stream and the moss would be stuck to her body, drop, and then be stuck again if that makes sense. I never picked it up on film but it was without question what was going on. I left the moss patch in there for several days and every time she swam over that area you could see why he spent so much time swimming beneath her.

I think the problem is that although from the same species apistos have different methods of courtship. If you read blogs/books/and sites they (in my opinion) use a one size fits all apisto breeding write ups which are usually based on the more common cac.

The borelli courtship was 90% "stomach blowing" and 10 flaring.
 

arodg12

New Member
Messages
29
Location
Dayton, Ohio
Thanks for documenting that man. That looks like a great set up and congrats on the fry man. That was some interesting behavior!! But pretty fish, great color and very well planted. Good show.

Corey
 

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