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I am delighted to report that I have managed to get my Paros to spawn for the first time. Last night I was able to observe the male guarding a good sized clutch of eggs on the roof of the film canister I had fixed to the wall of the 10L breeding tank (PH 5, tds 44, 24C).They are an inexperienced pair and although I had separated them from the holding tank 9 days ago, it was not until I moved the tank into a bedroom that they engaged in courtship behaviour. I think the first location of the tank was getting too much passing ‘traffic’ and the fish were too easily spooked.
I will try and get some photos soon to aid with positive species identification, but from what I was able to see of the male’s nuptial coloration his ventral fins are pale blue and his dorsal, caudal and anal fins are predominantly black fringed with two iridescent pale blue bars. I observed the head down courtship, but I did not see him fully extend his fins into the full (joined up) skirt one commonly sees in photos of Paros. The female’s stripes became less distinct and the darker bars became more orange/brown in colour. I regret I did not see the ‘sexy eyes’ display. (I need to spend more time in front of the tank, but I was fearful of putting them off!!).
There is a good covering of Oak, Beech and Catapa leaves (transferred from the main holding tank) on the floor, a large clump of Java Moss, some Java Fern, bogwood, alder cones and lots of Salvinia auriculata floating on the surface (I am hoping there is enough infusoria amongst that lot to sustain any larvae/fry over the first couple of days).
I am feeding artemia nauplii, daphnia and microworm, and changing 30% of the water every seven days. There is a small bubble filter in the tank.
I appreciate that there is a long way to go before I can celebrate a successful breeding, but it is hugely rewarding to have come this far, and reassuring to know that I have been able to maintain an environment whereby the fish have been successfully grown on and brought into breeding conditions. I am still very much a novice, but it is a thrilling learning curve!!
😉Congratulation Papa – we look forward to hearing more as the eggs hatch and the fry become free swimming. I assume the eggs were placed on the roof inside the cave?
Correct. They appeared to be nicely adhered to the roof on the INSIDE of the cave. Thanks for your encouragement Bill, it really is appreciated.
I decided to leave both parents in the tank, and there was at least one other spawn that i observed the male guarding. However, the water was so stained that i could barely see the fish at all. I was also getting worried about the mulm gathering amongst the leaves on the bottom of the tank, and although i was careful not to overfeed in such a small environment (10L) i was not confident that the clean up crew of a measly two snails was sufficient to stop the water from fowling. So after scouring the debris with a magnifying glass and torch, i decided the best thing was to do was to remove the adults for a rest (and to recondition them) and to carefully remove all the leaves and cones and siphon off the accumulated waste before performing a 50% water change. All the water that was removed from the tank was examined under bright light and magnification. To my surprise i discovered about eight free swimming fry all the size of two day old Nothobranchius killies! I have them all back in the tank now and i am desperately hoping that all the disturbance they have endured wont do them in, We’ll see…
I am both delighted that they’re there, and peeved that i did not adhere to the ‘give a spawn 20 days before you can be sure of success or otherwise’ protocol that is advocated on this site.Very pleased to report that i have four healthy and vigorous juveniles surviving from that first spawning. They are only about 1cm in length, and i very rarely see them. But they are there!! How big/old do they need to be before i can relocate them to my stock tank with their parents and other adult Paros? They are, it seems to me, already too big to be predated by their own kind and the only other potential threat would be from the Boraras and Sundadanio in the same tank. i would be grateful for the guidance of more experienced hands 🙂
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