Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Nice work, Fredrik 🙂 Interesting to see the maro photo the fry. How did you go about raising them? In a separate tank or in with the parents? I ask because I have a new batch getting ready to go leave the nest and I’m thinking of putting them in separate container..
Hello Fredrik, and I add my welcome here too. Very nice paros photos – last one is interesting, surely you will get better photos and the experts here will give you the best possible ID. In any case keep them well and good luck breeding them!
DavidFantastic, Stephanie! Way to go 🙂 Very beautiful and healthy looking. Hope you are successful with them.
Helene – thanks for your comments and yes, it’s interesting to see how the male cares for the offspring – it’s the first I’ve ever observed, aided by the zoom lens of the camera and additional lighting. Unfortunately, I was not able to get any good still photographs due to the film canister being right up against the side wall of the aquarium and making it impossible to get a good photograph of the developing larvae – I could only get the less clear video, but it was enough to at least give some idea of the development and movement of the larvae. These are truly micro fishes and the help of camera photography makes them much more able to be appreciated for the beautiful and fascinating animals they are. I’ve moved the canister to a central location in the aquarium and perhaps I can get some good photos, should the pair choose to spawn in the canister again. For videos, I think a better video camera would be an improvement as well.
A video showing the development of P. nagyi larvae from the day of hatching out of the eggs until the day they all swam out of the nesting area – approximately 10-12 days. Conclusion: lowering the conductivity from ~70µS to below 50µS made a significant difference in the survival and development of the larvae. The female has laid ~15-20 eggs (clearly not 30 or more) each time – is this dependent upon age or diet and if any of these variables change will the number off eggs change? It remains to be seen. It looks as if 10 or more larvae were successfully raised to the free swimming stage and moved out into the growing space of ~30cm x 30cm x 20cm deep (thus my first confirmed successful spawning of a paro!) In the last segment of the video, the male is tending a reduced number of fry and by the afternoon, no more fry were observed in the nest area. I will check to see for the first signs of any surviving fry. I have good cultures of infusoria, microworms and artemia as foods. Water changes of 10-20% each week are done.
[quote=”Jonette” post=4920]Beautiful fish, wonderful pictures! Congratulations with the babies. I hope they thrive. 🙂
Jonette[/quote]
Thank you, Jonette and welcome to the forum, hopefully you will have your first Paros soon 🙂
[quote=”Bernd Bussler” post=4917]…Although I always wanted offspring and grow, but something I get even more rarely seen[/quote]
Thank you, Bernd 🙂 and yes, that something for me is the real beauty of these animals – so graceful and colorful – qualities that appear throughout much of life on this truly beautiful and miraculous planet.Here is an update – the pair spawned a second time (see previous photos above), a few larvae hatched out of the ~20 eggs, and fewer still developed further and I am not sure they became free-swimming as they disappeared after just a few days. The issue: I did not lower the conductivity below 70µS and this resulted in an unsuccessful development of fry. Having seen these results first hand, I made sure to lower the conductivity to a few point below 50µS. A third spawning took place, but this time in leaves and I could not witness the effect of better water parameters on the developing eggs and larvae.
With better conductivity maintained, a fourth spawning has just taken place, this time back in the canister and I was able to take some good photos of the courtship displays and spawning sequence, so I thought I would share them here.
The healthy male feeding
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/912/LM4Ws7.jpg[/IMG]The harmonious and beautiful pair.
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/iPEILV.jpg[/IMG]The female (with male nudging her from below in preparation for eventual spawning).
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/WGzeqg.jpg[/IMG]The female comes into spawning condition as evidenced by her change in color.
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/673/NYen9N.jpg[/IMG]The male courts the female with the the usual horizontal displays from below.
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/633/RihPuw.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/540/l2GS7H.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/8RPwDE.jpg[/IMG]
After the vigorous displays, the female became ready and the actual spawning commenced.
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/FyUsAf.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/910/HdRhxd.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/ZwZaAG.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/901/po6RgA.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/910/uUIStJ.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/qfZmzx.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/912/9HNEl3.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/citcSJ.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/909/ToojjE.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/QfHihX.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/901/PrzibH.jpg[/IMG]
The spawning complete, the female leaves the nest.
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/FTmISE.jpg[/IMG]After a few days, a much better hatch rate with the better conductivity. So it really does matter to get this parameter correct. Here the male tends the newly hatched larvae. Hopefully they will develop into free-swimming fry and live to grow.
https://youtu.be/yq87VxxMSyw[quote=”Little” post=4882]Interesting … P. anjunganensis showed up in the listing from the American importer this week also. It has been almost 2 years since I last saw them offered. I got 6 the last time and all turned out to be females. What are the odds??[/quote]
Bill, from what I have read, with anjunganesis, both males and females have color in the unpaired fins. This would probably make it more difficult for anyone to determine m/f differences when when the fish were settled in, but especially moreso, if the specimens were small and stressed. But sorry to hear you only got females. With the nagyi I ordered from WS, the “collector” (from the tanks) did a very good job and sent 3 pairs, but those fishes were of good size and m/f more easily determined. I’ve been waiting to see if WS lists on AB with a photo of the anjunganesis, but they have not yet.
Hi and welcome to the forum :). Here you will find most all the information you need to be successful with keeping and breeding paros. And, if you have specific questions, there are many, as you have seen, that will gladly share their experience and knowledge with you to help you along to success.
Yes, these nagyi came from Wetspot. The folks there do an exceptionally good job with customer service. Nice that you live near them and can visit in person! I live on the East Coast so must have them shipped.
In your other post you say you have A. anjunganensis – please tell us more about them – did you pick those up at Wetspot or another source, are the two you have a pair? If you are able to get some photos of your paros, you are always welcome to post them on this forum – it will help with ID and helping us in knowing what is actually available in the US trade. Sometimes WS don’t quite identify the paros they have completely accurately and it will help them out as well. Take a good look at all the information on care and breeding and, if you like, consider actively working to breed your paros. It would help fulfill the goals of the Parosphromenus Project for conserving these beautiful animals.
I don’t know how far you live from WS, but if it is convenient for your, perhaps you could go over and take a look at what paros they have in stock now – I think they list P. bintan. You could be our ‘paro scout’ for WS and let us know what you find out 😉 🙂
In any case, again welcome to the project and good luck with your paros and your studies!
David
Fantastic, Bernd!! Very gracious and generous of you – I would love to photograph them (breeding more uncertain…) 🙂
[quote=”Arno” post=4827]super photos – determined difficult and time-consuming work. Thank you David. :)[/quote]
Yes, Arno, but I really enjoy it so it does not feel too much like “work” 🙂 Thank you for your compliment.
As you have said it, Bernd ~ a very modest success so far.. 🙂
[IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/905/RLyqZa.jpg[/IMG]Well, it was actually I who ordered these fish offered through Aquabid. I knew it would be a risk, but in correspondence with the seller before buying, he said he collected the fish himself and showed photos of the fish swimming in his tanks at home – healthy and well cared for. He demonstrated a knowledge of paros, said he was keeping and breeding a few more species native to Malaysia and showed a keen interest in the proper care his fishes. He appeared to be honest, reasonable and straightforward. He assured the best of packing and with EMS shipping 3-5 days shipping time to USA – the same as a priority shipment within the US itself – many small delicate fishes can survive this no problem. Yet after making the buy, I had regrets about doing so, reading that rubrimonitis are rare and demanding to keep. I fully realized this was not a good move, but too late.
This fish shipped last Monday; with the July 4th holiday, the shipment took 7 days to arrive at my US post office – not too bad, no problem with Customs or the like – I had hope: I picked them up saving 24 hours time in transit. And, surprise when I opened the box – there were no fish in any of the bags!! Just bags, water – no fish, no sign of dead fish, nothing!
Most likely the seller did not send any fish?, and to my relief, I can say no fish were lost. I will accept the loss of money AND the lesson learned – I’ll never attempt the purchase of fish internationally without the use of a transhipper, as Bill has pointed out. However, even the use of a transhipper is not without problems, as I found out in a previous AB purchase of wild bettas from Indonesia via a US transhipper several years ago. Some transhippers are very reliable, in my experience, but those whom I have worked with successfully in the past will not handle paros, so I’m told, only larger bettas.
So – for US paro keepers it looks like Wetspot is a reliable source for paros, as well as US keepers who have obtained paros somehow and have managed to breed them and can ship locally or have them picked up – but these potential breeders are very, very few and far between, so it seems But there are a few and some distributions may be possible.
This was an experiment that had some potential for success, but it did not work out – it could be said it was a failure, but in actuality it was a success. I’ve learned the risk is too great when attempting an international deal with a private seller – too many variables or issues could arise that may or may not be understood or explainable. Many people do successfully use this method of purchase, but still, especially with paros, the risk is too great. And, it appears, no fish were actually sent or lost in the transaction.
This experiment is done.
