Heros efasciatus breeding??

[vealboy]

I'm looking for information on breeding Heros efasciatus. Can anyone direct me to a good source of information?? I never intended to breed them, but their behavior tells me that I should expect fry soon.

[Kyle May]

What type of behavior are you seeing?
How many fish are in your group?
How big is your tank?
What temp is your water?


Kyle

[vealboy]

What type of behavior are you seeing?
How many fish are in your group?
How big is your tank?
What temp is your water?


Kyle

Kyle thanks for your response.

I have one fish that has staked a territory on the left side of my 55 gal tank, I believe it is female. Her pelvic and anal fins have changed color from a reddish orange to a bright yellow. She has chased the others (5 others) to the right side of the tank and then she returns to the left side, facing away from the rest. Occassionally she will swim to the righ side of the tank and engage another fish in a lip lock. Water temp is 77.5 to 80. She has even come after my hand in the tank when I try to clear debris from the wave maker.

She has been acting like this for about 2 weeks, here is her pic:

[Kyle May]

Yup...she's exhibiting mating behavior.
The fish she's lip-locking with should be her male.
Hopefully you'll get some action soon.

km

[vealboy]

Yup...she's exhibiting mating behavior.
The fish she's lip-locking with should be her male.
Hopefully you'll get some action soon.

km

I don't think she is very particular, I see her locking up with more than one of the males. I was reading somewhere that once they pair, they both tend to the fry, and keep others away. Should the mating pair and or fry be removed from the community tank??

[Kyle May]

Depends what's in their with them.
If you have more aggressive fish than efasciatus, then I'd remove the more aggressive tank mates, not the breeders.
If you are new to spawning bigger fish, remember to keep a close eye on them. Riverine fish can't run away if the males
get too aggressive, so you should have a plan in place to separate these if the female is getting too beat up.
Making sure to have a sturdy divider handy can save the day.

See the last bulletin for an article I wrote on how to make a cheap and effective divider for tanks with big fish.

Good luck.

km