tuba and company

[Willem Heijns]

Unfortunately he kept the fry right below the feeding hatch. So at feedingtime everyone was trying to grab a bit of Krill and apparently picked up the flaveolus fry in the act. Maybe he'll try again....


The centrarchus pair is trying agin. This time they spawned on the side glass of the tank. I hope they find a better place for the larvae....

[Willem Heijns]

The centrarchus eggs have hatched. The parents hung the larvae at the back of a chunk of bogwood. Seems they're doing OK. Fingers crossed....

[Willem Heijns]

The centrarchus pair is still hanging in there. Will they finally get them to the freeswimming stage?

[Lisachromis]

We need some new pics Willem.

Ok... maybe "I" would just like some...

[Willem Heijns]

I'll try Lisa.
But yes: the centrarchus fry are freeswimming. I have had to wait for this for 8 (eight!) years. Who wants some Archocentrus centrarchus bred from wild stock?


pick-up only.....

[Sandman]

Can you update us on your Tuba Tank ? Of course Pics would be very nice

[Willem Heijns]

So summer is the silent season after all. Nothing much happening in this tank. Regular breeds of Amphilophus flaveolus are not exciting news items anymore. Archocentrus centrarchus keeps on trying, too. I managed to save some fry of one of the earlier spawns. A good friend is raising these now. Astatheros rostratus is still refusing to spawn. The pair is now over 8 years old (and in my possession). What am I doing wrong?

The female Tomocichla tuba has had a light form of fungual infection between her teeth for a long time. I have tried to treat it with salt but that only seems to work for a short while. It keeps on coming back. Anyone have any ideas?

[Bas Pels]

Astatheros rostratus is still refusing to spawn. The pair is now over 8 years old (and in my possession). What am I doing wrong?

Wrong is a harsh word, but I keep my A rostratus in a group, and I think this is something they respond very well to: not all MA cichlids (frankly, I think most of them) are best kept in a pair. However, quite a lot of the species grow too large to keep them in a school, but a small group quite often helps

Still, A rostratus does not grow too large - I now have 7 in my 4 * 1 meter (footprint) tank - only 7, because that is all I have, the tank could easily house twice that much

[Willem Heijns]

Sometimes you just get lucky.

I changed the inhabitants of this tank once again. I found Amphilophus flaveolus (two pairs and a surplus male) to become too dominant. Also I promised a club in the UK to bring them to auction next October. So I decided to move them to another tank. In their place five juvenile Amphilophus labiatus entered the tuba environment. At first the biggest of them (a male of course) took the cave of one of the flaveolus pairs and defended that against intruders. He failed to seduce one of the females though.
Then the tuba male decided that it was enough. He took up his breeding colours and chased the labiatus male from the cave. Right now he is trying to persuade his mate to follow him in the cave. She is responding well and also starting to show her breeding colours. Will I have young tuba once more?

Anyway, lesson learnt is that pressure from other cichlids (even if there is enough space and no fighting) can prevent delicate species (like Tomocichla tuba) from breeding.

[Dan Woodland]

T. tuba is definitely a fish that needs to be circulated in the hobby!

I assume other fishes have bred in that same T. tuba tank? I usually use an easily bred Cichlid like a Cryptoheros or similar sp. to get other more difficult species to breed. I try to choose something that is not overly aggressive but doesn’t back down to easily too. My theory is that hormones are the trigger. So far it's worked several times for me.

Good luck, I hope they pop soon

[Rick Thibert]

Willem,

Have you any progress to report on the T. tuba. Are they still claiming the old A. flaveolos cave as their own? Have they gone off the boil for a perspective spawn? Any more interesting behavior since?

BTW, thank you for donating the 2 large pairs of A. flaveolus to the East Anglia Cichlid Group. I will be going to the new keepers house this week and intend to photograph them as they are first and only timers here in the UK! Your presentation on your "Cichlidarium" was fantastic!

Rick

[Willem Heijns]

No progress on the tuba. After removing the flaveolus I added five juvenile labiatus to the tank. But at 4-5" these fish already breed! So now I have tuba chased by the pair of labiatus, which apparantly have very good broodcare. They have been tending for their fry for over four weeks now.

[Rick Thibert]

Archocentrus centrarchus hangs its larvae on plants and other objects instead of putting them in a pit. My pair tried to hang the larvae on the front glass, which of course didn't work. Subsequently they lost the fry. I hope they will be more clever next time.

Willem, I had a pair hang their larvae on the glass. The single most interesting cichlid to watch with eggs/larvae/fry:
The Centrarchus plastering their fry along the side of the tank:




Another brood:
I've observed something for a first time.........
.............. the fry that have hatched, just the one or two thus far......... are hovering around 10mm, no more, below the rest of the eggs that haven't hatched. I remember seeing pictures of this species hanging their fry from plants, so it's kind of neat to watch. The mother picks up any stragglers and rather than putting them in a predug pit, she's spitting them back up where the eggs are............. I tried to capture it in pictures, but not very well unfortunately.

(Top center of photo) Notice two hatched wigglers hanging below the wood:

One this time top center'ish:

And another to show it's holding it's still holding it' position:

Female spitting newly hatched back at the clutch of eggs:

Female gathering a suspended wiggler:

[Rick Thibert]

This photo was from a later brood, but very interesting "strings"??!!



Note how the wigglers appear to hang from the rest of the clutch as if on a string

[Willem Heijns]

The Red Devils are guarding their next batch of fry. Their broodcare is really unbelievable. I'm afraid this time they will raise their young straight into independence. That would mean another hundred or so Red Devils in the tank. Almost impossible to catch. And tuba still suffering......

[Dean Hougen]

I'd start putting baited traps in the tank for the fry.


Dean

[Willem Heijns]

The Red Devil fry didn't make it after all. But with the last few still around the pair decided to try again. A new clutch of eggs was deposited on one of the rocks. This time I decided to intervene and I removed the eggs. Now the female is wondering what happened. I only hope tuba will take its chance before too long.....

Interesting note: the one and only left over young of the tuba spawn is reaching sexual adulthood. Every once in a while it is showing breeding coloration, despite the fact that it is only half the size of the male (its father). And I don't even know if it is male or female. I guess I'll have to wait and see which one of its parents will be the most attractive.

[Rick Thibert]

Willem,

I find T. tuba a bit agressive, but I've only had an adult pair, not raising them myself. How are these as fry, juvenile, sub-adults temperment wise?

Rick

[Willem Heijns]

As a riverine species Tomocichla tuba is a fast swimmer. That is easily confused with agressive behaviour. I find them rather peaceful, except when mating. But that is only intraspecific.

Another batch of eggs removed from the Amphilophus labiatus pair. And the only left over Archocentrus centrarchus female is dying. Not too surprising though considering she reached the age of nine years.

[Rick Thibert]

Willem,

Good Evening!

Any updates on this tank?? Are the tuba still likely to spawn without the flaveolus present?

Rick