Etroplus maculatus

[albert_abadicio]

Hi,

I have bred 3 pairs of Orange chromides in a customized 50 gallon tank. The footprint of the tank was the same as the standard 75 gallon but was lower in height. The water temperature is at 30 degrees Celsius with a ph of 7.8. Salt was added to the tank at an approximate ratio of 1/2 TSP per gallon. The tank was filled with broken pottery and half an inch of silica sand as substrate. Water change is done twice a week and the 4 sponge filters in the tank are being cleaned weekly.

The eggs hatched at their 3rd day after the eggs were laid. At their 10th day, the fry began to wander away from their parents. At that point I started to feed the fry with powdered fry food diluted in tank water.

I noticed though, that unlike other orange chromide fry that I see around the net, mine was still struggling to keep swimming at their 15th-20th day. Their numbers also start to dwindle. I ruled out the other parents in the tank eating the fry, since they have nests of their own, I noticed if a fry from another nest gets to close to theirs, they will adopt the fry and take care of it like their own. (Which is cool by the way! )

Now, from a nest of a about 50 fry, I only managed to save 10%, separating them from the parents and raising them artificially.

I was wondering, what could I be doing wrong? Was it because the pairs came from one batch/supplier with a high possibility that they are siblings?

Thanks for taking time to read my post.

Albert

[Gordon C. Snelling]

I have run in to this situation with this and other species. The conclusion I have come to is that it stems from an inadequate food supply. Powdered food seems to be ok for slight older fry but at that early stage they need something more, like BBs or and equivalent size live food.

[Darrell Ullisch]

At 30 C. you are running them too hot, you need to back that off at least a couple of degrees. Even then you need to feed the fry 3-4 times per day, with high protein foods. Also, these are not the obligatory glancers like Discus, but they are known to feed their young this way; you might want to leave the fry with the parents longer.

I would only worry about genetic problems if they were the gold or red form of the fish. Most of the problems blamed on inbreeding fish are actually dietary or crowding issues.

[albert_abadicio]

Thank you very much for your replies. This along with more experience with the fish will definitely help in both my knowledge on this cichlid. I will give more finding as the weeks pass. Thanks again!

[Gordon C. Snelling]

Good luck and keep us posted, these are great little fish that dont get the time in the spotlight they deserve. Once you solve the fry survival issue, the next trick is to keep one part of your pair from killing the other as they are also quite good at that.

[albert_abadicio]

Update:
Before waiting for another spawn, I have decided to separate the three pairs. Each pair having their own 10 gallon tank. The temperature was at constant 27 degrees Celsius. Pair#1 now have a new batch of fry. Will apply the tips I have learned here.

On a more unfortunate note, the female on pair#2 died last night. Two nights before, she could not stay upright and was floating in the water surface. She had a red line(that seems to be blood clot) under the dorsal fin. Her body was very pale and was breathing heavily. No signs of ich/bloat/dropsy/fin rot. I have read a study mentioning a type of disease that was systemic and viral in nature that is connected to Etroplus maculatus. It was written by R.D. Armstrong and H.W. Ferguson. Not sure if this is what infected the female chromide but the symptoms are similar. No cure was mentioned in the article.

Anyway, I tried to treat her tank with melafix. I placed her to a floating guppy breeding tank, gave her a salt bath and increased the aeration. I was hoping it better her condition but to no avail.

Their tank is now isolated from the rest of the chromide to avoid further spreading. Until now, I am still clueless as to what hit the female chromide of pair#2.