Fry: aged three days

 

 

Two-day-old fry!

I added a slate barrier to divide the tank and give Liv and her fry 3/5 of the tank. It really seems to have lowered tensions.

Eggs... day dos

Liv guarding her eggs.

Attacking me as I touch the glass. She's very defensive of her new family.

Eggs!

As I described in a previous post, Oc had a recent growth spurt and took the dominant role in the tank. He had been chasing her around relentlessly and forcing her to flee and try to find hiding, just as she always had previously done to him. For the last day or two, she had taken a stance in the back-right corner and stood her ground when he comes around. She would jab at him when he came near and not let him gain any ground.

I came home tonight to see her in her usual back-right corner, and he keeping his distance. I didn't think much of it and went around the side to check her out, and BEHOLD! A plethora of eggs on the driftwood and her hovering over them attentively. I had noticed recently (this morning or perhaps last night) that her breeding tube looked a little more distended than usual. It's interesting that it must have been a sign of her preparing to lay eggs. It's even more distended now, very noticeably.

She's hovering over her eggs and extremely defensive. She's jabbed at Oc numerous times and even chased him away when he came within 1/3 of the tank. The Pleco, Speckle, is usually ignored, but has taken numerous aggressive assaults.

She laid her eggs at a place which is a natural divot in the driftwood and hidden behind the bulk of the wood in the back, fairly hidden from direct sight. It's fairly close to the water intake, which falls in and flows over and to the left of the eggs. There's no direct current on the eggs, but I thought it was interesting that she chose this place.

I shut off my pump to do a water change and it caused some bits of particluate to float about in the water, more than usual. Some floated close to her eggs and she would blow them away, similar to but opposite to how she sucks in pellet food. She is very attentive to her nest and blows away every little bit which drifts close.

I siphoned out the tank and she actually ran from the siphon, but she stood her ground more than she usually would. She usually flees in terror. I was careful not to clean too near the eggs.

After, I dropped in a dozen feeder fish to stock the tank for this weekend, as I'll be away. Oc ate several with extreme eagerness, but many more remained. She nipped at any which came near the corner.

I'm watching now and she's actually leaving her nest to go halfway across the tank and nip him. He's being submissive and staying close to the sand, even mouthing some of it as she was last night. They're interesting little creatures.

I can't wait to see these eggs hatch into fry!

Father (top) and mother (bottom)

Oc is growing up... rapidly

Mid-May to Mid-July