Breeding Journal - Heros sp. Atabapo (mouthbrooding severum) PIC LOAD!!
- Thread starter peathenster
- Start date
Sorry jgentry, I wasn't directing that at you or your advice in any way, other than meaning that I would not do it. It's just my opposing opinion, that it is unfortunate that has become common practice. IF any aspect of parental care is learned, it is then lost. Or IF there is any benefit from early exposure to their parents, it is lost. I'm not saying that I believe that fully, but if given the choice, I would rather have fry raised by their parents during their early days/weeks than by a human. Just in case.
jgentry;3221213; said:
coz I'd miss the fun too
Ed gave me the same suggestion on the tapajos, and he turned out to be absolutely right - I took half of the fry out and left half with the parents. so far it seems that those with the parents (in a 55g) are growing slightly faster than the other half (in a 10g). I'm considering putting the other half back....
Same thing with my balzanii - left some fry with the female and they did great, until they were ~4 weeks old and the female refused to pick them up even when I "threaten" them.
So I think Ed is right and I should give the this couple a chance. There are 6 more severums that are similar in size to this pair, 6 heckelii around 3-4", and a few Geos. No catfish or pleco.... I'll leave them alone for now...
edburress;3221347; said:
No worries, I didn't think it was directed at me. I was interested in hearing your reasoning and why you do it a certain way or suggest a certain way. I'm just trying to learn from as many different opinions as possible
. I'm not experienced with mouthbrooders, so I'm just trying to learn from people with experience.My experience from other severums is that it won't work all to well in a mixed community environment. Parents always seem to stress and eat them.
Well, I don't actually know 
The larvae were picked up just short of two days after they laid, perhaps a few hours earlier than the first couple of times but still normal (I guess!). The female are definitely holding, and the male might be as well; both are staying near the spawning site where only egg shells and a few white eggs remain.
IME the wigglers should become free-swimming in the next couple of days. The earliest I've seen the female release the wigglers was 4-5 days after spawning, but that was with a divider and she must have felt safe. Will mostly likely take longer this time.
If they are able to protect the fry I'll leave them alone as Ed suggested. If not, well we'll see. They are dominant fish in the tank but the heckeliis can be fast and sneaky
The larvae were picked up just short of two days after they laid, perhaps a few hours earlier than the first couple of times but still normal (I guess!). The female are definitely holding, and the male might be as well; both are staying near the spawning site where only egg shells and a few white eggs remain.
IME the wigglers should become free-swimming in the next couple of days. The earliest I've seen the female release the wigglers was 4-5 days after spawning, but that was with a divider and she must have felt safe. Will mostly likely take longer this time.
If they are able to protect the fry I'll leave them alone as Ed suggested. If not, well we'll see. They are dominant fish in the tank but the heckeliis can be fast and sneaky
nice setup and work. been trying to find a good tank for mine so they can happily breed away. never had one beat on the other but that prob do to the pike chasing them or breaking up the fights/courting.
I'd go with leaving them alone as well until you can try scooping the fry out.
I'd go with leaving them alone as well until you can try scooping the fry out.
well, both parents suddenly stopped defending and started eating. No sight of fry....not sure what happened.....
