Breeding Triggers
- Thread starter Roger Mcfish
- Start date
Depending on the species of fish yes both would work.tlindsey
Does it work both ways sometimes?
Seasonal changes often seem to induce breeding.
For some species, spring rains, and the slight change in water parameters those rains evoke may be significant.
My Parachromis managuense always seemed to want to spawn around certain coinciding holidays
which coincided with with pagan and indigeonus tribal holidays of the past like the summer solstice.
So I would do tons of extra water changes to induce spawning, maybe 50% per day, with slighhtly cooler water.
And I found if I added rain water with its lower pH, and mineral content to the tap water, it seemed to fire them up
Here in Panama, spring rains induce termites to migrate, which produced gluts of food falling into the rivers.
As they do, termite wings and up floating all over the water surface, and cichlids gorge on them
For others the dry season and its higher concentration of nutrients, and the hatching out of different types insect larvae see to trigger.
Andinoacara usually spawn in the dry season beteen Dec and March, in nature, and follow that same pattern in my tanks.
Can't say I'm savy enough to know which seasonal change induces what species to do when, but switching water change practices to simulate cool rains, and purer waters are sometimes helpful.
For some species, spring rains, and the slight change in water parameters those rains evoke may be significant.
My Parachromis managuense always seemed to want to spawn around certain coinciding holidays
which coincided with with pagan and indigeonus tribal holidays of the past like the summer solstice.
So I would do tons of extra water changes to induce spawning, maybe 50% per day, with slighhtly cooler water.
And I found if I added rain water with its lower pH, and mineral content to the tap water, it seemed to fire them up
Here in Panama, spring rains induce termites to migrate, which produced gluts of food falling into the rivers.
As they do, termite wings and up floating all over the water surface, and cichlids gorge on them
For others the dry season and its higher concentration of nutrients, and the hatching out of different types insect larvae see to trigger.
Andinoacara usually spawn in the dry season beteen Dec and March, in nature, and follow that same pattern in my tanks.
Can't say I'm savy enough to know which seasonal change induces what species to do when, but switching water change practices to simulate cool rains, and purer waters are sometimes helpful.
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Thx Duane. Now when we say cooler temps, what is a rough temp estimate? 72-75 degrees?
Those are temps I would attempt to drop to, depending on where they are endemic.
Where I snorkeled with friedricthsthalii, in Aktun Ha cenote in the Yucatan the water temps, were not quite as high as here in Panama, or Amazonia.
The underground aquifers that send constant water changes from below are in Mexico are fairly cool in comparison to waters on the equator.
And the rainy season also brings cooler waters from above.
Where I snorkeled with friedricthsthalii, in Aktun Ha cenote in the Yucatan the water temps, were not quite as high as here in Panama, or Amazonia.
The underground aquifers that send constant water changes from below are in Mexico are fairly cool in comparison to waters on the equator.
And the rainy season also brings cooler waters from above.
Another really good trigger are the hormones released by other breeding cichlids. Just set a divider up, put a pair of Cichlasoma dinerus, Aquidens pulcher, Amatitlania sp. or some other easy to spawn substrate breeder behind it and wait till they get going.
Parachromis from what I've seen in the wild are wet season spawners. So probably a slight drop in temperature and maybe the addition of some water movement would help. Dovii were just starting to court when I observed them in Costa Rica, right at the start of the wet season.
Great information from everyone. Thank you gentlemen.
Next water change this weekend, I'll shimmer down the temp gradually until I reach 72 degrees.
Next water change this weekend, I'll shimmer down the temp gradually until I reach 72 degrees.