whats happening??

by **igmillichip** on 15 Apr 2012 11:19

OMG.....there's an intruder in the house who is not wearing a flat-cap.

by **Acara** on 15 Apr 2012 12:29

Good stuff.
I picked up 20 a while back in a shop up North,I had intended to get the cheapest fish in the shop as company for a predator I had at the time,but just couldn't do it. Priced at 50p each,a bargain,and there were hundreds in the tank. I never got the chance to give them a proper breeding set-up,and someone else now has them,well he's looking after them for me.
Great fish,they wouldn't attract much attention in a shop,quite drab and colourless,but boy do they come along nicely.

by **joemc** on 15 Apr 2012 18:11

here is a pic of the eggs from early this morning,approx 40 hours old

and here is one from this afternoon, so 48 hours after hatching, notice how the eggs / larvae seem to be moving down the veins of the leaf to the mid rib and towards the petiole. which emerges from the water.... so are the fry going to be splashed off into the water by the male fish or slide down into the water or both?

and seeing as i am on a roll, here is a close up of the leaf!!

by **Acara** on 15 Apr 2012 18:32

deadly stuff.
Have you seen the Rivers Of The Sun doco? I will send you a copy if not. Here's the clip from it of them.

by **joemc** on 15 Apr 2012 18:40

that is a great clip Dave, it really shows the development of the larvae in great detail and fills me in as to where my eggs are at at the moment, i have not seen it so a copy to me would be great!, on another note the video reminds me that my camera is not only held together with gaffer tape, but is also shite!. and there was me thinking that my pics were ''not too bad at all '' :lol:

by **ricko10** on 16 Apr 2012 08:14

Fantastic progress joe and great photos!

by **joemc** on 16 Apr 2012 20:38

tks Jamie, most of them have hatched, a few are still on the leaf, maybe they will not hatch at this stage, the female has spawned again. thee are still a few things i have not figured out yet, the main one being what is the deciding factor for the male to give up on the splashing, is it time, is it the sight of young swimming in the water / dropping in the water, or could it be something else?

edit; oh and the fry are small, very small, eyes and a tail!

by **ricko10** on 16 Apr 2012 22:10

So are you feeding the fry? Or letting them take whatever they can find in the tank which should be plenty?

by **joemc** on 16 Apr 2012 23:22

that tank is titled 'survival of the fittest' only the fastest, cleverest or just plain tasteless of fish fry survive in there, i think i will move the next batch and have a go at hatching / rearing them on their own, i am just a bit stuck as to what size tank i need to get to fit the leaf in and me in there kicking water up onto it, that and fitting in the time with my other duties

by **MrJackDempsey** on 16 Apr 2012 23:42

joemc wrote:...... and fitting in the time with my other duties

Are you going to let us know you really are Batman and Holger is your trusty sidekick Robin? Great news on your Splashing Tetras,now the cupid's cichlids next

by **joemc** on 29 Apr 2012 10:57

just an update on the thread,I was sitting alongside the tank last week when they spawned, so managed to catch it on the camera... quality is of course my normal top notch

but I think it is still worth posting
have a click

by **Acara** on 29 Apr 2012 19:22

Excellent stuff,another of natures marvels.

by **m4r10** on 29 Apr 2012 19:50

Did you get any fry Joe or they disappeared in the tank? Would be nice to see a video of them as well.

by **joemc** on 03 May 2012 13:37

hi, yes i have fry. The first few spawnings i just left, more to leave the fish alone and to watch what happens and try get a handle on exactly when the fry would be dropping into the water,if i put a net under to catch the fry the male would probably be but off keeping the eggs splashed or would not be able to splash them with the net directly under the leaf.
So i worked out exactly when in my setup the fry would drop and i put a net under them and dipped the leaf into the net trap most of the fry went in, a few stayed on the leaf, i presume they were not quite ready to let go.
from the naturally released fry i have only seen one or two fry soon after and then none, they may well be still in there somewhere time will tell if there are any survivors!
From the clutch i tipped into the net / breeding trap i could see nothing later that day but i knew that they must be there somewhere!!! so that has given me some hope about the ones that were released into the tank water. this morning i got down on my knees with the magnifing glass and i managed to spot a few, little pairs of black eyes with a tiny opaque / transparent body attached, so they are still there. If any survive to the stage of being visible i will take a few pics or a video.......
but you too may need the old magnfing glass to see them!!!