Farlowella eggs in process of hatching.

Tankfull Tropicals

This spawn was laid on Sept 3rd 2012. Removed Sept 10th.

IMG]http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/members/42629/album/royal-farlowella-aka-twig-catfish-eggs-hatching-4516/10-min-after-removal-eggs-fry-28637.jpg[/IMG]

SnailM

Congrats! They look like little tadpoles.

SnailM

By the way...how did you get these guys to procreate?
I have a pair in my tank for months and months now - nothing is happening. Then again, I am not 100% sure that it's actually a "pair". Would you be able to determine sex if I posted pics? Sorry, don't mean to kidnap your thread.

Tankfull Tropicals

Hi SnailM. It took 18 months for mine to mature; they were 3" when I first got them. So yes I could sex them if they are at least 1 yr old and you have good pics of them sitting on the glass so we can see their heads and undersides. Post what you can and I will give it a go.
Chances are that you have Farlowella Acus. The ones I have are Royal Farlowellas and very endangered. The biggest diferance is in the length of their noses. I have 7 adults in 135 gallons with my Zebra Plecos. They are good feeders and enjoy most prepared foods. like flakes and Algae wafers. I also give my fish boiled spinach weekly and chopped earthworms seem to be a real treat as well as live brine shrimp periodically. This tank have a pretty good current from the Aquaclear 110 power head. My tap water is outstanding; > ph 7 and no measurable hardness. Very similar to rain water. As far as what was the trigger for breeding; i think it was only maturity and a large 80 % water change I did before their first spawn. I did the water change and it was early the next morning they started laying eggs on the front glass directly in the current from the power head. The next day I found another pair spawning too.It took them about 4 hrs the first time and their were only 12 eggs. The males stay on the eggs and guard them and fan them. It took 8 days for them to hatch. I did not know what to do with them so I left the eggs to hatch in their tank. The new fry are about 1/4" long and very stationary. I got concerned as their # s started to fall in end of the first week. So I had no survivors from the first spawns. They have spawned every 6wks or so since and each clutch is larger too; as many as 80 eggs from 1 female.
I have since started removing the eggs just before they hatch and raising them in their own fry tank that is covered in very soft green algae. The fry are hard to raise; they start dying in mass about the first week and very few grow out. I am still working on this part and aim having good success with this last bath of 70 + fry. They are in their second week now and I have only lost a few. I feed them 3 times a day on a micro ground fry food I found on line. > " Sera Micron powdered fry food. " . I am also doing 90 % water changes every 2 days.
Their is very little information out their on breeding this fish and raising the fry. I'm still learning too. Doug

Byron

I have found feeding the fry the most difficult aspect of spawning. I have Farlowella vitatta, which is the most commonly-seen species aside from the larger "Royal" mentioned in this thread; often (incorrectly) named F. acus, as it notes in our profile [click the shaded n ame].

I had photos in a thread a couple years back for the first several spawnings, and more recently a photo of another. Three survived from the first spawnings, and they are now mature in my 33g. The original 3, which happen to be a male and two females, are still in my 70g and spawn often. The male will spawn with both females if they are ready, and the second lays the eggs alongside the first, with the male guarding them for 10-12 days. Upon hatching, the fry are motionless for another five days before becoming free-swimming. Having fresh green algae in the tank will get them eating, and my present fry from hatching a few weeks back are browsing on dry oak leaves; but any attempt to use blanched spinach and such has been unsuccessful with the fry.

Byron.

SnailM

I think I've had mine for quite a while now, but I'm not sure if they are actually 18 months old or not. They were already quite big when I got them at the LFS. I would say the darker one is about 7 inches long, the lighter colored one is perhaps an inch shorter (but I've had him/her for longer).

They are not very active, so I didn't get too many pictures of their underside. I hope this is good enough:

The left one is the one I refer to as the darker one, the right, lighter brown one I've had for a bit longer.
DSC06099.jpg

This is the lighter brown one.
DSC06101.jpg

Underside of the darker one.
DSC06107.jpg

Underside of the lighter one.
DSC05275.jpg

Are they picky about whom they pair up with? I've read that some fish are and even if you have a male and a female, that won't necessary guarantee that they "like" each other.

Rearing the little ones sounds like a full time job, not just for the parents but for you as well. It must be such a rewarding experience knowing you successfully bred them. Thank you for all the info. I like to google and research, but you are right, there isn't much info out there. Forums are sometimes the best source of information.
I am looking forward to seeing more pictures of the little ones!

Byron

I would say those are Farlowella vitatta, and the "darker" one as you call it is probably a male--you can see the odontes (bristles) along the rostrum (snout) which is broader. I can't be certain the other is female, but I would guess it likely is. The photos in our profile will make this clear.

I don't want to steal this thread away from TankfullTropicals, but as he has a different species our photos will be different. The first two photos are of the present fry I have, this is the F. vitatta species, and these were about a week or two into the free-swimming stage when the photo was taken; you can see them on the oak leaf. The third photo is one of the fry from the first spawning in 2010, at the stage after hatching when it just hangs somewhere for 5 days absorbing the yolk sac. The fourth photo was one of the original spawnings, the female is at the top laying the eggs, the male below fertilizes them and then guards them until they hatch. Fifth photo shows this, and the white eggs are the latest spawn, with the black eggs at the top from a prior spawning with the other female.

Attached Images

	Farlowella fry 2012 (2).jpg (75.6 KB, 27 views)
	Farlowella fry 2012 (4).jpg (85.6 KB, 27 views)
	Farlowella fry (3).jpg (42.0 KB, 27 views)
	Farlowella 3rd spawn (1).jpg (62.3 KB, 27 views)
	Farlowella spawn 2 (1).jpg (68.1 KB, 27 views)

Tankfull Tropicals

Cool pics BYRON.

Tankfull Tropicals

Hi snailM; good pics. Yes I would agree with Byron. The darker one being male; lighter female. I think they are both mature from the size of them.The one comment I will make is that I would try increasing their diet. They both look somewhat thin to me. My females are quite obviously heavy with eggs when they spawn. The males even have a bit more weight to them as well. If you use algae wafers, just drop in 2 when you go to bed for a week and see if you notice a dif. If they are in with other fish they may be missing out on some of the food they need. As far as being picky about mates; this is not a problem with mine. One male regularly spawns with 2 females. I have also seen two male fight over who will guard the eggs after they are done spawning.
I just did a count on this new batch of fry and have only lost 5 out of 70 plus a week ago.

Tankfull Tropicals

Hey Byron. I just wanted to ask what camera you use. I need to buy a new one and want something that will take decent pics. Yours are pretty nice.