[Austin]

es the size of the others. Anyways. A few days later I see my Pinoy paraiba keeps going back to this leaf on an amazon sword and also a leaf on my crypt. Ponterifora (sp?). It's mostly him but the new zebra is doing it kinda. Both those fish are being indiscriminately mean to all the other fish except each other, although they nip at wax other occasionally. They're just sitting together in the same spot unless thy are chasing my other fish. Literally they have sat there the last 30 min picking at the sword and chasing fish away. I also think I may see a breeding tube popping out of the Pinoy paraiba, but not the zebra.... So, wondering if you all think they may be pairing off or not. I noticed similar behavior a month ago with the Pinoy paraiba and a different puillipine blue zebra but nothing happened.

It's freaking me out how much bickering is going ok between the two fish! The original Philippine blue zebra was the second most dominant an he's getting pissed that the othe one is being so mean to him! He was my second fav ;(
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[Austin]

They're about 8 months old. Hard to get pics since whenever I walk over everyone wants food!

 

[Austin]

Would it be okay to clean my tank if they are?!

 

[Austin]

Here is a video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-KExI3w5G0

 

[Tolak]

Took about 25 seconds of that vid, congrats on the pair. Sure, you can clean the tank, they will go after tools, your hand, anything they see as a threat.

 

[Austin]

Thanks Tolak! I'm so excited because I have been waiting about 8.5 months for them to breed but also not excited for the battleground my aquarium has turned into! I'm not expecting much from the first spawn but I'm hoping eventually after several to raise some of the babies. I will buy a 10 gallon tank and raise a few at a time.

It's interesting because I just added this fish and he seems very small! I never saw them lip locking though or fighting but I'm pretty busy throughout the week.

 

[RackinRocky]

Oh, how exciting is that? They sure are diligent with that leaf! I don't blame you about being worried about the aggression. I don't like aggression in my tanks either. Maybe you should take the others out before someone really gets injured, or worse? I hope you have somewhere to put them! They are so regal!

 

[Austin]

I am going to try to make a tank divider or something I hope they lay eggs soon but they seem to be taking their time...!

 

[RackinRocky]

Whatever you do, DON'T buy one of those dividers they sell. Worthless! Mine left a gap where an oto got through almost immediately, followed by a guppy. I finally just gave up after an hour and threw it away. Something you make yourself will be far more likely to work. If you do make one, post a pic! How is the GBR baby doing?

 

[Austin]

Thanks for the tip I am gonna look for some egg crate things and cut them to size. I want my smaller fish like tetras and guppies and algae eaters and even my ram to be able to swim back and forth. Although the paraiba violently attacked a neon tetra once for the most part the angelfish only attack the other angelfish. I wish they didn't choose to guard a spot in the middle of the aquarium... I hate the fact that the new angelfish I added is even worse than the paraiba one that was the mean one before.

Anyways no real updates on the happy couple... Still cleaning the same leaves but now focusing more on the green amazon sword. It's cute to see them swimming together if they weren't so antagonistic to all my other fish! They literally round them up to 1/4 the aquarium and then occasionally come over and chase/nip at them, for no reason!

I wish I could get photos of them hanging out together but food is the one thing more important than protecting their spot... And me walking up = food. I need somewhere comfortable to sit for long periods of time so they learn to ignore me xD


Oh and the ram is still doing well! He's cute but ever since I got him he does this weird thing where he zig zags up and down the glass in the back of the tank. Nothing new, he's done it for a while... just mentioning it. It's odd. But he seems healthy.

 

[FishyFishy89]

I wish mine would pair off -.-
Those are big 8 months!
Are they really bigger than a half dollar?
My silvers are atleast a year old and they're around half dollar size.
Anyways, good luck with the spawn!

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[Austin]

Thanks fishy! Be careful what you wish for... My whole tank is a battleground now... It was mostly peaceful before.

I got these guys for my birthday in early august and they were pea to pre-dime sized (or so she claimed, I would estimate done sized) so I assume they were about a month or so old. So I added the 7.5 months I have had them onto that. I actually have one that is still really small and the big black one that is breeding is about twice his size! So I think their growth hair varies! I have one outside that is huge that was just slightly older from the LFS than these guys.

I'm sure yours will pair off eventually! I can't wait I hear when they do! It's so exciting. I'm not sure mine are even going to lay eggs... They're taking forever! I don't remember my angelfish (like 8 years ago) taking this long to spawn before!

And in regards to their size, I'm not sure how big they are. I'm really bad at judging.... Literally right now since you asked I took out a half dollar coin and held it up to them. The black paraiba one is definitely larger. His zebra mate is abou exactly half dollar size. The others vary... The smallest one is slightly under half dollar. Most of my other fish are all slightly larger.

I calculated what their babies will PROBABLY be ^_^ (probably because idk if the zebras are Z/Z or Z/+ probably Z/+) I wish the paraiba would mate with a ghost so I could get some white paraiba fish... not that I have room too keep any.... Still have hope that my two ghosts will get it on together!

1 Blue ghost 6.25 %
2 Blue ghost veil 12.5 %
3 Blue ghost superveil 6.25 %
4 Blue clown 6.25 %
5 Blue clown veil 12.5 %
6 Blue clown superveil 6.25 %
7 Black ghost pinoy 6.25 %
8 Black ghost pinoy veil 12.5 %
9 Black ghost pinoy superveil 6.25 %
10 Pinoy clown 6.25 %
11 Pinoy clown veil 12.5 %
12 Pinoy clown superveil 6.25 %


If my ghosts could get together I would get... (ignoring the veil trait for simplicity)... I really want silver and paraiba blues! :X

1 Blue silver 25 %
2 Blue ghost 50 %
3 Paraiba 25 %

 

[FishyFishy89]

Oh nice! They look much bigger in the video. Lol
I should clarify, I wish mine would at least drop their tubes so I know who is what gender. Haha
I'm sure at least have are opposite of what their name indicates.

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[Austin]

Haha! Probably. I bet my names are all wrong too. I can't even tell from the tubes. My guess is the black fish is a male and the zebra a female but still I have to wait and see if I can catch which one is actually producing the eggs.


I think my black fish has "withdrawn" his tube mostly... But still looks like they are cleaning leaves.. Hmm
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[FishyFishy89]

haha
I saw a breeding pair once. The one that I thought was a female, was actually the male! He was half the size of his mate XD

 

[Austin]

Haha I hope the small one is the male. Big female= more eggs. Sperm is small so a small male can still fertilize them all. But I'm thinking the small one is the female... I don't think she'd be able to make many eggs.
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[RackinRocky]

That's strange about the Ram. Its usually new fish that do that zig zagging up and down against the glass. Maybe he's stressed for some reason? I found another Ram breeder, and this one does his OWN breeding, so you know exactly where they come from. I'm going to order from him instead. He's in Escondido. No hormones either! His water should be real close to mine, and I think that plays a big factor in Ram's health. I'm going to take the plunge, since you are having such good luck!

I sure hope to hear soon that you have Angel eggs, but so sorry they are being so nasty to the other fish. That's the part about breeding cichlids that I don't like. They can be so mean.

 

[Austin]

You should let me know the name !

Idk if he's stressed or not because he spends a lot of his time doing this and has for the past few weeks... But when I walk over he comes to beg for food and eats fine and all... Maybe he needs a companion.

The angelfish still are pecking at leaves and sitting in their area and chasing other fish. They seem slightly less aggressive lately.... Still no spawn. They keep going back and forth between a crypt leaf, and different leaves from dfferent sword plants.
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[Austin]

Well, I think the dark one's papilla is mostly back in. They still hang around the same area a lot together and pick at the leaves but it doesn't seem like anything is gonna happen lol.

 

[Tolak]

5%-10% cold water changes daily, which is basically a 1-2 minute blast of straight cold tap. Live food for the adults, hatch some bbs & toss that in daily, the adults probably won't eat it but will see that it's available for fry.