Lake Victoria Basin, West African, Madagascar & Asian Species • Buffalo Head Pair: How to coax them to spawn?

[Jesseschu]

Hi there,

I have a male/female pair of Steatocranus casuarius (Buffalo Heads). They have been a pair for about 4 months now in a 40 gallon breeder. They exibit behaviors that would indicate they are close to spawning, like digging under rocks, being secretive in their caves, the male always keeling an eye on the female, but no eggs or babies yet.

Anyone have any tricks to getting them to spawn? i.e. special foods, water chemistry manipulation, etc.???

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I love these cool fish and so look forward to them spawning and raising fry.
Thanks.

[Chromedome52]

Stick a powerhead in there to produce a strong current. I've seen young pairs of this species that sat for months, including in my own tanks, only to spawn within days of having a strong current added to the tank. The current needs to flow over their preferred hiding places.

[Jesseschu]

Thanks for the reply. I have a power head already in the tank but today I aimed it down on top of one their caves. Also will try feeding more frozen blood worms for a bit.