Cichlid Fish Forum banner

Synspilum pair?

2K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  BC in SK 
#1 ·
We have been growing these fish out for a few months. The larger fish is from an earlier batch, and he has really been growing like a weed. I bought a few more maybe a couple months after the first in hopes of better chances of a pair... A month or so ago these two (the smaller from the second batch) seemed to pair off and we're digging, so I thought it was enough positive sign to pull the rest and keep the others from getting beaten up. After I separated them, the big guy turned on the smaller fish. They are always side by side, but he roughs her(?) up a bit pretty frequently. I had a divider in at one point to let the smaller heal up some. It did, and I let them back together again. He is still pushing her a bit. I'm not sure how to manage the pair... I'm not sure if it's a pair... I'm new to pairing big centrals.

Some specifics: the suspected male is maybe 7", the suspected female is maybe 4". They are in a 135 with 3 small convicts and a small firemouth. The convicts seem to be pairing off (big surprise) but I was hoping they might work since they are much smaller. I'm not sure if this will stand long term or not, but I'm prioritizing the synspilum pair... Half of me wonders of the female con is nipping some at them too. She's guarding a rock... Maybe I should pull all but the synspilum? The firemouth is just a loaner and stays to himself (suspected male, maybe 3.5").

Here's a shot of the "pair"



Does it look like a pair? Are they too young? When should I say enough and separate them again? Is this behavior normal?

Any thoughts appreciated!
 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
I forgot to mention, just after I pulled the extras, and just before the smaller fish needed to be separated with the divider (got beat up), the smaller fish had a definite tube of sorts dropped. I wasn't intelligent enough to get pictures. Again, I'm new to the large new world types, but enjoying the ride, haha. It looked like a sign of breeding, but all I got out of it was a beat up fish...
 
#3 ·
jcabage said:
A month or so ago these two (the smaller from the second batch) seemed to pair off and we're digging, so I thought it was enough positive sign to pull the rest and keep the others from getting beaten up. After I separated them, the big guy turned on the smaller fish. They are always side by side, but he roughs her(?) up a bit pretty frequently. I had a divider in at one point to let the smaller heal up some. It did, and I let them back together again. He is still pushing her a bit. I'm not sure how to manage the pair... I'm not sure if it's a pair... I'm new to pairing big centrals.
Does it look like a pair?
Yes, it looks like a pair . If they are side by side and digging together, that is a definite sign.
Large CA do not get married and live happily ever after. They come together for the duration of a spawn, after the fry are let go, no assurance they get along. They may need to be divided frequently.
jcabage said:
They are in a 135 with 3 small convicts and a small firemouth. The convicts seem to be pairing off (big surprise) but I was hoping they might work since they are much smaller. I'm not sure if this will stand long term or not, but I'm prioritizing the synspilum pair... Half of me wonders of the female con is nipping some at them too. She's guarding a rock... Maybe I should pull all but the synspilum? The firemouth is just a loaner and stays to himself (suspected male, maybe 3.5").
I'd leave them in. The cons provide some competition. Some focus away and distraction, for the male. The size difference usually makes larger CA a little less threatened and more tolerant....enough that it shouldn't get too violent. I'd only remove the tank mates if it gets very violent. Bear in mind, the worst aggression in the tank will probably be the male syn chasing the female and picking on her excessively. Can be very stressful. I think with out tankmates, your pretty much assured of having the devider in most of the time, and keeping a very close eye when you attempt to remove it.
 
#4 ·
Well, our suspicions have been confirmed.. Just over a week from our initial post, and we have eggs from the synspilum!



We also have a full blown convict swarm going on.. turns out she was guarding the rock for a reason.



It may seem odd, but we actually want to save our convict fry (first time spawn for these guys, so we are happy to see them.. hah... They are marble as well, so should be neat babies). We definitely want to save the synspilum as well. We put the divider back in initially to separate the convict pair from the other fish, when they had eggs and the syns were still just digging. Now that we have a spawn from both groups though, we would like to see them all grow out. Should we leave the divider in, or? I imagine some of these fry may start disappearing if we let fish other than mom and dad around them (maybe because of mom and dad too...) The synspilum just have eggs at the moment , so I'm not sure if that might be tempting for the firemouth or not, but he's on the same side of the divider with them (2/3 of the tank given to the syns and 1/3 or so to the cons).

edit: One last question... How/when do you pull fry out of a large community tank like this? Is there a trick other than netting a million tiny fish in a 6' tank?

Any thoughts appreciated!
:fish:
 
#5 ·
jcabage said:
How/when do you pull fry out of a large community tank like this? Is there a trick other than netting a million tiny fish in a 6' tank?
To remove fry, siphon out with a hose into a pale.
It's really up to you, when you decide to do this. If you are really intent on getting fry, then it can be done fairly soon. Even right away if you really want to make sure to get them. It needs to be done before the parents let them go on their way, otherwise most or all will get eaten by the fish in the tank. A new, inexperienced pair may not hold on to them long, though a week or two at least, is still very likely for convicts for their first time. Older pairs, I've had cons hold on to fry for over 2 months. Of coarse it's more interesting to let the parents tend the fry and there is advantage as the fry do grow better while they are with the parents. As well, the cons are very likely to breed again.....and then again and again and again :lol:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top