South American Cichlids • Help! Australoheros 'Red Ceibal' spawning questions

[bioatomicpunk]

I recently acquired 5 Red Ceibals from a guy that was moving. He gave me quick information (I also got 2 Neetroplus nematopus (mated pair) from him. They are not in the same tank, so don't worry.
He has had the 'neets' spawn but never the 'reds.'

Here goes - I was getting ready to move these reds into a bigger tank when I noticed they had eggs in one of their caves. I didn't move anything yet. They are only in a 30 gallon right now because I was planning on moving them. Should I move the other 3? Leave all alone? Put a divider in?
What about regular maintenance? Water changes?

I have had other fish spawn, but these guys are my favorite and I don't want to screw it up.

I am honestly more freaked out by this than when I gave birth myself!

I want to post pics soon, just need to read how to do it.

[MonteSS]

Congratz.

My Australoheros Oblongum are more mellow than the Reds and had a hard time fighting off other fish. They were great parents though.

If you can I would remove the other tankmates.

You can do waterchanges but dont vacuum.

I would let them be and learn from this spawn. They spawn frequently and will again.

GL...Bill

[ian2norton]

I agree. You have to strike while the iron is hot, so to speak.

[bioatomicpunk]

thanks so very much for responding. I already took the other 3 out and put them in their own tank. I guess I still have common sense.

I was excited to see they spawned, especially since the previous owner was never successful.

I also did a small water change and didn't vacuum. (again common sense)
I have only had mouthbrooders for the past several years. I had convicts years ago and just let them take care of it without worry (they spawned like crazy). I really like these fish the most out of any others I own, so I pulled a panic move and posted.

I greatly appreciate your answers!

[mlancaster]

Hi bioatomicpunk,

Congratulations. I have never kept them; but, I have always wanted to. If you get the chance could you post some pictures.

Thanks,
Matt

[bioatomicpunk]

Here's some pics of my australoheros sp. red ceibal a couple days after I picked them up. They are all that really loud color now.

I took these pics with my phone, hence the poor quality

They are in a different setup now too

They all have red eyes - some pics don't show it


All 5 fish (2 female and 3 male) are this color right now





This one is actually a female - she was stressed from the move


This one is the male that spawned on the day I brought him home


I LOVE this pic for some reason



I'll have to get pics up of them all together in their spawning colors before I separated them

[mlancaster]

Hi bioatomicpunk,

They look cooler than i exptected. If you end up getting some good fry, perhaps you can send some my way.

Based on my readings, this cichlids used to be a staple in the early days of the hobby. However, I have yet to see them in LFS or friends tanks over the past couple years.

Thank you for sharing the pictures.

Thanks,
Matt

[bioatomicpunk]

Thanks for the kind words. I will definitely send some your way. I can't keep them all.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I went to pick them up from the guy who gave them to me. There is such limited info on the net about these fish, plus I didn't know if they were really what he was saying they were. I never heard of a cold water cichlid. When I saw them I almost fainted they were so pretty, and they were in a bucket all dull looking compared to what they are now.

They were shy here for about a week (barely ate/hiding) and then I tried feeding some frozen food and they came right around. Now they eat anything I give them.

[bioatomicpunk]

Just wanted to update - they ate all the wigglers

I will wait and try again.

[mlancaster]

Hi bioatomicpunk,

Thank you for the update. Last night I was reading an article in a new cichlid magazine and thought of your Australoheros.

Well, keep up the good work; I am sure they will become better parents with time.

Thanks,
Matt

[bioatomicpunk]

Thanks for the encouragement Matt! They seem to be dancing around again this week so it may happen again soon! I will keep you posted.

If interested I do have neetroplus nematopus fry! I will start another thread and post pics there for the neets.

Thanks

Christine

[Narwhal72]

Red Ceibals have an unusual breeding strategy that makes them even more interesting. They are "fry hangers". That means that after hatching, the adults will pick up the wigglers and "hang" them on the sides of rocks and driftwood to which the babies attach. It's important to have the right substrate for them to hang on. Algae covered rocks work well. If the rocks are clean and smooth they don't work very well.

When I was spawning them, I had a vertical piece of driftwood that had some large cracks in it. The parents would pick up the fry and drop them into the cracks where they would stay until they were free swimming. Even after they were free swimming, the fry would dart into the cracks when danger approached.

It was fun to watch.

Andy

[bioatomicpunk]

Thanks for that info Andy! I can't find very much about these fish anywhere, so it great to know someone with experience.

They spawned again, but I caught them fighting in a back corner of the tank and eating the eggs. Perhaps I will move the tank around and add more driftwood. I did read an article somewhere stating live plants were good too, because they will hang the babies on the vegetation too.

I would love to hear anything you have to say.

Thanks

Christine