Ronnie,
When I had them, I had very good hatch-out rates after 6 weeks of incubation. At one time, I had so many I just didn't know what to do with them.
Loh K L
Dear all,
I've just harvested my 1st batch of eggs after having maintained the Simp constanciae "Barra de Sćo Joćoo" for about a year (I think!).
These were originally from Kwek Leong and although these fishes don't possess the grandeur of the magnificus, they are still very adorable fellas. See this page for their pics.
Recently, I was pleasantly surprised by a request for the constanciae by Qing Dong from China.
I thought... if I could help out, heck! why not?, so I experimented with 2 different vessels, for 2 reversed trios (4M/2F) to spawn in the same tank, and collected a nice number of eggs over a 3 day honeymoon (see what you get when you're generous with live foods?! :wink: ).
This will be going out to Qing Dong :wink:
There's sufficient eggs even for me to keep some for posterity. Now I have questions...
Is that opaque looking egg dead?? Bigger pics 1 & 2.
Since I've never incubated Simp constanciae eggs before, what is their incubation period? I've labelled it;
"COLLECT: DEC 4th '03 / HATCH: FEB 4th '04"
...which means a 2-mth period, temperature dependent of course.
Can someone advise Qing Dong (and me too! :wink: )
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Ronnie,
When I had them, I had very good hatch-out rates after 6 weeks of incubation. At one time, I had so many I just didn't know what to do with them.
Loh K L
Ok.... so that means 2 months isn't too far fetched then, if China's weather is cooler.Originally Posted by timebomb
Kwek Leong, on the other hand, maybe I should just tell him to watch out for eyed-up eggs and dunk them. Oh well... "never try, never know!"
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Ronnie, I have a pair from Loh too. All these while I'm not able to get any fertile eggs . The female laid many eggs but none are good. Can we work on it in the name of conservation? I pass you my female or you 'lend' me a male?
Gan.
Ronnie, one more question, if Simp. is an annual, why are you incubating the eggs on the wool like what you did for the non annual?
Gan.
Is it the male or you that's no good?!! Just kidding!! But for conservation, sure!Originally Posted by turaco
I have 2 females here and extra males. You can swing by and pick up a male. There's 5 males and 2 females in the tank... I think.
There's a pair that I'll want Jian Yang to spawn and distribute as well.
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Ronnie, i'd be more than honoured to help out in the conservancy project. perhaps we could set up a Conservancy Plan Group within the forum itself. and i propose that we start by maintaining a breeding log per person who has a pair of the constanciae. perhaps i could set up a webpage with breeding logs for us to follow up. this would go far in maintaining the genetic diversity of this particular population.
if everything goes well, i'll check the breeding bowl for eggs from the fulminantis this Saturday. by the way, if its just one pair, how many days should i leave the breeding bowl in? they bred on Monday, 2 days after they arrived home from the gathering.
another point to add, i realise that my Simp. love to breed when the lights go out. and the odd part is, at roughly around 3 am in the morning, i'll see the pair dive into the peat and wiggle like no tomorrow. :wink:
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
Jian Yang, that's a very good idea and I can maintain my own log, but just exactly who is suppose to co-ordinate and consolidate the data? I'm spread out thinner than Lurpak butter on mixed-grain loaf and... (well, you get the picture!) Work on a standard page and make it user friendly for entries.Originally Posted by stormhawk
I, too, like it when the lights goes out but hasn't it occured to you to stop oggling at them?another point to add, i realise that my Simp. love to breed when the lights go out. and the odd part is, at roughly around 3 am in the morning, i'll see the pair dive into the peat and wiggle like no tomorrow. :wink:
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
i think i can do the consolidating and co-ordinating data bit but of course with some help lah. by the way, when can i get the pair from you? i'm free this weekend. and yes, when should i take out the breeding bowl from the fulminantis tank? it's been 4 days since they started spawning on Monday. i'm worried about leaving the bowl in there for too long.
ogling? lol, i just happened to see them dive in at the right time.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
Don't be too worried. Just collect the peat once a week and that will make your job easier and lesser work.
Au SL
Just collected the peat from the fulminantis tank. Was poring through the wet peat with my girlfriend but we couldn't seem to find any eggs. Pretty disappointed because we were planning on seeing the first eggs from the pair. Found alot of little stones though, really tiny ones, but we still couldn't find any eggs. My questions are,
1) Are Simpsonichthys eggs much more adhesive as compared to those from nothos? This might explain as to why I couldn't find any.. perhaps they were stuck to bits of peat which I didn't examine closely?
2) Exactly how small are these eggs?
3) Are they the same colour as notho eggs?
4) Judging from experience, what's the estimated number of eggs a young female will lay? (rough estimates not exact figures so I got a yardstick to follow the next time round)
Anyway, I decided to give some benefit of the doubt to both myself and my girlfriend and ended up packing up the peat in a plastic container. Pretty air-tight which means I won't have a major ant infestation.
Set the wetting date to the 16th of Jan 04, which is exactly 6 weeks after today. Hopefully I'll get some fry. Set-up the fulminantis pair for breeding again. Been feeding them with frozen bloodworms, live tubifex worms and the occasional snack of grindal worms. Might try using frozen black mosquito larvae. :wink:
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
To answer your question,
1) Simps. eggs are usually more adhesive than Nothos eggs. It's inbetween the Notho and Fp. species. (FP. species have much more adhesive eggs among the 3 species based on what I've esperience)
2) Simps. eggs are slightly smaller than Nothos eggs(We're using the N. rachovii wggs as comparision here). On estimates, it's about two third of RAC eggs in size.
3) Yes the fertile eggs are clear and shines under light. Eggs that are white are infertile eggs.
4) I've females that can give me 100 eggs per week and some not even 30 eggs per week. There is no way we can judge this and there's no way a female can be compared to another on the quantity of eggs that they will give you each week.
Au SL
Gan, in my excitement of picking out Simp eggs from the peat, I missed your post but no... that's not wool... it's toilet tissue!Originally Posted by turaco
Why?
A couple of reasons. Firstly, my eyes aren't that great and when you're doing things as late as I do, it's rather difficult to differentiate eggs from peat!
Secondly, good eggs stand out against a lighter background, just so that I pack in viable eggs and setting them in rows make it easier to count.
It's more a novelty idea than standard proceedure :wink:
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Ronnie, finally succeeded in getting the constanciae to spawn. But the odd thing is, they laid eggs on the tank bottom. Counted about 4 clear eggs and at least 2 fungused eggs. Could it be that the fish pushed the eggs out while they were diving in the peat? I've got pics of the eggs and am rather perplexed. Could someone tell me what's going on??
Fertile eggs? They're in the centre of the pic.
One of the fungused eggs on java moss.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
Emmm after reading this post, I will not be surprise if the whole batch of fish are sterile. A few months back I collected tons of eggs but non were fertile.Originally Posted by turaco
regards
Sia Meng, I cannot move the thread from within the same forum, so I copy & pasted your response here.
Concerns/question from Stormhawk
Originally Posted by Sia Meng
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Ahh, finally a tactic. I'll be on the lookout for a larger vase. Seems the vase that I got from IKEA the other day isn't big enough for these giants Anyway, seems they have started to spawn in the bowl following the removal of the java moss. I realised that they get pretty skittish as compared to my juvenile magnificus trio and my fulminantis pair.
As to the fertility of this fish, the eggs they laid on the moss and tank bottom are pretty clear in colour. I've observed those eggs fungusing in the tank already. But I have no doubt that this pair Ronnie gave me is a superbly fertile pair. Thanks Ronnie!. Am working on getting them lovers to do a romp in the bowl
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
Jian Yang, besides my BIVs, these constanciae are next on my skittish list and wait till you see what I resorted to... when I was packing them and decided to shoot their pics.Originally Posted by stormhawk
Pickle jars may not be widely available but since the Chinese Lunar New Year is around the corner, you can use those goodie jars made from plastic and traditionally has a red screw-on cover.
I bought a tall one and didn't get to use it. The cover was modified with breathing holes and if you want, you can drop by and pick it up.
Never judge the fertility of a female, by how gravid it looks (or a book by it's cover), but you've got a very healthy pair and I'm sure you'll get some good eggs.As to the fertility of this fish, the eggs they laid on the moss and tank bottom are pretty clear in colour. I've observed those eggs fungusing in the tank already. But I have no doubt that this pair Ronnie gave me is a superbly fertile pair. Thanks Ronnie!. Am working on getting them lovers to do a romp in the bowl
I'm back & keeping 'em fingers wet,
Ronnie Lee
Ronnie, well whaddya know! I found the female in the breeding bowl. And along came the male who wiggled and shimmied his way in! :wink:
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
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