Dicrossus filamentosus

[leeruisheng]

Immediately as stocks came in at C328, I snapped up all of the nicest.

Oh dear. I've got 5 pairs in a 2ft tank. At the moment I would say quite peaceful just the occasional chasing.

[leeruisheng]

More photos to share.

[CK Yeo]

How many pieces do you have in there??!

ck

[leeruisheng]

10 pieces. 5 males 5 females.

[curahee]

Are they easy to breed?

[leeruisheng]

I think so. If you've managed to breed Apistogramma before then it should be quite easy. Should be similiar parameters.

they can spawn easily but heard that the fries are super fragile

[apistomaster]

I have only seen females develop red ventrals, typically only those that have spawned once before. Only wild caught Dicrossus filamentosus are common in the USA.
Pair prespawn:

Femle with fresh spawn.

[whiskerbreed]

Goodness!!
Apistomaster!
Is that a C. weitzmani at the back in the first picture?!
You have a C. weitzmani in your tank?!


Oops, sorry sidetrack abit..



Anyway, are yours wild-caught?
That female is so easily distinguished from the male than the ones we have here.
Look at them, they must've been fed well.



SuD

[Gecko]

My Dicrossus filamentosus has just spawned, with eggs attached to a piece of Drift wood. Saw the eggs as I turned it over to vaccum below. Hope I replaced it the way ot was, female went over right away to guard the wood. She has developed blood red anal fins which used to be transparent...otherwise the body color remains the same. I have 4 or 5 pairs in a 4 ft zebra breeding tank, with so many hungry tetras around, I am not sure how successful she will be....pH is 6.5 right now.

[illumnae]

blood red anal fins? I thought it's the ventral fins that turn red when a virgin female spawns.

all the best for your spawn, i've heard the eggs need ph as low as 4.5-5.5 to be viable, but I hope that I've read wrongly

[Gecko]

Right, the pair of ventral fins and the anal or pelvic fin has a streak of red as well...she happens to be the biggest female inside. Let's see, it would be a bonus if eggs are viable...

[illumnae]

all the best and i really hope they're viable!

[leeruisheng]

A photo to share.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Juicy

[Titus]

A photo to share.

Nice

Can't wait to get my hands on them.

Were you able to breed them thus far or any pairing activities?

[leeruisheng]

Hello Titus,

This is one of the best looking male. No spawning activities at the moment. All quite peaceful habitating together in a 2ft tank. See you soon.

Manage to get a flaring shot.

[Toshika]

really nice fishes u got:>

[apistomaster]

Lovely male in full dominant mood, above.
Everyone should keep in mind that D. filamentosus varies in appearance over it's very broad range. Some have different tail patterns. Very similar to the way Apistogramma agassizi varies depending on the location it is from.
Also that red pelvic fins on the females usually only become prominent after a female has spawned once. Males never develop the bright red pelvic fins and they differ considerable in morphology from females.
This species has definite sexual dichromatism and dimorphism.

My own experience with breeding this species spans 4 decades.
I have found them easy to spawn but generally harder than most Apistogramma spp. to get viable eggs and the fry are extraordinarily sensitive to any decline in water quality. Females often eat their spawn but the greatest success in breeding them always occurs when the female takes good care of the fry.
Good luck, everyone. I still consider them harder to breed and raise than wild Discus. I almost always have D. filamentosus because wild wish are so cheap in the USA and they are among the most beautiful of SA Dwarf Cichlids. I have my first specimens of D. maculatus nearing maturity. They too, are a very beautiful fish but will probably never replace D. filamentosus as my favorite.

[Quixotic]

My own experience with breeding this species spans 4 decades.

Lovely, let's tap on that experience shall we?

I am sure you probably have experimented with this, so in your experience, which is the better way to spawn them, in the community tank or specially set up breeding tank? If the female were to be susceptible to eating the spawn, would a separate breeding tank yield more success? I am thinking in the community tank, there are plenty of fish that can cause undue stress, which may in turn trigger the eating behaviour.

[apistomaster]

My experience has been that trying to hatch the eggs artificially is not generally very successful. The good brooding female will do the best job by far, however hard it may be to find one that practices good brood care.

I don't recommend trying to breed them in a true community tank but I do recommend including a school of one of the dwarf Corydoras species. I raise C. habrosus and C. hastatus in their own permanent set ups so I always include 6 or 8 of one of them in the Checkerboard's breeding tank along with a school of 6 Nannostomus eques with the breeding Dicrossus filamentosus. Harmless dither fish seem to help trigger the brooding instincts better than when the pair/trio are kept alone.
I have had many more failures breeding Dicrossus filamentosus than I have successes. I already have mentioned that I consider breeding wild Symphysodon haraldi easier than Dicrossus filamentosus.
Unlike Discus, they may be kept in relatively small aquariums.
Dicrossus filamentosus are a beautiful fish and a worthy challenge for anyone to raise successfully.