Simpsonichthys fulminantis Guanambi BHS 95/12

[selena]

Hi Au,

Simpsonichthys fulminantis Guanambi BHS 95/1

The two pairs were in the tank for a week and feed on tubiflex worms one to two times a day. Used the (KL)white jar with Jiffy peat and remove/ fill about 20% aged water. Dropped a cube of ice (suppose to create the mood) to lower the temperature everynight.

Empty / dry / seach the peat, still no eggs.

Will try and get the ketapang leaves, brew some wicked soup to get them to spawn. Or should I try candlelight, soft music and drop a Viagra into the water. Maybe the tubiflex worms don't work, will try Spanish Fly the next round


Selena
(getting panda-eyed from watching them)

(Mod's Note: Edited Title 04/03/05)

[stormhawk]

Selena, the code is Guanambi BHS 95/12, not 95/1

If they're still small, chances are that they are not yet mature. Give them some time. The first time I collected fulminantis eggs I couldn't find them in the peat. But that doesn't mean they're not there. At this stage they are usually brownish in colour and may stick to the peat. About a week later check the bagged peat and sift through it. You might probably find some eggs.

[stormhawk]

Just to tease you a little here's a picture of my first pair of Simp. fulminantis. Got these from Au during the first gathering and auction in Nov. of 2003.

[CM Media]

Hi Selena,

The 2 pairs I passed to you are still very young. Do give them some time to grow and mature. In 3 weeks' time, they should give you reasonable amount of eggs. They're still very young, don't rush and get them into a relationship so soon.

OK jokes aside.

Simp. fulninantis' eggs will sticky and will glued together with the peat. I usually will spawn the fish for a week before collecting the eggs. Be patient and you'll be rewarded.

On your post on the Simp. magnificus, you mentioned you only manage to see 12 NGP eggs and when you wet the peat, you got 22 fry. So what do you think? I use a PL lighting to shine on the peat to look for eggs.

[selena]

Hi Au and Jianyang

(please do not take the following contents too seriously)

Not me who is trying to rush them into relationship. Every night I watch the males take turns to go into the jar and wait.....and wait.........and wait........and wait. Poor thing! And the females with big big innocent eyes never, for once, get the message.

Does your fishes able to read? Shall I remove the jar tonight and paint this message ' FOR GOOD TIME, PLEASE COME IN'

Ok, jokes over.
_____________________________________________________

Au, Just back from cycling, found your young Ketapang tree. will throw in a leaf in tonight. (For those that are in the air-con now, don't venture out in the open, there are about 3 sun shinning out there. )

Just to tease you a little here's a picture of my first pair of Simp. fulminantis. Got these from Au during the first gathering and auction in Nov. of 2003.

Jianyang, noticed the date Nov.of 2003. Are these picture of fishes that are very old or dead ?


Selena

[stormhawk]

Hi Selena,

Yes these two are very dead fishes already. I took this when I first brought them back home. That time the female was much smaller than the male.

When they want to spawn, the males usually do a dance above the bowl to entice the female. If it works the female will follow him and he will somehow coax her to dive into the peat with her. They're not exactly deep-diving but just dive right beneath the top layer of peat. Then the peat gets thrown about and out of the container. Happens all the time.

I usually give them a shallow bowl the first time round to get them used to the idea of spawning in a deeper bowl the next time round.

[selena]

Hi Jianyang,

Do you think I should use a lower jar, so that that the two females can see better, that someone is waiting for them up them?

Or should more option be given, like throwing in a mop, since the eggs are sticky?

Or should I use the floating food container, forcing them to swim to surface instead of waiting at the bottom?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you still having any fulminantis fish or eggs? If not, start praying for me. Should I have eggs (I meant my fish) I let you have some

Selena

[whuntley]

Once I discovered that some SA divers do not like a clear container, I only used opaque ceramic bowls. Sugar or soup bowls with an inturned lip are nice, as it is hard for them to scatter peat out into the tank.

Unfortunately, that means I didn't find out if *fulminantis* would spawn in clear vessels.

Just an idle thought...

Wright

[stormhawk]

Thought I'd give you another suggestion.

Try this:

1) Get a small plastic tank, a matured sponge filter and airpump.
2) Fill up the tank bottom with a layer of peat about 2 or so cm thick.
3) Then fill up the tank with water from their original tank.
4) Release one pair in there and leave them in there for about 2 days before returning them to their original tank.
5) DO NOT feed them during this period they are in this tank.

Note: Filtration and aeration are necessary during this period.

This method means that the fish are practically swimming above the peat layer and therefore have no reason to refuse to spawn in it. Since they are not deep divers the depth of the peat should be sufficient. You should be able to find some eggs in the peat after you return the pair back to their tank. Do the same thing with another pair if you have them. And collect the peat after both pairs have been in there for the past 4 days with 2 days per pair each.

Make sure they are well fed when they return to their original tank and are already in it before u start feeding. The sponge filter in the spawning container tank should be mature to provide adequate filtration during this period because the fish will naturally produce waste products. Why they should not be fed during this period is simple because you won't want the dead food animals to stay in the peat and also not to allow tubifex to bury too deep and cause the peat to clump.

Try this method if they still refuse to go into the bowl. However, if u see the males dancing above the bowl, the females should be following them into the bowl if they're ready. Fat and healthy females usually follow the males once they're used to it.

[stormhawk]

As per Wright's post, I spawned fulminantis in those small round clear plastic tubs which we refer to as "tau huey"* tubs here.

The male inadvertently threw out loads of peat during one of his sessions. But there was quite a number of eggs from this species.

* For those who don't know what that means, "tau huey" is some kind of a soyabean dessert and we usually have dessert here packed in small plastic tubs.

[selena]

YES!
I HAVE EGGS


Well, I guess, with the help of rotting Ketapang leaf, wicked brew, cloudy and tinted water ( Ronnie,plus your two red lanterns suggestion), seem to do the trick.


Thanks Au, Jianyang, Wright and Ronnie for the guidance.


Selena

[stormhawk]

Good for you Selena. Welcome to the world of the SAAs.

I started off with the fulminantis too. Thanks to Au. Didn't succeed due to my initial hiccups but I've come along fine with guidance from Au and Ronnie among others.

When the young males are beginning to develop, you'll be pretty happy because they're cute little buggers. The females too.

[selena]

So far I managed to collect 2 bags of eggs. The last bag last week I counted were no less than 70 eggs. Since I stopped collect australes' egg, I had some free time to do some experiment.

Had a clear glass jar about 4" high, bought from ART FRIEND, filled a third of it with peat. Being curious they explored the new toy, parking in it and watching the world goes by. Me by nature, like all mummys, had to rescue them sometime when they panicked and could not find the way out. After sometime they are more or less familiar with the exit and entrance, although I did not witness the spawning, I managed to find some eggs in it.

This week I thought I try something different. Borrowed some hamster bath sand, go through several round of rinsing, and replaced the peat with sand. To my surprise, one male and two female were doing their thing together. The other male had to watch them from outside the jar ( I don't think there is room in it for one more ) I think they like the idea of bathing in sand like the hamster than they are renting this cute motel by hours. Will check if there are any eggs after three days.

My questions are - Will the fine sand do any damage to the eggs, and will the eggs be fertile if they do in threesome?


Selena

[RonWill]

Selena, I've heard that some silica sand can be abrasive and hence, damage the eggs.

Amongst my bags of gravel and compost, I've a bag of silica (grade zero?) that was intended for damping a customized turntable plinth but since the project is shelved, perhaps I can also try your method and compare notes.

Another forumer, Erik (I think), tried it with his nothos and reported very favorably.

As for a trio spawning together, I'm not sure about viable eggs but he's one very luck fella

[stormhawk]

Hi Selena,

That's great news regarding the fulminantis. So you see, patience does pay off.

As for the glass jar, some Simpsonichthys will go in but will not be able to find their way out. It is wise however to use an opaque container or a small ice-cream or margarine tub instead.

If you have to release them from the glass jar all the time then it may disorientate them and stop their spawning runs.

Simpsonichthys species prefer a darker environment and extra privacy to ensure that they produce a good number of eggs. Sudden disturbances to the tank may cause them to pause spawning and stress them.

As for the use of sand, it is worth a try but as Ron has mentioned, sand is pretty much abrasive material. Although hamster sand is basically fine silica sand, it is still sand and may damage the eggs if not handled properly. It would be better to stick with coco-peat or peat moss.

As for the threesome thing, most of the time the male is joined in the breeding container by one or more females. There should be a good number of viable eggs in the peat although the male dives into the peat with one female at one time.

[selena]

Hi Jianyang and Ronnie,

If you have to release them from the glass jar all the time then it may disorientate them and stop their spawning runs

So far only twice I help to release them from the jar. Au's Fluminanti are pretty smart fish , leave them alone they will evenually find their way out.

As for the glass jar, some Simpsonichthys will go in but will not be able to find their way out. It is wise however to use an opaque container or a small ice-cream or margarine tub instead.

I have two jar in the tank, a opaque jar with peat and the clear cute one with fine sand.

Another forumer, Erik (I think), tried it with his nothos and reported very favorably.

Selena, I've heard that some silica sand can be abrasive and hence, damage the eggs.

Yes someone did tried it. I was holding the jar up the light, swirling the sand gently, I could easily spot a number of eggs rolling on the surface.
Whether the sand will caused any damage, 8 weeks later I will post the finding. But gathering the eggs will be a breeze .


Selena

[stormhawk]

Hi Selena, deleted your double post.

Anyway, that's a good move to provide one opaque jar and one clear container for a tryout. If they learn to adapt to the clear container then good for you. Easy to see if they're doing it or not. For me, once I see the male dancing above the container, the female usually follows him into the container. If I see a cloud of peat going up into the water column, then the male has done his job.

To gather the eggs from the sand you need a flour sieve. Get them from a bakery supplies shop. I think some hardware stores may have them. The mesh size of the sieve should be large enough to allow the sand to pass through and separate from the eggs, which should not stick to the sand. Do this in a tub of water and it should be easy.

Be very careful though not to damage the eggs. Once you have harvested the eggs you'll need to transfer them to fresh peat otherwise they will go bad if kept in the water. Good luck with your sand method.

[CM Media]

Yes someone did tried it. I was holding the jar up the light, swirling the sand gently, I could easily spot a number of eggs rolling on the surface.
Whether the sand will caused any damage, 8 weeks later I will post the finding. But gathering the eggs will be a breeze .

Hi Selena,

Yap. We've tried it on Nothos and some SAAs. The fact that the eggs are laid on top of the sand, it actually ease the collection of eggs. But you don't use the sand to incubate the eggs. You still need to transfer them to peat for incubation to withhold the dampness and to protect the eggs.

Eggs collected using sand as a media will usually fungus off easily. The good eggs are actually exposed and mixed with unfertilized eggs and thus causing some good eggs to be infected by the fungus unfertilized eggs.

Selena, I suggest you collect at least 4 bags of eggs from the fishes I've passed you and have a certain degree of safety net rather to put the fish on experiment without much backup plan

This way, I'll feel safer to work on other species than to have this fear that I'll lost the species if I start to neglect it when other hobbyists fails to get it going.

[stormhawk]

Yippee!!.. I'm one happy man.

Just collected and hand-counted at least 105 fertile eggs from my reverse trio after a week's spawning.

[selena]

Yippee!!.. I'm one happy man.

Me too! Collected about 150 fry from my first batch. Spread the wetting into 3 nights and had 4 Paracetamol after chasing the fry round the hatching tray.


KL dear,

I hope with these offers, I'm doing my job as species co-ordinator for the N. rachovii. If you take the fish, please don't forget that I expect you to keep them going for a year at least.

For the bag of fulminantis eggs you wanted, please remember to sign the contract ( by hook by crook / dead or alive and I don't care, you must keep them for a year too.


-----------------------------------

Selena

Sometime I ask myself ? What am I good at ?
I think - killing plants, snails, shrimps and probably
fishes and fry