Epi.Annulatus finally spawn.

[keehoe]

Hi all, i am so happy today to find that after 2 months of conditioning the remaining of those annulatus bought from local fish shop. They started spawning. The colour of the male is still not at its best stage. But It is getting there.

These fish are so sensitive that they don't normally survive tranfering from LFS back home.

Now i see the inocently desperate blue eyes ^^

How long is the incubation period for ANN in water? Can't wait to see my baby ann.

[Al Baldwin]

Depending on water temps you will see fry within 2 weeks.

Freshly hatched ANN tend to hang at the surface (meniscus) to feed on micro live food which will propagate in a well planted tank. I would wait almost a week before feeding baby brine shrimp so the fry have the ability to catch and eat them. Beware of overfeeding as this will foul the water and endanger the fry. With careful feeding the fry will grow rapidly and you will see them start to colour up with the stripes which ANN is known for.

Usually the adults ignore the very tiny fry but most breeders of ANN claim they are preyed upon by older and larger siblings. Thus a very heavily planted tank helps to give the needed cover so the little ones can survive and grow to a size able to compete with older siblings.

A US importer Toyin Ojo has received ANN and shipped them all over the country with few problems.

[stormhawk]

Ah yes, Toyin. If I'm not wrong his fish are sourced from Guinea and Sierra Leone. I remember him listing ANN with a location code once.

[Al Baldwin]

Yes he did list a ANN with location..........Moribaya
This is the line that I have kept for several years.with no problems..

[keehoe]

Thanks all. The one that i am keeping is aquarium strain. I think the eggs are very sensitive to water changes. Almost all eggs disappear few days after the transfer. I will try that again later with original water from same tank. The eggs are about the size of N.Janpapi. So i suppose the size of the fry is similar too. Difficult to find for untrain eyes.

[whuntley]

My experience with many futile attempts to handle them is that ANN eggs are intolerant of any kind of handling, regardless of the water.

That's why even the most anal of us end up breeding them in a "natural" setup and let the babies hatch before we spoon them out.

Wright

[RonWill]

Kee Hoe,
You've seen how I do it and IME, a huge dose of benign neglect and refraining itchy fingers, is the best way to handle ANNs. Trying to collect eggs is, like what Wright described, futile.

I've some consolidated links in this post which I think will help.

That's why even the most anal of us end up breeding them in a "natural" setup...

Couldn't have put it any better, Wright.

Al,
Keep that Moribaya population going. If ever I know anyone heading your way, I'd want to lug a bag of those home FYI, although their eggs don't travel well, older juvenile and sub-adults will make the trip when packed in breathers and shipped via express.

[keehoe]

Thanks all, I think maybe i just keep one species of killie.



This morning found 2 fry in the tub of water that i pour out from the original tank. They are so tiny, so cute.