help

[keith]

hi guys , notice that some of u are experts in breeding apisto. can someone enlighten me on how to breed candidi? my candidi had layed eggs twice but were eaten by the mom.thanks

[Simon]

r the parents the only fishes in the tank? read some articles that if that is so, the parental instinct of guarding the eggs will not be act upon instead the mother will usually eat up the eggs.. and if there r other fishes, yr only possible way is to isolate the eggs... coz the mother may feel threaten and starts eating up the eggs herself..

[lsz]

this does not just apply to apistos.
cichlid parents all have the same instincts.

normally the cases are
(1) external threat, too much disturbance (A huge human face 10cm from the fish can also be considered disturbance too)

too much activitiy within the proximity of the fish stress the parents.

(2) Rookie couples do not know what to do. SOmetimes they learn to do it the right way, but for some cases, it will bceome permanent habits and the only way is to artificially hatch the eggs.

THis egg eating occurs at a much higher rate if parents grew from the same batch.
Now the reason is that in the wild, fish have a choice of partners. Females will prefer large dominant males. It ususally is a case of experienced males leading the rookie female on what to do.
In the confines of the home aquaria, the female have no choice but to mate with the wimp beside her. And it often becomes a case where both doesnt know what to do.

YOu can only hope that their instincts will eventually take over.

some will some dont. Nothing you can do.

(3) SPace is also a factor.

[keith]

how do i go abt artificially hatching the eggs. how many days does it take for the eggs hatch.? thankssssss

[lsz]

in our water temperature here, the eggs become wrigglers at abt 48hrs or s bit more on average.

At this time, the frys are not free swimming, and they have the yolk sacs attached. Dont feed them now.
after they are free swimming, (THey will stay in wriggler state for abt 3 days..then they lose their yolk sac and swim freely) you can feed them.

For dwarfs like apistos, the babies need liquid food.
Eg JBL Nobil Fluid.

After they get to abt 5mm or so, you can switch to frozen daphnia or Baby brine shrimp.

for your hatching tank, the best is to use a sponge filter. use tank water from the breeding tank.

personally i dont worry the fungus that grow on unfertilised eggs. If you want to be sure, you can add some anti fungus medication into the hatching tank. I dont advocate it though.

in the hatching tank, you need to create good circulation near the eggs. One way is just to lower an air stone to right above the eggs (you had moved the eggs which are attacjed to the wood/rock or whatever wholesale into the hatching tank)