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Note: the "No
stripping" in the title is a referral of a common
practice done by many professional breeders. It's sad how a
magnificent reproduction technique is
ABUSED in order to gain as much as
possible fish with the least possible effort. The successful mouth breeding strategy, an evolution of millions of
years, that allows theses cichlids to have less, but larger
juveniles, is really magnificent to observe. That's what this
article is about: the wonderful after care of the fry! It's also
evident that not all Malawi Cichlids keep the juveniles in their
mouth that long. Mbuna fry instinctively search for the first
shelter they can find when they are released. On the other hand (how
ironically) some of the large predators like Tyrannochromis
nigriventer keep their fry until they reached a size of more
than 3cm! In the lake some Copadichromis sp. release their
juveniles all at once in the open water
to ensure a better survival
rate.
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one of us who has kept large haplochromid cichlids in a well
decorated and decent sized tank for some while, probably has
observed and admired the magnificent spawning behavior of these
beauties. Usually this event is announced a few days in advance by
the displaying, courting and chasing of the lucky dominant male. The
mating procedure can take a few hours and the result is a happy
exhausted male and a female carrying many fertilized eggs. In normal
conditions (tank temperature about 28°C / 82F) the eggs will hatch
in the female’s mouth after a week and in about three weeks the
fry is ready to be released. But as the female mostly stays in the
main tank the juveniles will end up as a quick snack for the other
cichlids in the neighborhood and there will only remain one or two
lucky survivors that seek shelter between the nearby rocks. |
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The female
Fossorochromis rostratus right after the spawning.
Her mouth
is already bulging a little bit with more than 100 eggs
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Have
you ever observed the extended mouth brooding care of a
female Hap in a separate tank? Most probably you didn't see it yet ,
as this requires a large tank (minimum 200L / 50USgal for large
Haps) with normal decoration. I used a 300L (80USgal) and decorated
it with a relative thin layer of sand, a few small rocks and a one
piece of large PVC tube for hiding. This tube was positioned in such
a way that I could see and photograph the female and her fry. As a
filter I used an Eheim professional interval canister with
integrated heating. After filling with water of 28°C (82F), the
tank was cycled for a few days to be sure it was OK to transfer the
female. This filter was ran in perfectly because it was hooked up to
the main tank since I used it in the 13th ABCV show. |
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Right after the transfer to the 300L tank (80gal)
some of the fry
accidentally got out of the female's mouth.
Soon after the female
relaxed after her transfer,
she took them back into her mouth.
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Transfer
time! As it takes a while for the cichlids to get awake, it’s
relatively easy to catch them early in the morning when the lights
are still off. As I knew where she usually sleeps the female was
netted in no time. I carefully transported her to the new tank in
the net to stress her as little as possible. Once I released her I
nevertheless noticed that 2 of the numerous fry accidentally got out
of the mouth. Luckily the mother relaxed after an hour or 2 and
grabbed the fugitives back into her mouth. At this stage the fry
were 1.5 week old.
To
my surprise the female already released the youngsters the next day.
It was extremely quiet in front of her tank, as we were all sitting
outside due to the nice and warm weather. It was a wonderful sight.
All these tiny mini-cichlids were swimming in a swarm around the
mother! They were so numerous that I really couldn't count them.
This was a sign for me to start feeding. I took some pieces of
Cyclops out of the freezer and threw them gently in the tank. These
cubes of food were interpreted as a clear threat for the mother and
she immediately started collecting the fry, also an amazing sight!
As soon as she opened her mouth the juveniles rushed in as soon as
they could! |
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Left: fry IN Right: fry OUT
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The
next day when I added food the same thing happened. Again the fry
rushed into the female’s mouth as soon as she opened it. This time
she released them again after about 20 minutes. Soon they started
eating from the small floating Cyclops. I was happily surprised that
also the female started eating! As I can read in many messages and
emails the females are supposed not to eat during the whole carrying
period. She started digging in the sand and under the stones
for food while her flock of fry was swarming around her!
It’s a magnificent sight seeing her eat while she even manages
recognizing fry when she swallows one by accident. It gets spitted
out again while the food is eaten. Truly amazing!
The
next day she started chasing the fry. Soon I discovered that the
caught ones were released again without a scratch. I find it a bit
odd and can’t find a real reason for it. Is it just the hunting
instinct of the mother and her recognizing (tasting?) the fry
preventing to eat them? Is this a learning process for the fry meant
to sharpen their alertness? |
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The mother collecting the fry when she feels threatened
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As
soon as she refused to let the juveniles enter her mouth, I removed
the female. This was the clear sign that her task was be completely
done and she could be returned to her males.
One
thing is sure: I had a great fishy time the latest weeks! I can
surely recommend trying this as it probably will enjoy you as much
as it did to me. All you need is a second decent tank and a known
after caring Hap. |
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Left: the complete swarm behind the EATING mother
Right: a 3 week old Fossorochromis rostratus
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