Spawning the Paretoplus damii

by George J. Reclos

Paretroplus damii is perhaps the most cute of all Madagascan cichlids I have seen up to now and it is definitely a pleasure to have a group of 10 individuals (all donated by Jean-Claude Nourissat) in my 1300 liter tank. Its rounded shape, cute face and red color make it a really nice little fellow. If you take into account that it grows to over 40 cm and is a really peaceful species (at least when compared to Paratilapia polleni, Paretroplus dambabe or Paretroplus nourissati) you will have to admit that it is a nearly perfect candidate for your next (large) tank. The catch is that those little cuties are not readily available and finding them might prove to be extremely difficult.

A beautiful pair. Click on the image for a larger picture

When I got mine they were sized 2.5 cm (1 inch) and the only red you could see on them was under their eyes. As time passed by the red became more and the fish looked more and more like the ones shown in Dave Tourle’s drawings. When they became larger than 10 cm (in less than 8 months) they were sort of displaying to each other getting an overall red-orange color which made them even more cute. Luckily, Madagascan cichlids tend to direct their aggression against conspecifics therefore if you have a large tank you can house different species in there and still each one may get its chance to thrive. By “large” I mean really large. If you want to house 20 fully grown individuals you may find out that even my tank (1300 liters) is a bit small. Of course, females tend to remain considerably smaller which makes things a bit easier but just a bit. You have to keep in mind that most Paretroplines need to stay in schools so do not attempt to keep less than 6 from each species in the same tank to avoid aggression directed solely against one individual. Paretroplus nourissati is the exception in this rule since a pair should better stay alone.

My Paretroplines are fed Tetra bits (2-3 times daily), some bits I got from Italy, which they really like (namely Blue Line Grade 122 / basic - once daily) and  frozen shrimp and mussels (once per week). Additionally, every now and then I feed them live snails (taken from the tanks in my fish room in which I have some huge colonies). Lately I added some tanks outdoors with more snails to keep up with the growing demand. Twenty months ago I was still thinking of safe ways to destroy the snails in my tanks and now I am feeding them. Things do change! Although Paretroplus damii is less tempted by the snails (as opposed to Paretroplus  menarambo and Paretroplus maculatus, which regard them a delicacy) still they eat them.

Feeding your livestock heavily means you have to be extremely careful about water quality and I do my best to ensure that this remains as good as it gets. Thus, during winter months I perform 60-70% weekly water changes while in the summer I perform 1-2 water changes per week, changing all the water each time. Although some reports state that this is not well tolerated by Madagascan cichlids my experience is radically different. Not only do they accept it, but they also enjoy it and I have never seen any signs of discomfort during the last 20 months. The water conditioner is added just before the water change and water is added at the same time it is removed. One pipe removes the water from one side of the tank while another one brings fresh water at the other side. This ensures that the water chemistry changes progressively (although I wonder if there is any change at all with those frequent and massive water changes) while the temperature gradually drops by 3 to 5^oC during this one hour process. I never allow the water to go below 23^oC since I know from my Malawi cichlids that lower temperatures may result in shock. All pumps work normally during the water change to make sure that the fresh water is mixed well with the old one and avoid any fluctuations in its composition and temperature.

Having ten of them allowed me to observe and enjoy their schooling behavior especially when live snails were offered. Their feeding frenzy and the peculiar method they use to crush the shells is always amusing. However, I had never witnessed the half black / half red breeding coloration of this remarkable fish until July 2004. First came a pair which stayed together all the time searching the tank for a suitable location, excavating all the time destroying my aquascape and bringing out the roots of my Vallisneria. There were plenty of rocks and caves in the tank, but most of them were occupied by my large and small catfishes so they decided to build their own breeding sites. This was fine with me – up to a point – but this point was soon proven to be too optimistic. Within some days a second pair formed which started excavating the other half of the tank. Finally – yes, you guessed right – a third pair started digging in every location left by the other two. There were some displays between the pairs when their pits came in close proximity (oh, those colors !!), but nothing serious. What was serious was the appearance of my tank which seemed more or less like being bombed ! Needless to say, I always regard breeding fish as the ultimate task and the best moment in this hobby so I was not really bothered. Not much anyway. I firmly believe that the aquascape is there to serve the needs of the fish and my own visual pleasure is a lower priority, so I feel that if they want to use the decoration elements in a different way it is their right to do so. You can read more about the decoration of this particular tank in the “From Malawi to Madagascan cichlids” article, while I suggest that the basic principles outlined in the “spawning the Paratilapia polleni” are applied for the Paretroplus damii, too. In short, if you decorate your tank by taking the needs of the fish into serious consideration, this will definitely pay you back in the future when you see that all the elements your fish need are there and you do not really have to interfere during their breeding attempts.

A point to consider is that, unlike Malawi cichlids, which will soon resume their spawning activities after any intervention – even in the open, Madagascan cichlids require a far more careful approach. Since they are not mouthbrooders they rely on the location, shape and form of their spawning site to protect their eggs and fry so they may stop the spawning process if they feel that the chosen location is not safe. The more aggressive of them (like my Paratilapia polleni pairs) will first try to eliminate all other fish in the tank if they feel they can do it and then start their spawning attempts. Another thing to consider is that – like some New World cichlids – the female is always at risk. If something goes wrong she may be held responsible by the male. I am sure you can guess the rest.

The display ritual included – apart from the display of the half red / half black coloration - swimming together and, very rarely, jaw lock between the pair. We assumed that this was a “test” by the female to make sure that the chosen male was strong enough to protect the brood after spawning. Every time we observed that, it was very clear that the jaw lock was provoked by the female. The pair would dig a pit and then try it on the spot by getting in it and display to each other by vibrating their bodies. They would then remove any snail shells from the pit, retry it and then move to another location to dig a new one. It should be noted that digging and enlarging the (many) pits was done both with the mouth (in the manner most cichlids do it) as well as with their whole bodies. The pair would “sit” on the bottom of the pit and then shake in a snake–like manner moving away large amounts of sand, thus smoothing the bottom of the pit. They tried every possible combination – literally. Rocks and sand, bogwood and rocks, rocks and Vallisneria roots (which they gracefully exposed), even sand and Vallisneria roots. For some reason, they kept on changing every now and then although all their digging was focused in “their” area of the tank. This area, although relatively small (we estimated that each pair kept an area of 60 X 40 cm to itself) was supervised at all times and all the other fishes (Pe damii in particular) were chased away. The pairs did not seem to care much about the other Paretroplines in the tank or the P. polleni, but they did pay special attention to the presence of the catfishes, which were chased on the spot.

The pair in search of the right place.

They examined many locations before settling in one.

About that time Johnny and I started wondering where they could possibly lay eggs (if this was their intention) since whatever could be dug was already dug. One day one of the pairs didn’t show up for food.. (I always count them during feeding time…old habits die hard). After searching around the tank we found the pair happily sitting in an architectural wonder which they had built during the morning. Using the rocks, the sand and the Vallisneria roots as walls they had dug a pit about 10 cm deep, which was inaccessible by all three sides. So, all they had to do was to watch the entrance of their new home.. That aside, this location was almost at level with the rest of the substrate so it was kind of invisible to other fish. It is true that cichlids never stop to surprise me with their fantasy and skills, but this was a real surprise even by their standards. Of course, offering them the tools to make these wonders is the fish keeper’s responsibility. Having a 20 cm sand bed definitely made it possible in this case.

And finally, they found it.

I must confess that I could not see what was in their pit and it was Johnny who managed to see where they had laid their eggs. Yes, there were eggs and to make things better these were not covered with fungus. The eggs were laid on the side of a rock while some eggs were also attached under it (I wonder how did they manage to fertilize the eggs there…it would take acrobats to do it). After discussing it with my consultants (Sonia Guinane and Patrick de Rham), I confirmed that Paretroplines are fairly good parents so we decided to leave the eggs there and remove the fry once they became free swimming. The parents guarded their eggs in their pit all the time and I even saw the 13 cm male chasing away a 20 cm Paratilapia polleni male, which came really close to the eggs. Mind you, this P. polleni is the dominant male in the tank.

The male in the pit, always watching the eggs. The eggs are visible on the stone (right part).

As you can see in the pictures, the number of eggs did not change significantly between the first day and the second or the third. What was really amazing is the fact the at least one of the parents was with the eggs all the time, no feeding, no swimming, just staying there while the other parent was hovering 10 cm above the pit. The pair would display to any intruder and – in rare cases – would even chase the intruder away. The fact that they kept this area to themselves posed a serious problem to the other two Pe damii pairs which, on several occasions, tried to dig their own pit quite close to theirs. In those cases the reaction of the pair was immediate and left no doubts to the newcomers that they meant trouble.

Quite prolific for a fish almost one third its final adult size!

Well, everything had gone well up to this point so it was evident that something unfortunate would happen sooner or later. According to Murphy’s Law “if anything can go wrong it will” and this was definitely the case. Three days post spawning the parents decided to move the eggs to another place which was carefully chosen to be protected and out of sight. Out of our sight anyway. A very wise move indeed, which automatically meant that the chances of those fry to survive were now considerably slimmer, unless we could think of a clever way to find out where the parents and the fry were and – of course – a way to get the fry out of there. On top of that, time was really against us because as long as the fry were not free swimming, the parents would be able to guard them well and defend their home efficiently. After becoming free swimming this would be far more difficult and the fry would normally be eaten by the other tankmates. We even thought of breaking down the tank, but we soon realized that this was out of the question. With 100 Kg of bogwood, a Vallisneria bed running all over the tank and 300 Kg of rocks in it, we had to find another way. To start with…how much time did we have before they became free swimming? Naturally, off to our consultants again !!

Well, according to Sonia, the eggs usually hatch in 3-4 days (it was definitely 3 days in our case) and the fry are free swimming at 5-6 days after they hatch. In total it takes something between 8 and 10 days for the fry to reach the free swimming stage after the eggs are laid. Although time was pressing, we did a preliminary attempt to locate the parents which was unsuccessful. I hate to admit it, but it seems we are not going to make it. I am almost sure all the fry will be eaten when they become free swimming so – although we will do out best to locate them in the next 2-3 days – I am already working on plan B which calls for isolation of the eggs either with their parents or without them. After all, losing all the clutch while I am just some inches away is not something I can easily live with.

I really do not know if high temperatures have anything to do with spawning. However, I would like to note that the pair spawned (and all Pe damii pairs were actively seeking for a place to do the same) after a period of four days during which the temperature of the water never fell below 28.5^oC (actual air temperature 33^oC inside the house and 38-39^oC outside – maximum water temperature recorded during those days 31^oC) followed by a couple of massive water changes (almost 100% each in two consecutive days). Whenever this kind of observation is made, you should always take into account that my fish have just reached sexual maturity therefore one may argue that they were simply unable to spawn earlier and the higher temperature observed is merely a coincidence. The effect of external parameters – like ambient and water temperature – should be seriously taken into account only with adult individuals or, at least, fish which have already spawned in the past. Thus, a higher water temperature may or may not trigger spawning. However, the fact that this was observed with other species too (Paratilapia polleni and – quite recently – Paretroplus nourissati) points to this direction. Huge water changes may remind the fish of the rain season (something well documented for other species like Lake Malawi cichlids and Symphysodon discus) apart from the fact that they greatly contribute to the fish growing much faster and reaching sexual maturity much earlier. In my personal experience I have seen my 4 cm Paratilapia polleni reaching a size of 16 cm in less than 10 months, while my larger Paretroplus maculatus grew from 4 to 18 cm during the same period. Paretroplus damii were acquired at a size of 3.5 cm and measure 13 cm now (over the same 10 month period). Finally my Paretroplus nourissati almost doubled in size (from 3-5 cm when acquired to 6-10 cm today) in 9 months, but one has to take into account that this species has a much smaller final adult size (18 cm) as compared to the others (30-35 cm). This finding is further supported by the personal observations of other hobbyists. The “rainy season” emulation has worked remarkably well for my Paratilapia polleni pair. They are kept in a tank of their own, therefore I feel more confident  to try this “trick” a couple of times. The result was five spawning attempts (all successful) over a five month period. Since I don’t want to “exhaust” my female I will not continue this “experiment” but it definitely shows that it works with – at least some – Madagascan cichlids. Mind you, live food has never been offered to them – just good quality pellets and frozen shrimps (the latter, once a week).

It is clear that we need to learn a lot more about the spawning of Paretroplus damii and I can tell you that we are all determined to do just that. I don’t know how “frequently” they spawn but we may well have a second chance before this article goes online. The part you have read up to this point was written in the first half of July so we have 45 more days till uploading. Judging from Paratilapia polleni, this may be enough.

Indeed, it was enough. After I got back from my summer vacations, I thought of giving it one more try – the target being Paretroplus damii again. After two huge water changes (almost 80% each day) I raised the temperature to 28^oC. Within 48 hours one of the pairs had occupied the “preferred spot” and laid eggs. Needless to say, this time I had the upper hand since I had already heard the story and knew what I had to do. On the third day (72 hours after spawning), I removed the rock on which the eggs were attached (making sure that the eggs were not exposed in the air – which is far more difficult than it sounds for a deep tank) and placed it in an 100 liter tank with pre-conditioned and warmed water equipped with two powerful air pumps delivering a total of 700 liters of air / hour (see photo below).

The "hatching" tank with the two airstones. The eggs should better be away from the air bubbles.

Care was taken to avoid the air bubbles coming in contact with  the eggs. Four hours after the transportation of the rock (following Sonia’s recommendation - again) I added a small amount of methylene blue. Since I was a bit worried I tried to make sure that the eggs were fertile but the addition of the methylene blue made it very difficult so I took a photo and then examined it on my monitor. As you can see from the photo, most eggs were fertile so all we had to do was wait.

The eggs on the transferred stone. The developing embryos are clearly visible.

After the fourth day I was a bit disappointed since no eggs had hatched, something which took place 109-112 hours post spawning (approximately 4,5 days at 27^oC). There were about 50 fry on the bottom of the tank but I was afraid that the air flow would scatter them all over the tank surface and I knew from experience that this would greatly reduce the survival rate. The hatched eggs formed a “gray” mass initially (see photo below) but soon they started to be scattered by the water flow created by the air pumps. Thus, we siphoned all the hatched eggs and placed them in a floating breeding net while a water change removed almost half the methylene blue on the same day. The rock was returned to the main tank and placed on the same spot – although it was not possible to recreate the initial position. There was still no filtration in that tank – just the two air pumps running. A filter was matured in another tank and would be transferred to this tank after the fry became free swimming and needed to be fed. Days were passing by and all we could see was that the fry was still alive but nothing more. The first fry to become free swimming appeared after 7 days (!!) and the rest followed within the next 6 hours. What a moment ! The sight of them swimming in the small breeding nest was rewarding (to say the least). The matured filter was immediately transferred to this tank and the first food was offered to them (commercial powder food for egg layers). The fact they rushed to eat gave me hope that they may survive. This is always a tricky time point since sometimes the fish refuse to eat or stop eating after 48 hours. As you can see in the photo below, taken 3 days after they reached the free swimming stage, they had a dark gray coloration – instead of the “banded” appearance of  P. polleni. These lines are being written 5 days after they became free swimming which is 17 days after spawning. They look larger to me and – more important their swimming is more powerful. They are fed 4-5 times daily and we change 30% of the water every other day. There is practically no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates in this tank (measurements taken daily during the first week and once weekly thereafter).

Immediately after hatching, they formed a mass just under the stone.

Less than an hour ago it was still an egg.

Free swimming fry.

We really hope that the information contained in this report will help more hobbyists to spawn this magnificent species. You can see a step by step photo diary of the development of the fry between hatching and becoming free swimming, here.

Epilogue

This article was originally written in August 2004. Since then, a lot has happened (this Epilogue is written in February 2005). First, we met with Sonia and Dave in Vichy (October 2004) and had a very interesting exchange of ideas on how to raise the fry of Paretroplines. Another very important change is that the original Pe damii pair spends all the time together, always on the search for a good spawning site and they lay eggs once every month. Although they are excellent parents and they defend their eggs ferociously it seems that they can't make it against the (still) much larger catfishes. A second pair (the male being the largest I have) is also preparing to follow them. I am not sure but my guess is that even a 1300 liter tank is too small to allow a third pair to spawn. Removing the stone with the attached eggs is not something that I like to do. It causes an unnecessary stress to all the fish in the tank - especially to the weaker ones. Moreover, cichlids are not stupid and if this happens a couple of times, their natural reaction is to classify this particular spot as "unsafe" and choose another one, which will be impossible to reach. Perhaps, when they get larger, they will be able to take care of their brood in a better way, so, waiting is also an option. On one hand I want to get the eggs out and raise the fry artificially. On the other hand, I want to see my fish happy. There is some sort of contradiction here. Since there are quite a few hobbyists asking for them, I may give it another try sooner or later. Lately, I decided that I will just build another 2 m / 700 l tank and house most of the catfish in it, along with my five P. polleni small spot. This will result in a 1300 liter tank with "just" 10 inhabitants, those beautiful red-faced beauties. I know this is a bit too much for a species tank but my feeling is that this is the right thing to do.

The book entitled "The Endemic Cichlids of Madagascar" by Patrick de Rham and Jean - Claude Nourissat is now available in English. Click here to find out how to order and here to read the back cover page of the English edition.