Clint87 Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 So I finally bit the bullet and decided to give breeding a go again, it's been about ten years since I've bred anything and even when I have in the past it was nothing planned and I ended up having to cull a lot fish due to them coming from a community tank of cichlids. This time I want to give it a good go and maybe expand to a few different colonies in the future. So I guess the point of this post is to ask for any tips to be successful with these new fish. the details 5x bicolour peacocks 1m 4f have bread in the past for previous owner tank is a 2x1.5x1.5 filtration large sponge filter Questions what sort decor ATM I just have a few rocks and a couple of plants best food to ensure quality fry or does this not matter once I get a mouthful is it best to leave them or strip them one other question I have is the tank is in my garage which sees a fair bit of traffic will these spook the fish to much thanks sorry for the long post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 In a tank that small you will need lots of ornaments so females can escape males attention for a few minutes. Doesnt matter what you use, eg plastic plants, texas holey, coral bits, pirate ships etc You may find they spit/swallow due to constant harassment. Certainly not going to be workable once they are at full size. Or maybe it will. Stranger things have happened. But I would set it up with a view to moving them into a bigger tank once they get some size on them. I leave females 2 weeks before milking them, works for me. I feed spectrum and shori. Although shori only comes in 5kg bags so prob not suitable for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishunter99 Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Good luck with the new venture mate, hope you do well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted January 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Thanks yeah the tank is just my incase tank that I use for quarantine etc. it was a bit of an impulse buy so this was the only spare tank cycled and ready to go what size tank would you suggest as a long term setup I plan on building a three tiered rack in the near future so I have tanks ready to go for the fry was thinking either 2 1/2 or 3 footers. When you say two weeks is that from when you notice the mouthful thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 15, 2013 Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Yea from when you notice the mouthful. Thats usually the earliest I extract them as I prefer not to tumble eggs. After a while you can tell by the colour of mouthful (throat), eyes peeking from mouth and also the condition of female. As far as breeders go, 3 foot long, 2 foot wide and 1 foot high..... would be perfect IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted January 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2013 Thanks again I'll put a few more hidey holes in there for the time being the male isn't bothering them ATM but I guess they've only been in there a day lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted January 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 so is it normal for fish to be more skitish when in a colony? i can hardly get these guys from behind the filter for food and when i do i have to sit very still while they eat otherwise they spook and head straight for the filter again. maybe im being impatiant as they have only been in there for a couple of days but i just havent seen this behaviour in any of my peacocks before. thanks clint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted January 16, 2013 Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 2x1.5x1.5 is pretty much perfect for 1m4f. Build a nice little pile of rocks up in the middle of the tank but don't go filling it up with too much garbage. When to strip is a matter of opinion, and even for the same breeder it varies from colony to colony. I prefer to strip about 4 or 5 days after I first notice a mouthful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted January 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 thanks matt open to all opinions on this as its all new to me they seem pretty happy in there apart from hidding all the time and the male is coloured up like crazy wish i could get a photo of him but i suck with the camera lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted January 16, 2013 Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 Try using the setting where it takes 5 or 10 photos rapidly one after the other. Do that a few times and out of 30 or so photos you usually get one good one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted January 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2013 as soon as they come out from hidding for long enough ill give it a go thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 ok so a bit of a update i have moved these guys to a different tank on my new tiered setup. turns out i had 3m 2f one male was killed so im left with 2m 2f they are now in 60l/60w/38h cm tank and seem alot happier but i want to add some more females i have found where i can get some just wondering how many i should get. i was thinking either getting another 4f so it would be 2m 6f what do you guys reckon as stated at the start of this i am very new to breeding so any advice no matter how simple would be great. thanks clint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 this is a quick shot of their new tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 2m and 4/5/6f should work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 finaly got some pics of these guys lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 all the crap in the water is just food it was the only way to convince them to come out.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 I'm keen to see more pics of the male. In the third pic it looks like a maulana, but in the first pic it does look more like something else. It could just be trick photography but there seems to be quite a lot of yellow in it, even in the anal fin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 A what now? Was sold these as aulonocara bi color peacock really hope they are what I was told he does have a fair bit of yellow in his tail? Will try and get more pics cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 It's the same male in all photos you can see the sub dominant male in pic 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 It could just be the lighting playing tricks. But just in that first photo... There's an awful lot of yellow for a fish that should be predominantly blue with a yellow band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 He looks a lot like this which according mr google is a bicolor maybe just a different type? Or are you saying he could be this I don't think so he has a lot more blue in him then this and probably the photo above in real life man you have me all worried now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted February 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Hmm that didn't work I'll fix those pics tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted March 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 alot of this thread was lost but just wanted to add a bit of a update. i am more and more confident that these are pure bicolors as the males blue is just getting stronger. I have brought another 3 females from smiths yesterday to try and limit agression so colony is now 2m 5f. still no mouthfulls which is starting to be a bit frustrating. the male seems really dominant and has all the other fish hugging the heater in the back corner. so my next thought is should i take the male out and see how the sub dominant male goes or am i just being to impatient cheers clint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua Addict Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Why don't you take the sub dominant male out, it might be that your male spends all his time trying to chase the other male away that he ain't thinking about breeding yet, 1 male to 5 females is still a pretty good ratio, to induce some spawning have you tried a heavy water-change with cooler water that often triggers spawning. If all else fails then you could try swapping males but i would give your boy a chance first. Anyway good luck with it, hope to see babies soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clint87 Posted March 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Why don't you take the sub dominant male out, it might be that your male spends all his time trying to chase the other male away that he ain't thinking about breeding yet, 1 male to 5 females is still a pretty good ratio, to induce some spawning have you tried a heavy water-change with cooler water that often triggers spawning. If all else fails then you could try swapping males but i would give your boy a chance first. Anyway good luck with it, hope to see babies soon! yeah thanks mate he dosent seem to be just targeting the other male but this may be a good option cheers when you say a heavy water change are you talking like 50% or more/less i currently do about 20% every week. Clint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
