Part 8: Breeding Pelvicachromis pulcherrimus

A pair of pulcherrimus guarding fry 20 days after hatching. The male parent is on the left, and the female parent is on the right.

A male parent watches over the fry eight days after hatching. As the fry swim around actively, the parent fish is constantly on the lookout for any individuals that may stray from the school.

first

This time, we will introduce the breeding of Pelvicachromis pulcheir (hereinafter referred to as pulcheir), a representative species of dwarf cichlid found in African rivers.

The pair introduced in the third installment of this column has successfully laid eggs and raised their young, so I would like to introduce them here and explain some tips on breeding. Please read the third installment for a detailed profile of Pulquer.

Cichlids are known as fish that raise their young.Pelvicachromis　The male and female of the species Pelvica (hereafter referred to as Pelvica) work together to take care of the eggs and young fish. You can even watch them raise their young in an aquarium, so give it a try.

Pulchelles are one of the easier species to breed among the Pelvicachromis genus, but wild specimens (those collected in their habitat) can be quite temperamental and require strict water quality control, making pairing difficult. However, wild specimens are rarely available and are not easy to obtain. Therefore, if you are aiming to breed them, we recommend bred specimens, which are widely available and easy to obtain and raise.

Larval growth record

Before we go into detail about breeding tips, please take a look at the growth record of the fry. It's moving to see the tiny baby pulcherrimus growing day by day. It's also heartwarming to see the parent fish protecting the fry.

■ 3 days after hatching
The hatched fry become free-swimming but are not yet active, moving around driftwood or crawling along the bottom of the water, with the parent fish always accompanying them and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Once the fry can swim, they start eating baby food and brine shrimp larvae.

A female parent watches over the fry three days after hatching

The fry are three days old after hatching. They are searching for food by licking the surface of the bottom sand. If you see this behavior, it is a good idea to start feeding them.

■ 4 days after hatching
The fry will rise to the surface and begin to swim freely and actively. If the breeder looks into the tank, the parent fish will sense danger and send a signal to the fry by shaking its body slightly. The fry will then gather on the bottom and stop moving.

The fry and the male parent four days after hatching. The fry surface and begin to swim actively.

When the parent fish senses danger and sends a signal by shaking its body, the fry all sink to the bottom and stop moving.

A close-up of the fry four days after hatching. So cute!

■ 8 days after hatching
Although there is no significant change in their body shape, their patterns become clearer, they eat well and swim around actively. The fry move in groups under the watchful eye of their parents, but some fry get separated from the group, and the parents will sometimes pick up the lost fry in their mouths and return them to the group. If the breeder gets too close, the fry will be frantically moved away, so it is important not to stimulate them too much.

Paired with juvenile fish 8 days after hatching

A close-up of the fry on the 8th day after hatching. They look a lot more like fish now compared to the XNUMXth day.

Young fish searching for food by licking the surface of Anubias leaves. They may be eating the microorganisms and organic matter that have developed on the surface.

■ 20 days after hatching
If they are fed sufficiently, they will grow rapidly day by day and their body shape will gradually become similar to that of their parents. 20 days after hatching, their round faces will turn horse-like and look more like Pelvica. They will swim around more actively, making it difficult for the parents to stay on their guard. Sometimes, one of the pair will take the lead and poke their partner to encourage them to take care of the fry.

A close-up of the fry 20 days after hatching. Their bodies have become much stronger and their faces look more like Pervica's.

A pair of fish guarding young fish 20 days after hatching. While they are on guard against their surroundings, they become nervous and sometimes even quarrel.

■ 30 days after hatching
20 days after hatching, the faces are still large and still retain the appearance of young fish, but by 30 days the bodies have become larger and more slender.

Paired with juvenile fish 30 days after hatching

A close-up of the fry 30 days after hatching. Their bodies have become stronger.

The fry and the male parent 30 days after hatching. The fry have grown quite large and strong, so the male parent seems to be watching over them with confidence.

■ 45 days after hatching
Their body shape has become much slimmer and closer to that of their parents. Their appetite is becoming stronger.

Paired with juvenile fish 45 days after hatching

A close-up of the fry on the 45th day after hatching. Compared to the fry on the 30th day, they have become much more like Pervica.

■ 65 days after hatching
At this stage, their body shape becomes almost the same as that of their parents. There is also a big change in their pattern, with the black spots on their sides connecting to form lines. Some individuals start to claim their territory.

Paired with juvenile fish 65 days after hatching

A juvenile fish 65 days after hatching. The black spots on its side have joined together to form a line, and its body shape is almost the same as that of its parent fish.

A fast-growing, large juvenile fish (probably a male) was seen claiming territory and chasing away other individuals.

■ 131 days after hatching
131 days have passed since they hatched, and they have grown to the same body shape as their parents. The fast-growing, larger individuals are thought to be males. The parents still seem to be protecting the young fish, but they don't seem as nervous as they were when they were small fry.

Paired with juvenile fish 131 days after hatching

A juvenile fish 131 days after hatching. The characteristic black spots of the pulcherrimus have appeared on the fins and the abdomen has turned red.

Paired with a juvenile fish 131 days after hatching. Rather than the parent fish protecting it, it seems like they are living together.

■ 474 days after hatching
After more than a year has passed since hatching, the sexes become clear and mating behavior can be seen. There are individual differences in the patterns on the fins, and as shown in the photo, there are individuals with many black spots on their fins. By selectively breeding such individuals, it is possible to create individuals with even more black spots.

A male individual 474 days after hatching. It has become an adult and is showing mating behavior.

This is a female. She was paired with the male above.

How to distinguish between males and females

Now let's talk about some breeding tips.

If you are planning on breeding them, it is important to be familiar with the characteristics of the male and female. Here are some points to distinguish between the male and female.

-Males are larger than females
Males have dorsal and anal fins that grow longer than females.
The male's tail fin has a spade-like shape with the center protruding.
Females' bodies become rounder as they grow.
The female's pelvic fins are shorter and rounder than the male's.

It is somewhat difficult to distinguish between males and females when they are juveniles, but as they grow the difference between the sexes becomes more apparent.

The male parent that was bred this time. Also introduced in the third installment of this column. Males are larger than females and their fins are longer.

This is the female parent. This is also the individual introduced in the third installment. Females are smaller than males and have different fin shapes.

Obtain multiple young fish and pair them, letting the female take the lead.

Bred individuals are occasionally sold in pairs, but most are sold as juveniles or sub-adults, so if you purchase several and raise them as you pair them, you will have a higher chance of finding a compatible pair.

If you buy about five young fish and raise them, you have a good chance of getting a pair.I think that if the individual is a little larger, it is possible to distinguish between males and females, so it may be a good idea to select one after consulting with the shop staff.

By the way, there are currently eight known species of Pervica, but none of them have any rules regarding pairing or breeding.The key is to let the female take the lead.In other words, if you allow the female to choose the male, you will get a pair with a strong bond.

When several young fish are raised together and eventually reach sexual maturity, the females will choose stronger males to show off to.

A female showing off her abdomen to appeal to a male.

If a male likes a female, he will shake his head back and forth quickly. If the male stays with the female for a long time without chasing her away, it is safe to assume that they have formed a pair.

Once a pair is obtained, you can either move the unpaired individuals to another tank or move the pair to a breeding tank.you know.

Breeding tank and environment

The aquarium used for breeding this time was the same one used in the third breeding example, and breeding was an extension of breeding.

The tank size is 450mm wide x 220mm deep x 330mm high / approx. 27.8L (aquarium set includesRiva 450N 6 piece set) and breeding can be enjoyed without any problems in an aquarium that is 45 to 60 cm wide.

In the past, we have been able to breed them in 30cm cube tanks, but if you keep them in a larger tank with as much water as possible, the water quality will be more stable and it will also be easier to raise young fish.

The water temperature should be around 26℃, the same as when they were kept..

By the way, the light will turn on normally and there is no problem.LED smart timerIt is recommended to keep them away from the aquarium by using a petting utensil, etc.

■Aquarium data

Aquarium: width 450 x depth 220 x height 330mm/approx. 27.8L
filter:Suisaku Space Power Fit Plus M White,Suisaku panel filter W
Filter material:Suisaku Space Power Fit Plus Replacement Filter Media
Substrate: Soil type
illumination:light up 400 white(Lights on for about 1 hours a day using a timer)
timer:LED smart timer
Water temperature: 26℃ (water temperature gauge isPaste balance Muse)
Food: Flake or granular food, or brine shrimp larvae, 1 to 3 times a day depending on the growth stage.
Breeds: Pelvicachromis pulcherrimus (1 male, 1 female), Otocinclus (1)
Aquatic plants: Anubias nana, Anubias nana “Petit”

Cave spawners spawn in dark places

The layout of the aquarium is also important for breeding.

Pulcaer is now known as Cave Spawner.They lay eggs in dark places, such as in holes.Therefore, it is recommended to put accessories such as driftwood to be used as a spawning bed and a shelter (that will not affect the water quality) in the aquarium. You can also use a half-cut terracotta flower pot.

Females with full bellies will often dig holes under driftwood or other objects to create spawning sites. You can put in an aquarium shelter, but I don't know if they'll spawn in the shelter as intended. It depends on the fish.

In this breeding example, we have placed a shelter, but the female dug a hole underneath the shelter itself and laid her eggs (lol). If the female likes it there, then that's fine.

The female individual that bred this time dug a hole under the shelter (the lower left part of the shelter in the photo) and laid eggs.

Spawning

As spawning approaches, the female's abdomen becomes enlarged with eggs.The oviduct emerges from the cloaca at the base of the anal fin.You will be able to see the following.

When the female is ready to spawn, the red color of her abdomen becomes even deeper and her body color shines brightly, and she swims around the male as if dancing, showing off her abdomen. The passionate swimming of the female, who has changed her body color, is worth seeing.

When the female is ready to spawn, she dances around the male enthusiastically to show him her presence. A characteristic behavior of females is that they spread their pelvic fins and press them close together to make their bellies look bigger.

When the male responds to the female's courtship dance, he moves to the spawning bed and begins laying eggs. Usually, eggs are laid in a dark hole, so it is difficult to see how they are done, but occasionally they are laid in a place where the eggs can be seen. When the female lays the eggs, the male releases fertilization, and when the eggs are fertilized, they begin to develop.

Parent fish care for eggs and fry

Immediately after spawning, the pair begins caring for the eggs. They take turns to care for the eggs by blowing fresh water onto them with their fins and eating and removing any infertile or dead eggs.

If the development of the fertilized egg proceeds smoothlyIf the water temperature is 25-26℃, the eggs will hatch in about 72 hours (approximately 3 days).Immediately after hatching, the fry absorb the egg yolk in the umbilical sac in their abdomen and grow, but they are not yet able to swim well and spend their time clinging to the bottom near where they spawned.

Approximately 70 fry hatched from this spawning, but not all of them will become parents, as some will be stunted and their numbers will gradually decrease.

Two or three days after hatching, the parent fish will carry the fry, which have absorbed the egg yolk, in their mouths, so the breeder can finally check on them. This is an impressive sight, no matter how many times you see it.

Newly hatched fry are not able to swim around actively, and if the keeper gets their face too close to the tank, the mate may sense the danger and take the fry in its mouth and move them to a safe place where the keeper cannot see them.

The pair are very nervous so it is important not to get too close to the tank.That's right. Let's just quietly watch over the parent fish without doing things like changing the water, which would upset them.

The parent fish may become nervous while raising their young and may quarrel with each other, but they will eventually make up, so please keep an eye on them.

Incidentally,There is no need to feed the parent fish between spawning and the first feeding of the fry.The key is to focus on caring for the young fish.

Feeding the young fish

Let's observe the fry carefully after they have absorbed the egg yolk and started to swim. You should be able to see them moving their mouths as if they are searching for food. They may also be eating organic matter such as microorganisms. Now is the time to feed the fry for the first time.

Powdered baby food or newly hatched brine shrimp larvae are suitable as initial food for young fish.Feed them as often as possible as they can only eat a small amount at a timeThe key point is that if you feed them frequently, they will grow faster.

I fed my cat three times a day as follows. Please use this as a reference.

■Example of feeding three times a day■
9:00 a.m. "Medaka Baby Hyper Raising" (Kyorin)
1:00pm "Medaka Baby Hyper Development"
6:00pm - Hatched brine shrimp larvae
* Brine shrimp larvae must be fed.

Artificial food for medaka can be fed efficiently by soaking it in water and spraying it with a pipette onto the young fish near the bottom of the tank.

Brine shrimp larvae are a standard food for fry, so I would definitely recommend giving them to your fish. You can also give them to your fry by spraying them with a pipette.

A juvenile fish 20 days after hatching eagerly eating a brine shrimp larva.

Feed the fry plenty of food until their stomachs are full.Starving fry will affect their growth, so make sure they have food in their stomachs.It would be nice to have that.

As the fry grow, they are able to eat larger pellets of food than baby food, and they will become hungry as feeding them three times a day is not enough.

Therefore, about two weeks after hatching, we began feeding them four times a day and also giving them adult medaka food.

The 20th day after hatching, the fry are eating granular artificial feed. The artificial feed should be soaked in water to make it easier to sink, and then sprayed on the fry.

On the 18th day after hatching, the chicks ate finely ground flake food ``Hikari Neopros'' (Kyorin) after soaking it in water, so I added this to the menu as well.

On the 20th day after hatching, they had grown so much that baby food was no longer enough for them. After that, I stopped feeding them baby food and started feeding them mainly "Hikari Neopros", "Medaka no Mai Complete" (Kyorin) and newly hatched brine shrimp larvae.

30-day-old fry eating flake food. It is best to crush the flake food with your fingers, soak it in water, and then feed it to them.

I also started giving them color-enhancing food for medaka, "Medaka no esa Hyper Iroage" (Kyorin), to make their body colors more beautiful. I think it's especially effective for red colors, and it makes the colors of the juvenile fish stand out more.

■Example of feeding three times a day■
9:00am "Hikari Neopros"
1:00pm "Complete the Dance of the Medaka"
4:00pm - Hatched brine shrimp larvae
7:30pm - Hatched brine shrimp larvae
* Brine shrimp larvae must be fed.

Feeding four times a day continued until the 1th day after hatching. By this time, the baby fish had grown to the same body shape as their parents and were able to store a lot of food, so we went back to feeding them three times a day.

Juvenile fish 45 days after hatching that have started to eat artificial feed floating on the water surface

This time, I tried giving the young fish several kinds of food for killifish. The reason is that it is soft and looks easy to eat, and there have been remarkable developments in killifish food recently, and there are many good foods available.

During this breeding I realized that this is a very good food for Pulkale, but of course tropical fish food will also work, and if you can get fresh worms, feeding them will help them grow even faster.

Pulchells also eat moss. You can see the fry pecking at black baleen moss, perhaps imitating the behavior of their parents. They will also eat herbivorous pleco food tablets broken into small pieces, so it's a good idea to give them some occasionally.

A 65-day-old hatched juvenile fish eating moss on the surface of an Anubias leaf

How do I feed the parent fish?

The parent fish will eat the food given to the fry, so there is no need to feed the parents separately.Yeah.

A pair of fish eating brine shrimp larvae together with young fish

First water change after hatching

Since hatched fry are delicate, water changes should be done after they become able to swim freely. It is best to avoid sudden changes in water quality when they are fry, so they should be raised without water changes for a while. It is OK to add water to make up for evaporation.

My situation,The first water change should be done around 2 weeks after hatching.The fry will become stronger in about two weeks, and if I don't change the water any more, it will get very dirty and it will not be good for the health of the parent fish.

At the first water changemaintenance goodsUse it to remove moss from glass surfaces,Floor cleanerClean the bottom floor at the same time.

The basic rule when cleaning is to be gentle and slow so as not to startle the parent fish..

When you put your hand in the tank, the parent fish may try to lunge at you to protect the fry, but if you work slowly and carefully without rushing, the parent fish should not panic.

The amount of water to be changed for the first time should be small, about 1/4 of the total water volume..

After the second time, it is a good idea to change 2/1 to 4/1 of the water depending on how dirty the tank is. After 3 months have passed since hatching and the fry have grown considerably, there is no problem with changing about 4/1 of the total water volume.

After the first water change, I changed the water about once a week. After the water change, the fish seemed to become more active and healthier.

When to separate the fish from their parents

It is possible to raise small fry without the parent fish, but it is safer to let the parent fish take care of them for the time being. It might be a good idea to observe the parent fish taking care of them for a long time.

When should a child be separated from its parents?The fish is ready when the patterns on its side connect to form a line and look similar to the parent fish.is not it.

In this spawning, the male parent was seen aggressively chasing away the fry around 45 days after hatching. Also, around this time, the stronger fry were seen chasing away the other individuals.

Around 100 days after hatching, the female parent's body color darkened and it was seen that she was trying to attract the male parent, so if she was separated from the fry, she would probably spawn. At this time, the parent fish did not attack even if I put my hand in the tank, so it seems that the time for the fry to separate from their mother had already passed.

This time, I tried to keep the parents and fry together for as long as possible. As a result, even after the fry paired up, they were able to live together without any problems, but I think this will vary depending on the size and environment of the aquarium.

Generally, I think the time for the parent fish to leave their parents is when they start to think about reproducing.

A young fish 65 days after hatching. Once it gets to this size, it is okay to raise it separately from its parents.

Breeding tips: Summary

・The tank size suitable for breeding is 45cm or more in width.
- To obtain a pair with a strong bond, breed them from juveniles and pair them.
- They dig holes under driftwood and lay eggs.
・Feed young fish frequently and frequently
- Raise the eggs without changing water for about two weeks after hatching.
・If you want to separate the fish from its parent, it is safe to wait until the pattern on its side becomes linear.

in conclusion

This time, we introduced the breeding of Pelvicachromis pulcherii, a dwarf cichlid native to African rivers that you can enjoy to the fullest. Please try observing their interesting behavior of paired fish working together to raise their young in an aquarium.

Seeing them protecting their young will make you love cichlids even more.

see you!