Aequidens tetramerus - breeding pair

These are not Ports, totally different fish with different colors....Behavior will be similar, Will Darken up, even with/on white, but not as much.

Ports are much less aggressive, IMHE.

Those really darkened up now that they have free swimming fry. I wonder what mine are going to do as the fry start to hatch. Mine are currently over white sand.

madzarembski~

Talk to me, I got a Trio for you if you want....

Nuthman~

;D

I am enjoying this thread. What size tank would you keep these guys in long term?

Long-term? 20g long is more than enough space.

I am enjoying this thread. What size tank would you keep these guys in long term?

Tanks of fish on both sides, these parents are on high alert for the fry-

Ok, 2.5".  She is small.

Last night I saw some interesting behavior from this pair that I wished I was able to capture.  They would not do it with the light on, so I could not take a video.  The female apparently chewed the fry out of the eggs and moved them to the front of the tank (actually the side, but this tank is racked sideways).  I just picked up some Tilapia synderae fry from our meeting last night and dropped those in the 5g next door.  Both tetramerus parents became very agitated and were "defending" their fry against the synderae.  Then this little female began taking on the larger male, pushing him to the rear of the tank. He would charge toward the middle, and she would charge at him and nip at his face and eyes pushing him back to the rear, and then she would charge back to the fry.  It was almost like she was boxing or 'slapping" him, telling him to pay attention to the synderae, and if he didn't, he was useless and needed to get to the rear of the bus.  I was loading fish into tanks last night and I saw this activity for the better part of an hour.  I assume it happened further in the night.  This morning, he looks exhausted and she's just glaring at him. The male is twice her size.

Maybe some of you can identify with this....

2"! That's tiny. Maybe you should take a turkey baster and try to blast some of the fungused eggs off the rock. It's worked for me in the past.

Hi
How big is the pair? 5-6 inches? You were able to spawn them in a 10? Or did I misread that. What is there temperament? They do look good and are definitely a type of fish I'd love to try.
madzarembski

The male may be 4", female 2".  Spawned in a 10. They are pretty docile - in a "cichlid community tank" they get banged around pretty good.  In the 10, he was somewhat rough with her but not too bad.  Not sure he did his job though on this batch - a few eggs are "fungusing."

Hi
How big is the pair? 5-6 inches? You were able to spawn them in a 10? Or did I misread that. What is there temperament? They do look good and are definitely a type of fish I'd love to try.
madzarembski