Thursday 12 April 2012

The care and breeding of the L046 Hypancistrus Zebra Plec

I have always had a keen interest in plecs but when I saw a picture of the Zeb in a book…that was it…I had to have them!  I searched the internet in relentless pursuit.  I drove up and down the country picking up unwanted fish, even going more than 100 miles just to get one!  Not a popular choice with the Other Half as (at the time, pre the ban on export) I was willing to pay £40 to £60 per fish. 


Over the course of a year I was able to gather a nice collection from different sources and was ready to try my hand at breeding.  How hard could it be?  I was already getting hundreds of bristlenoses from multiple spawns, surely these must pretty similar?!  Good clean water, lots of bogwood, males and females and a couple of slate caves.  Why wasn’t anything happening?  

So I started to read anything I could find about breeding Zebra plecs.  Although there was not a lot of information, those that had been successful seemed willing to share.  What followed next can only be described as ‘madness’ (at least it was by the OH) as I tried everything to get these fish to breed.  I measured TDS and Ph.  I re-created the rainy season!  I even started paying attention to barometric pressure!  I watched Sky News for the weather reports and ran to do a water change every time there was a hint of a thunderstorm on the way!  I did stop short of looking for a Shaman in the phone book to perform a ritual rain dance, but I think you get the picture, I would have tried anything.  But still nothing happened.  It finally dawned on me why these fish are so rare.

Then disaster struck.  While treating another fish for velvet disease in a tank in the same room as my Zebs there was some cross contamination that must have occurred.  Even though I am meticulous about cleaning hands between tanks, using different nets etc. somehow I managed to draw the disease into the Zeb tanks and one by one began losing them.  In the end I was left with a group of three.  I was so devastated that I nearly gave up the hobby entirely.  I moved the three to a quiet tank on their own in the fish house and just let them be. 

I still delighted in seeing the Zebs, watching them scurry about when I would add some bloodworm to the tank.  I moved a few bristlenoses in to keep the algae under control and added a few top swimmers to give them some security.  I started treating them like the beloved pets they were instead of as a science experiment.  Knowing how scarce they were fast becoming I felt really privileged to have these three. 

One day I decided to move the bristlenoses as they were getting quite big and could out-compete the Zebs for food.  I picked up a piece of bogwood and held a net under it to capture any that might have been hiding.  Something did fall into the net but it surely wasn’t a bristlenose.  It had black and white stripes.  It took a few seconds to realise I was looking at a perfectly formed half inch baby Zebra plec!  I calmed down and carefully placed the baby and the bogwood back into the tank.  In total I found five of the stunning little creatures tucked away in different pieces of bogwood scattered around the tank.  What an incredible find, especially as I was convinced that I had three males.  Obviously not!

So it wasn’t me, it had nothing to do with the rain and even Sky News weather couldn’t take credit.  The fish decided to breed when they were good and ready.  Yes there is some science behind it but the key factor was in waiting until the Zebs actually reached sexual maturity at a minimum of three inches long.  I have had subsequent spawns from the same male and I have noticed some patterns that may have to do with it, but then again knowing my Zebs may be purely co-incidental!

Things that work for me and my brood:
1. Patience! Patience! Patience!
2. Males have to reach a minimum of three inches (since it is extremely difficult to sex the fish it is the males that will take a cave and defend it)
3. A higher proportion of males to females works best as the female likes to choose her man!
4. All of the females will compete for the attention of the dominant male (sorry for the other guys but they just won’t get a look in!)
5. Regular water changes
6. Just before a rainstorm a good clean of the filter media really creates activity (not a guaranteed spawn but lots of attention from the females)
7. Loads of bogwood and caves about 1” high by 2” wide and and approx 5” long
8. Just let them get on with it without too much interference

Once the eggs have hatched and the fry have escaped from the cave I feed a steady diet of finely crushed Tetra Doromin.  I picked up this tip from another successful breeder.  Since using the Doromin the fry really develop quickly.  I feed four times a day.  I keep the babies in the tank with the adults as there is no chance of predation from the adults and I don’t keep them with any other fish at the moment.

My Breeding set-up:

Juwel 240L tanks with loads of bogwood and lots of caves for the males.
Filtration:       Fluval 404 plus two sponge filters
Substrate: Gravel
pH:                7.6
Temp:            29c
Foods:           Tetra Doromin, Brineshrimp, Bloodworm
Four male adults
Three female adults
Several juveniles (sex undetermined)
Babies from ½ to 1 ½  inches

Malawi Cichlids ~ A Beginners Guide

There is nothing so colourful as a tank of Malawi Cichlids going about their business but Malawis are NOT a general community fish.  I hope by sharing some of my experiences and knowledge you will be more informed and set up the right conditions so you too can enjoy the pleasure of these wonderful fish!

LET'S START WITH UNDERSTANDING MALAWIS!

Malawi Cichlids are typically good sized fish ranging from 4" and upwards.  They are also VERY aggressive so if you want to go the Malawi route then its all or nothing!

Malawis are quite an intelligent fish and soon learn that their human companion supplies food.  They sense when I am about to feed them and all come out of hiding to greet me with open mouths.  Even cleaning the tank is an ideal opportunity for a Malawi to have a little nibble at your hand just in case it may be food!  Very alarming the first time but they never do any harm.  They will eat as much as you dare to put in their tank so do not let that cute little face tempt you into adding more food than is required.

MBUNA vs HAPS AND PEACOCKS

Not all Malawis are the same and so let's take a closer look.

Mbuna are highly aggressive and rock dwelling fish which in nature live in large groups but are not a schooling fish.  Mbuna are vegetarians and in the wild would spend their time scraping Algae from rocks although insects and crustations would be eaten that live within the algae.  Being vegetarians also means that plants are fair game so be warned!  You may get away with Java fern as they don't seem to like that too much and its copes well with the alkaline water conditions needed for Malawis.

Mbuna are smaller than haps and peacocks and are typically sized between 4"-6".

Haps and Peacocks are moderately aggressive.  Unlike the Mbuna Haps  live in open water and are very rarely seen in groups.  Peacocks are live close to the sand and are some of the most stunning coloured fish of all!  These fish are also piscivores, feeding on small fish in the wild.

This group of Malawis are generally much bigger than the Mbuna reaching double the size of many Mbuna.  They do take much longer to reach sexual maturity than Mbuna and do not usually take on adult colours until they reach 2.5" or so.


CREATING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT

The tank

As fishkeepers we are told "Do not overstock your tank" but with Malawis the opposite is true.  By overstocking a Malawi tank the most dominant fish have a hard time picking out a single individual to bully and ultimately kill.  It is therefore advisable to have a minimum tank of 55 gallons for Mbuna and 75 gallons for Haps and peacocks.  Overstocking a tank increases pollution therefore you will need to over filter the tank to compensate.

The substrate, rocks and salt

Malawis live in alkaline water, therefore unless you are fortunate to have a PH of between 7.8 - 8.6 coming out of your tap you will need to increase this through other methods.

I personally have a PH of 7.6 so in order to increase this I have added coral substrate and ocean rock (which is perfect for Mbuna to hide in) to all of my Mbuna tanks.  This naturally increases the PH to within the range stated.  If you have very low PH and even after adding the substrate and rock still find it is below 7.8 then Malawi salts can also be added.

My Hap/Peacock tank is slightly different with boulders placed on the substrate as these Malawis are not rock dwellers.  I also add Malawi Salt to this tank to increase the PH.

TEMPERATURE

I have found that 76f works well and although the fish may not always be in full colour they do have a more natural breeding cycle and not constantly in breeding condition as with higher temperature.  Even Malawis need a break!
FEEDING AND BREEDING

Feeding
A good balanced diet will combine both frozen and dried foods and I use these on alternative days.

Frozen foods such as Spinach, Brine shrimp and Malawi mix are a good source of food. For a treat  also give Krill and mysis.

DO NOT feed them Bloodworm or Beefheart as this has been linked to a condition called Malawi Bloat!

Dried foods are available that provide a good nutritional meal such as Hikari Malawi Cichlid pellets, Tetra Prima, Spirulina sticks and they love the JMC Catfish pellets.

BREEDING

Probably the easiest thing of all to do is breed Malawis provided that the conditions they are kept in is right and they are of sexual maturity.

Malawis are mouth brooders and are a delight to watch as they go through their mating dance.  I have on many occasions had very worried previous buyers contact me because one of their Malawis is shaking next to a rock!  This is just one part of the dance that leads to breeding.

The male will come into condition and will colour up, which basically means he will be brighter and more colourful than normal.  He will then pick out a female and try to attract her with his display while chasing anything that moves in the tank away from his chosen breeding spot.  This may go on for hours and even days if the female is playing hard to get!  He will guide her to his chosen spot and shake like he is having a fit, to impress her.  When she is ready she will lay one egg on his spawning site and he will follow and fertilise the egg, she then picks up the egg in her mouth and lays another...till her mouth is full of eggs!

After about 21 days (varies between individual species) the eggs in the females mouth start to hatch.  Females are good mothers and will try to hang on to their babies for as long as possible but eventually she has to let them go, this is called spitting them.  Chances are if she does this in the main tank most if not all the babies will be a tasty snack for the adults.  The method I use to save the babies is to place the mum with a mouthful of eggs into a spare tank on her own.  I wait till she has spat them then remove her back into the main tank and leave the babies to grow up in safety.  Please note that while the female is Holding (mouth full of eggs or fry) she will not eat so don't worry this is normal!

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Back to Work

What a great Easter weekend we had but now that’s over and today we all had to go back to work.    Our business is all about selling pet products via the internet and work from a warehouse/unit which means the dogs get to come with us every day!  Work is a brisk 34 mins away from home and on the way we go through a park which pleases the dogs very much!  When we get to work the dogs have their own jobs to do such as meeting and greeting anyone who gets within 100 yards of the building and when it’s sunny, they guard the entrance.



They both get a wage each day of a few dog chews and they seem very happy about that :) 

Oh well see you again soon!

Saturday 7 April 2012

Welcome to my blog

Just to say hello to anyone who drops by and to let you know I plan to use this blog as both a record of my own experiences with keeping pets and to give you an  insight  into some of the products I like and sell.

First let me introduce the family furballs


This is Cookie (Chocolate Labrador) and Maddy Golden Lab/Collie cross.


Chester



Chester is like myself, very interested in Fishkeeping.


Wacko



Sadly Wacko had to be put to sleep last week but he is still in our hearts and still very much a part of our family.  I will at somepoint share my experience of  losing our beloved friend but the first post is not really the one to do it.


I also keep fish and had experience with many different types over the years.  I currently have just one tank with Zebra Plecs but di have as many as 40 tanks at one point!


Anyway thanks for dropping by and see you again soon x