Lophiobagrus brevispinis getting ready to spawn!!

[CatWhat]

Like the subject says. I have had 8 of these guys for about 5 weeks now and up until a few days ago they were all very territorial. But I have noticed that there seems to be a male and female in the one cave, which was dug under a piece of driftwood. So I'm hoping this may lead to them breeding. I don't have any plans to seperate the pair or fry, but if they do breed at least I'll know I do have the option of breeding them seperatly. I'll keep everyone posted on how things turn out.

[CatWhat]

Still nothing yet, the both of them are not leaving the cave at all, but I have been getting the mysis shrimp in front of it. They will still eat if the food basically goes into the cave. I have been using a flash light to get a good look into the cave but can't see any sign of eggs yet.

[sidguppy]

don't overfeed them and dont put food in the cave entrance!

that'll make em near invisible

these are biparentals and they do switch roles when fed; one stays in the cave, while the other feeds.
once it had enough, it'll swap places and then the second one feeds

most often the female is the one that stays near the eggs. often she's not allowed to feed at all, cause the male will prevent her leaving the eggs.

driven by hunger she'll make a dash for it and if she doesnt return, its the males job of rearing the young.

but take care with food; if too much spoiled food is left in with the eggs, the oxygen level in the cave will drop and eggs or fry will die off.

[CatWhat]

Good advice, thanks. I do notice the female and the male sort of taking turns darting out of the cave and back in again. Still no eggs though by the looks of it, can't see any using a flashlight and the female still looks pretty gravid.

Another thing I was wondering what might be a good algea eater for the tank, it's a 30 gallon. I was thinking maybe 5-6 Ottos, as they seem to do a good job and don't produce much waste.

[CatWhat]

Good news! I noticed some eggs in the pairs cave this morning. Hard to say how many, not too many though. I would guess around 20 tops, but there could be more tucked away. They are clear and look to be held together with a sticky like film almost like how cory eggs look when they are on the glass. Not sure if it was time or the big water change I did yesterday, maybe a bit of both that helped them along. Anyway I just started up a new batch of BBS for when they hatch, I usually have a batch of brine shrimp going as I always have fry coming from my Neolamprologus brichardi tank.

[sidguppy]

hatching takes several days and the first week the fry feeds on the yolk sac

if you feed during this period, the eggs or fry will fungus or get infected by bacteria and die

best is to wait al least 7-10 days after spawning to start feeding.

check the fry with a penlight, but not more than once a day! if you stress out the parents too much, they'll eat the spawn

[N0body Of The Goat]

Excellent news, congratulations!

Looking forward to pics and/or video footage over the coming weeks, would love to have a webcam link to peek at the tank at random times of the day to see the wrigglers and the parental care.

[CatWhat]

Thanks for the advice, there are always freshly hatched brine shrimp going so no worries about having the food ready for them. I'll be sure to give them some time to use up their yolk sacks and then start feeding them.

[CatWhat]

The female seems to have left the nest. The male is still guarding the eggs so far, hopefully they will hatch soon.

[sidguppy]

that's fairly business as usual

in a breeding setup the male prevents the female from feeding and driven by hunger she'll try to escape him

when she makes runner, the male rarely allows her to return.
as long as she's safe and has a private hidey hole not too close to the male's nest; she'll be fine

in a tank full of cichlids, both parents will stay and the male will be too busy defending the fry from cichlids to harass the female

my experience is that in such a tank both parents will show good breeding care; fry will eventually wander off one by one.
depending on tankfurniture and hiding places some fry will survive in the tank.

in the species breeding tank the male will defend the fry and then suddenly when the fry is already dark and feeding by themselves (see catelog for pix!) the male will suddenly stop caring and the whole swarm will leave the nest as one

they'll stay together for almost 2 weeks as a shoal and clutter together near any structure.
baby lophio's are highly social.

[CatWhat]

I don't see any eggs at the moment, but cn't see any fry either. But the sand is dark so it may just be hard to see them. Perhaps if there are fry in there once the start free swimming it may be easier to se them.

[sidguppy]

usually the first few batches are lost when the parents are in their trial and error phase
this is perfectly normal.
like bi-parental cichlids, these cats need to practice.

[CatWhat]

I have noticed that there has been a couple more attempts at spwaning, but still no luck. Although it may not be the same pair that has been breeding either AND there are 8 of them in the tank, so perhaps the fry/eggs may be getting eaten by the others or b the parents from the stress of the others. I think after x-mas I may take a male and female out and put them in a 10 gallon, I might have more luck that way.

[Taratron]

Damn, these guys look awesome! Why are they so hard to find in the hobby?

[CatWhat]

I know, I seen them for the first time on a distributors list that I some times order various fish from. I am setting up an actual breeding tank this week for a pair and try to grow out the fry. I'll post some pics.