Paul Dixon and Pete Liptrot
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I have just got back in from picking some Female CPD’s off the guru Paul dixon.. I thought id share some of the info i received on breeding them.
I bought 5 three months ago from maidenhead Aquatics but unfortunatly the only female didnt feed and i lost her in the quarantine tank, so for 3 months i have had only males, i contacted Pete and Paul at the Bolton museum and started chatting by email (Both really friendly guys), Paul was able to source me 6 F1 females to start off my breeding project.
I have just got in from meeting him and picked up some really cool info, They have said it is possible for breeders to get upto 150 eggs from adult females, seperate adults into sexes to get they to a large size as they then put all energy into growing not egg or sperm production.
They setup a breeding tank and place the female first at night, let her settle for a day and then place the male in on the second night, they should spawn on the next morning..WATCH THEM SPAWN apparently they do eat eggs/fry so for best results remove the adults as soon as they finish. They breed at numerous temperatures but at Bolton museum they keep them around 25c.
Another interesting point he made was about PH and breeding. They have experimented and they can be kept from PH4 – PH8, however breeding stopped when water went below Ph6.5 and above 7.5.
Hope some of this info is of use to all the forum folk and i would like to say a BIG thanks to Pete Liptrot and Paul Dixon….Your welcome, the fish have been a couple of hours and have settled nicely, Ill take a few videos tonight and post a link on here. Anyone else got any tips or suggestions for temp, Ph ect.. give me a week and ill have some fry
.. What is everyone breeding them at?8 Is better than none.. I will have to wait a week or two to get mine spawning..They are in a community tank at the moment while i wait for a breeding tank to become empty. I have got a load of pencilfish fry that can be moved into a growout tank in a week or so, ill then put some pairs in and see how easy they spawn…Are you using a bare tank to breed or a species tank?? Would you get larger numbers if you removed the adults after spawning???
At the moment I have 17 in a heavily planted 15G tank and I’m finding 1-3 fry every few days. So far up to 13 fry in the breeding net. I’ve set up my other 15 G with a single piece of bogwood covered in java moss. I am planning to try your suggestion and move one female into this tank, leave her for a couple of days to fatten up on live foods. Then I’ll try adding a male overnight and see what happens, hopefully, as soon as they’ve spawned, I’ll remove the adults back into the planted tank and fingers crossed there will be loads of fry.
I’ll be moving this summer and the cpd’s will all be moving into a 4 ft tank. Do you think I should try dividing it and having the females one side and the males on the other? That way I could use the 15G they are in now to pair fish off (ie breeding only tank, bare bottom with just java moss) and the other 15 G as a fry tank.
I think my husband will kill me if I set up all 3 tanks when we move, He’s hoping I’ll reduce the number of tanks I’ve got rather than increase them!
KHa ha i know the feeling well, my wife is non to pleased about all my tanks.. I wont tell her i getting 4 more small ones for breeding. With a bit of luck i will be moving them into a purpose built fishroom soon so they are all together.
I dont think seperating them makes them anymore likely to breed but there is the chance of them breeding in the community and eating all the eggs. I use a tiny 10 litre tank for spawning small fish like these (16x8x8) bare with only a small amount of moss or woolen mops for the eggs to be layed on. You can either watch them spawn and remove them or use a plastic grid on the bottom so the eggs fall through. That way if you miss the spawning you still save the maximum number of eggs.I’ve got a small tank somewhere, I’ll have to see if I can find something to use as a grid in the base. They are spawning in the community tank, but as you say, I think the eggs are getting eaten as I’m not finding more than 3 fry at a time. Plus there’s the problem of catching the little buggers in the community tank, I usually end up pulling half the plants out in the process! Then find I’ve managed to catch two males instead of one of each.
I think I may leave things as they are until after the move which is looking like it’s going to be July rather than August. I need to get organised for transporting the fish I’ve got rather than trying to move loads of babies. I was hoping we’d be moving after the babies were old enough to rehome, but I think 5 weeks is going to be pushing it.
So fo now, the adults will stay in one tank and I’ll transfer any babies to the spare 15 G until we move.
Thank you so far for all the advice.
KRight Katkin ill share a handy tip..I was looking for a spawning grid everywhere so i turned to ebay. There is a bloke selling them for £12 each which i thought was a bit steep, I did my own research and found what this fella is selling.
It turns out he is selling a plastic mesh used for cross stitching, a plastic canvas is its proper name, they come in 20 inch by 13 inch and the holes are large enough for eggs to fall through but small enough to stop the fish getting through. Just cut slightly larger than the tank so the middle is raised up.
They only cost £2 each from my local market but i did get some funny looks from the ladies, me buying up all their plastic mesh lol :lol:You are a fountain of useful information. I used to do a lot of cross stitch, but haven’t touched it for months, if not years (fish are much more interesting!) I’ll have to have a dig round and see if I’ve got any of the plastic canvas. If not, there’s a shop locally that sells it. New project for the weekend.
Oh and I found the little tank, my daughter has a male siamese fighter in it!
So looks like he’ll have to be rehomed!
KHa ha the poor siamese fighters been evicted, they can live in small jars within a larger tank!!!!!! Just change the water daily. The CPD’s are going to cause a few divorces lol… Iv not told my wife im getting 4 more breeding tanks (“oooops i thought i told you!!”).
No jars for bettas :evil: Bettas deserve better! Bettas deserve better! rah!rah!rah!
sorry, one of my pet peeves. My betta lives in a 5 galllon and I’d never dream of putting him in anything smaller. Of course he’s got a few little room mates, but still. How would else would he show himself off if he didn’t have the room to swoop gracefully around? That show-off…
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