Starting over…
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I think we actually might have that one at the store. We mostly have weird ones though. No java anything, no ludwiga spiralis or whatever that thing is. We do have a cool one that looks like a lilly-the-valley and have blooms like it too. One that turns rather pink too…
Does hornwort take root if you stick it in the plant soil stuff, or is it just a floating thing?
We also have another something quite like it too that has finer leaves, can’t think of the name right now.
– Atlantis
Yes, hornwort takes root. I think it does better when anchored in the substrate.
Must be fun working in a fish store!!!
Actually, now that inventory came in we have just about every plant you can name. They look awesome. I might actually convert a little to the live plant cult… :roll:
But not in breeding tanks. Too much hassle.
And I found a large chain store with Galaxys!!! And captive=breds no less!!!
Very excited.
– Atlantis
Atlantis,
keep your eye out for clumps of java moss to come through. This stuff is like living spawning mops, doesn’t really have roots to speak of, so it doesn’t need to be “planted” (but it’s not really a floating plant), and CPDs love to hide — and lay eggs — in it. Added bonus: once it takes over the tank, the CPDs can’t find all their eggs to eat them, even if the adults are still in the tank (and well fed). Must be about the lowest maintenance water plant there is. Good light and fertilizer help it, but even low light won’t kill it or stop it from spreading.Can’t go wrong with it. It does tend to take over the tank, but for a critter that comes from vegetation-choked wetlands, that is only a positive.
Here’s a shot of my breeding tank (10g, about 6 or 7 of that consumed by java moss):
Within a week of adding the adult CPDs to this moss-engulfed tank last month, I had new fry appearing every day! (There’s also a small piece of java fern in the front, as well as some green algae spreading across the top of the java moss. Algae says water change was needed, to remove the nutrients the algae was growing off of, but I didn’t dare change *anything* once the fry started to show up!!)
edit: btw, the 9 adults (6M/3F) are all hiding in the moss as usual. If you squint at the blurry things at the top of the water, you might make out a dozen or so CPD fry… bellies bulging from all the growing-in-all-the-live-plants-after-coming-from-the-live-snails infusoria they graze on! :roll: :wink:
I have some of the moss already. Not much though. I’ve had it monthes, and it hasn’t grown much. Mostly just gathered scum and sand. With that stuff gone, and more light it may do better.
It’ll be the only living plant in the tank. I was thinking it’d be all plastic stuff. Thanx for reminding me.
– Atlantis
Oh yeah. The other great thing about the moss is that even though it rests on the bottom, it takes it a long time to grow into the substrate, and you can pretty easily pull it apart from the gravel once it does. You can see I’ve got a pretty coarse gravel. Probably too coarse to be great for rooting planted plants. But the moss pushes aside pretty easily for a gravel vacuum to keep the bottom from sludging up. Then you just fluff it back into shape once the gravel is all cleaned up. Mine does grow fastest under intense light. This is about a 2 month growth under pretty normal fluorescent tank-light tube, starting from a clump maybe 1/4 as big as it is now. Every couple of months I “harvest” a mat of it from each of my tanks and trade it in at the lfs. Fish store credit — better currency than gold!
Best fishes to you. We’re all pulling for your next go at CPDs!
Yes!!! Definitely, if you could choose only one plant, the best, lowest-hassle, most useful plant would have to be Java moss especially for encouraging breeding conditions. I have it favorably infesting my 5 gallon breeding tank. And yes, they encourage snails and infusoria, all of which support each other as part of a healthy ecosystem. The fry need to eat the infusoria so this is a good thing. Haha, yes more shameless advertising from the “live plants cult”!!
I bought a divider today. My make-shift ones won’t work here I think. Should I seperate the males and females to begin with?
I don’t have (or want!) any snails. Too much trouble in my books. It’s pretty easy to get though, I’ll add some water from the container holding my plants right now to the tank. That should do it.
Oh, and maybe a filter insert from one of my other tanks.
– Atlantis
Hi all, im back, my home internet connection is down and isnt likely to be back on until monday…Im going mad not being able to chat fish with you guys. This is a flying visit on my mother in laws PC and ill catch up with the latest on monday when i can use my own internet.
L777 that is the perfect spawning tank, to much hassle for the adults to chase the fry..Do the bristlenoses eat any eggs or are you still getting plenty of fry?
Atlantis, hurry up and get some of these celestials before they sell out. You will curse yourself if they do sell out and you miss them. My local shop has some and he says they are wild caught, being a moderator on here i dont know if ive missed some news!ARE THESE FISH BEING IMPORTED FROM THE WILD AGAIN?????????????
Could be black market or have just been here a while somewhere ste…
Hoping to pick them up tomorrow. Depending on the price I might actually get 8. They were bloody expensive, and I don’t get the 20% off that comes in so useful at my store.
SERIOUSLY: Should I seperate them females and males right away?
– Atlantis
Atlantis, there’s good reason to keep adults from young, but not sure why to keep male CPDs apart from female CPDs. Mine came into condition together, and while they do chase around a lot, I’ve never seen any of them actually “picked on” by others to the point of distress. I’d say keep them together unless you think there is some bullying going on (?). We’re excited to see your new group once they get situated!
Ste, bushynose are the purest vegetarians I’ve ever seen. Of course, I can’t answer whether there might be *more* CPD fry without them, but it would surprise me if the plecos were taking any eggs. I’ve read other breeders (of smallish soft-water cichlids, etc.) who keep BN plecos in with their breeding fish for the express reason that they won’t eat anything living (except lower plants and biofilms). I haven’t had any new fry appear for the last week or so, but expect this has more to do with need for water change, reduced frequency of micro-worms/BBS feedings (adults actually get a chance to get hungry and hunt the fry), and possibly the older fry in the tank — my “downstream” grow-out stage tanks are full up! (But I don’t mean that to sound like a complaint!)
Edit: the BN plecos were in the fishery since before and during the CPD breeding.
I made quite the jungle for them. Hope they like it. And if they want to hide in the “grass,” well it’s right out front, so he he he…
I believe Ste has explained the male and female seperate thing. If you condition them seperately then bring a pair together in a tank with a breeding trap, and spawning mops and stuff there’s a greater chance of fry, and a better survival rate. Sounded like a
“Oh my god there’s finally a galaxy of the different gender!!!”
to me anyway.
Learned my galaxies are bred in Mynamar, or a close country, then shipped out. Good thing, I’d say. Then I’ll most likely be getting the wild’s offspring from close to home. Wonderful! :wink:
– Atlantis
L777 the bristlenoses are vegetarian but also eat meaty foods, mine absolutley love bloodworm, brineshrimp and other meaty foods as well as algae wafers and cucumber. I certainly would put money on them eating fish eggs if they find them.
I seperate the sexes when conditioning the fish for the simple reason that i do not want them spawning in the holding tanks and want the females as full of eggs as possible for when i pair them up. It is not essential to do this but my thousands of fry from many different species of fish prove that it works well.
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