Are my Bleeding Hearts breeding??

[Ch0le]

I have six BHT and 5 Emereald Corycats in a 20 gallon tall. One of my tetras is guarding another one that is in the cave. He wont let any of the other tetras near it. The tank is almost 3 months old and I have very soft water.

 

[seangee]

They are egg scatterers and show no parental care. They and the corys will happily eat the eggs if this does happen.

Most Tetra eggs and fry are very sensitive to light so if you want to breed them you will have to set up a tank especially for the purpose. Its unlikely to happen in a community tank - at least not successfully.

 

[Ch0le]

They are egg scatterers and show no parental care. They and the corys will happily eat the eggs if this does happen.

Most Tetra eggs and fry are very sensitive to light so if you want to breed them you will have to set up a tank especially for the purpose. Its unlikely to happen in a community tank - at least not successfully.

I'm not trying to breed them, but I am wondering if this is breeding behaviour.

 

[Byron]

Edit, as you posted while I was typing. No, that is not spawning behaviour as seangee indicated. It might be bullying by the "guard" BH.

I agree with seangee. It is possible the tetras may spawn, but all fish are avid egg eaters and you need good protection for any to survive. It is possible, I have had fry from a number of characins and cories appear randomly, sometimes quite unexpectedly, but my tanks are thickly planted with not only plants but lots of chunks of wood and many covered in Java Moss which is ideal protection. An egg or two may escape predation and hatch, and then the fry has a better chance than the egg did of surviving as it can hide in the moss and under wood crevices and will find infusoria and micro foods if the tank is established.

If you have very soft water you have much better chance of fry (subject to the above). But other fish in the tank significantly reduce any chance the eggs will escape. Cories are very expert at getting everywhere in their browsing.

 

[Ch0le]

Edit, as you posted while I was typing. No, that is not spawning behaviour as seangee indicated. It might be bullying by the "guard" BH.

I agree with seangee. It is possible the tetras may spawn, but all fish are avid egg eaters and you need good protection for any to survive. It is possible, I have had fry from a number of characins and cories appear randomly, sometimes quite unexpectedly, but my tanks are thickly planted with not only plants but lots of chunks of wood and many covered in Java Moss which is ideal protection. An egg or two may escape predation and hatch, and then the fry has a better chance than the egg did of surviving as it can hide in the moss and under wood crevices and will find infusoria and micro foods if the tank is established.

If you have very soft water you have much better chance of fry (subject to the above). But other fish in the tank significantly reduce any chance the eggs will escape. Cories are very expert at getting everywhere in their browsing.

 

[Ch0le]

What do you think this behaviour is? The cave has two openings, so the fish is not trapped. The other fish only seems concerned with the front door entrance. Every few min. He darts out to take a look and then goes back to his station. And he chases other fish away.

 

[Ch0le]

Is thers something I can do to stop stop this if it is bullying?

 

[Byron]

Is thers something I can do to stop stop this if it is bullying?

Only by removing one of the fish. But I would leave things alone. I've never come across something like this frankly.

 

[Colin_T]

Any chance of a short 20 second video of the fish?
If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube. If you are using a mobile phone to take the video, have the phone horizontal so the video takes up the entire screen. If you have the phone vertical, you get video in the middle and black on either side.

 

[Ch0le]

They did this for only one day. I observed them quite a bit and came to the conclusion that they were all claiming their own shady spots. So I got darker substrate and made more swimming room. I rearranged the plants to form more canopies and spread out the driftwood.

 

[Byron]

They did this for only one day. I observed them quite a bit and came to the conclusion that they were all claiming their own shady spots. So I got darker substrate and made more swimming room. I rearranged the plants to form more canopies and spread out the driftwood.

Good. This is not a fish that appreciates bright overhead lighting, and frankly any overhead tank lighting may be "bright" to the fish. Floating plants should help too. And lighter substrates obviously freflect light up, so that will be helped here too.

 

[Ch0le]

They are much happier and shoaling. They are even venturing out to mid level. This is cool to watch.