Convicts And Acara

[Ludwig Venter]

Amoungst all the (many, many) myths surrounding our hobby, I've also heard (along the grapevine) that the upside down catfish (I think it is) is much like the Magpie bird in breeding.

It devours the eggs of some cichlid busy breeding (Convict or Acara e.g.) on an open surface and then lays its' own eggs on this surface for the "foster" parents to then fan & care for it until it hatches....

How much truth is in that story, I do not know, but I think it is just interresting to know... (if it is true)

Anyone else heard of that??

 

[Davo86]

Hey Ludwig
Some of the Syndontis species are known to do this with african cichlids in the wild
I believe one has the common name of the cuckoo synodontis (Synodontis multipunctatus) for this very reason

The following is taken from wikipedia

S. multipunctatus is notable for its breeding behaviour - it is a brood parasite, similar to the cuckoo from which it takes its common name. Lake Tanganyika is home to a number of mouthbrooding cichlids, which care for their eggs and young by carrying them in their mouth. S. multipunctatus uses these, particularly Ctenochromis horei and Simochromis babaulti, as unwitting caretakers for their children.

The smell of spawning cichlids excites S. multipunctatus into spawning, and as the cichlids lay their eggs the catfish will quickly slip in and eat its eggs before they can be collected by the mother. While doing so they also release and fertilise their own eggs. The female cichlid will hastily attempt to scoop up her eggs and, in doing so, will also collect eggs from S. multipunctatus. These eggs will then hatch inside the unwilling adoptive mother's mouth, and proceed to eat the cichlid eggs present before being released by the cichlid. This technique removes the burden of parental care from the S. multipunctatus, and allows them to breed again sooner.

 

[jourdy288]

You got it Davo, I watched a documentary about lake Tanaganyika a couple months ago and they were featured.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Hey Ludwig
Some of the Syndontis species are known to do this with african cichlids in the wild
I believe one has the common name of the cuckoo synodontis (Synodontis multipunctatus) for this very reason

Wow!... so in fact, in order to breed them, you have to synchronise their readiness (ripeness) to breed with that of a pair of cichlids... S'pose its quite a surprise when you breed Convicts in your tank, and a week later you discover all these cats.....

 

[Davo86]

Hey Ludwig
Some of the Syndontis species are known to do this with african cichlids in the wild
I believe one has the common name of the cuckoo synodontis (Synodontis multipunctatus) for this very reason

Wow!... so in fact, in order to breed them, you have to synchronise their readiness (ripeness) to breed with that of a pair of cichlids... S'pose its quite a surprise when you breed Convicts in your tank, and a week later you discover all these cats.....

Never heard of it happening with american cichlids although i suppose it is possible,

with african mouth brooders the eggs are taken into the mouth and then the catfsh are born inside and are able to eat the cichlid fry and then emerge from the mouth and escape so to speak, as convicts aren't mouth brooders I would think that the convicts would quite quickly notice the imposters once they are born

 

[jourdy288]

Maybe not, after they incubate the eggs, chances are they'll care for the babies, no matter how they look.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Maybe not, after they incubate the eggs, chances are they'll care for the babies, no matter how they look.

Kinda makes one think of the story of "the ugly duckling".....

 

[jourdy288]

Maybe not, after they incubate the eggs, chances are they'll care for the babies, no matter how they look.

Kinda makes one think of the story of "the ugly duckling".....

Right, like loving a child who isn't yours, an orphan of another family, another race maybe, but still your kid.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Does anyone know if Upside downs have ever been bred in captivity??

 

[Davo86]

Does anyone know if Upside downs have ever been bred in captivity??

Yes i'm sure they have bred in captivity, but i think it is a rarity,

 

[jourdy288]

*COUGH* Necropost.

What's shocking about this one is that we all came back to it....

[quote name= 'petfish.net']Female upside-down catfish are larger and their colouration is a bit pale compared to the male of the species. Breeding this catfish in an aquarium has happened before, but is pretty hard to achieve. First, you must condition them with live foods, then do a water change and soften the water to mimic a storm, then place a pot or a pipe in the aquarium for a place to spawn. As said before, it’s hard to achieve breeding this catfish in the aquarium so don’t get your hopes up, but it is worth trying [/quote]