Fundulopanchax marmoratus

[Crispii]

No , that’s the thing , I haven’t done anything special . They’re just doing it on their own . I do use low TDS R/O water and I feed them heavily and do 75% water changes twice a week since they’re in small aquariums . I do have three mops in the five gallon and they take up a third of the tank space . Maybe that’s a key somehow .

I see. And how long did you start seeing eggs?

 

[GaryE]

I found some locally bred Fundulopanchax scheeli in an out of town pet store last week. They're about 75% of adult size, but produced one egg in their mop the first day. I'll separate the sexes, feed them white worms for a week. Then I'll hope for a burst of eggs.

I find Fundulopanchax are more prolific slightly younger than they are when full grown.

F. scheeli is one of the easy ones, like gardneri, nigerianus or mirabilis. F marmoratus is a touchier one. I found it a lot like ndianus, and if I were having trouble with them, I'd look at what people do to breed that one too. F ndianus, spoorenbergi and amieti were hard for me. I had a friend who solved his amieti when he realized they wouldn't use mops. They spawned in the gravel. He'd swirl a net over the gravel and that would pull up eggs for incubation, since the fish would respond to the boredom of a small tank by eating them.

 

[Back in the fold]

I see. And how long did you start seeing eggs?

They were young fish when I got them and the eggs started coming once they grew up some which didn’t take long . My females are really big and fat and I think that helps them weather the ardor of the males .

 

[Crispii]

@GaryE have you ever dealt with an aggressive male marmoratus? As of right, I have males that constantly chase the females whenever he sees her. Same thing happens when I switched males or separate them for about a week. Females only pops up whenever I feed them.

 

[GaryE]

I don't remember exactly for marmoratus, but with other Fundulopanchax, yes. That was my story with ndianus and spoorenbergi. Right now, I never see the female scheeli, but the male parades at the front of the tank, quite cockily.

I wonder if the summer is giving you a problem there. Sometimes aggression ramps up when it's very warm, and it's best to separate the sexes until things become cooler for them. Larger tanks can help, but more with letting the female get away than dialing down the male.

 

[Crispii]

I don't remember exactly for marmoratus, but with other Fundulopanchax, yes. That was my story with ndianus and spoorenbergi. Right now, I never see the female scheeli, but the male parades at the front of the tank, quite cockily.

I wonder if the summer is giving you a problem there. Sometimes aggression ramps up when it's very warm, and it's best to separate the sexes until things become cooler for them. Larger tanks can help, but more with letting the female get away than dialing down the male.

Hope that's the case. My temperature is a little high, running about 77-78F. Fortunately, I never saw any torn fins from the females nor do they look emaciated.

 

[GaryE]

They are rough by nature - different from most Aphyosemions but not as psycho as deltaense and that semi annual bunch. I found they did well at 22-24c, so lower than 77. I've never heated for Fundulopanchax.

 

[Crispii]

I have separated the two males to two individual aquariums. Will probably try sometime in September or October. Hopefully, the aggression would lessen and they would breed. In the meantime, I will condition both sexes.

 

[Back in the fold]

I have separated the two males to two individual aquariums. Will probably try sometime in September or October. Hopefully, the aggression would lessen and they would breed. In the meantime, I will condition both sexes.

And perhaps absence will have made their hearts grow fonder .

 

[Crispii]

Never knew that the females can be just as aggressive as the males. Have noticed a slightly large female chasing my other female whenever it comes to feeding time.

 

[Back in the fold]

Never knew that the females can be just as aggressive as the males. Have noticed a slightly large female chasing my other female whenever it comes to feeding time.

I used to think that there were hard and fast rules about Killifish behavior and I don’t think that anymore . I’ve seen both passive and aggressive males and females and the dynamics between them changes with each fish . These fish definitely do keep you on your toes .

 

[Crispii]

I used to think that there were hard and fast rules about Killifish behavior and I don’t think that anymore . I’ve seen both passive and aggressive males and females and the dynamics between them changes with each fish . These fish definitely do keep you on your toes .

I have separated the aggressive female to a 2 gallon tank to herself. I hope Gary is right in that the summer temperature is causing the fish to be aggresive and that they will calm down once the Autumn temperatures hit.

 

[Back in the fold]

I have separated the aggressive female to a 2 gallon tank to herself. I hope Gary is right in that the summer temperature is causing the fish to be aggresive and that they will calm once the Autumn temperatures hit.

I think there’s something to that . I was always a heat freak and it really took some convincing for me to unplug the heaters . Once I did I had much better results with F. gardneri . Now that it’s warmer in the house the spawning and egg production has dwindled . I think Gary’s right .

 

[Crispii]

I think there’s something to that . I was always a heat freak and it really took some convincing for me to unplug the heaters . Once I did I had much better results with F. gardneri . Now that it’s warmer in the house the spawning and egg production has dwindled . I think Gary’s right .

I never run heaters in my aquariums except for one and aquarium temperatures usually run in the high 70s during the summer. Never really saw any aggression tendency on all of my other species, probably because I kept a large group.

And have you noticed any aggression from the gardneri during the summer?

 

[Back in the fold]

I never run heaters in my aquariums except for one and aquarium temperatures usually run in the high 70s during the summer. Never really saw any aggression tendency on all of my other species, probably because I kept a large group.

And have you noticed any aggression from the gardneri during the summer?

I have three males and two females in my 5 gallon that produces the most eggs . I don’t think it should be working but for some odd reason it is . I do a twice weekly 75% water change on them . Once before I had another group of gardneri with a standard trio of one male and two females and the male ripped those poor females to shreds . One other thing - you’ve separated your female marmoratus and if you can grow her bigger than the male that might make a difference . My female gardneri are a full third bigger than the males .