Keyhole Breeding?

[kizno1]

I have 6 of these in a 30G in the hope that i will get a pair. There only about 2.5-3" so i was expecting it to take a while but im not sure what there up to. They seem to be clearing to sand in one corner of the tank like you would expect them to do when breeding but its not always a pair doing it sometimes there 4-5 of them cleaning it at a time, what could be going on? and would they be able to breed at this size? i know its hard to tell but i think theres 2 males 4 females.

 

[KittyKat]

They can spawn at quite a small size, but are more likely to succeed once they get a bit bigger.

Careful with the tank size: I had a pair and two in a 55 gallon for 6.5 years, then one day came home to find the two unpaired almost dead because the pair decided that they didn't like those two.

 

[kizno1]

They can spawn at quite a small size, but are more likely to succeed once they get a bit bigger.

Careful with the tank size: I had a pair and two in a 55 gallon for 6.5 years, then one day came home to find the two unpaired almost dead because the pair decided that they didn't like those two.

Thanks, im just a little confused as to why sometimes its a pair but sometimes theres 5 cleaning it. Once a pair have formed ill sell on the other 4 because like youve experianced pairs dont mix to well.

 

[KittyKat]

They can spawn at quite a small size, but are more likely to succeed once they get a bit bigger.

Careful with the tank size: I had a pair and two in a 55 gallon for 6.5 years, then one day came home to find the two unpaired almost dead because the pair decided that they didn't like those two.

Thanks, im just a little confused as to why sometimes its a pair but sometimes theres 5 cleaning it. Once a pair have formed ill sell on the other 4 because like youve experianced pairs dont mix to well.

They're just "practising", it's their way of trying to figure out what puberty is all about.

 

[kizno1]

Oh right, so are they likely to breed anytime soon then? Would it be worth doing a cool water change?

 

[KittyKat]

Oh right, so are they likely to breed anytime soon then? Would it be worth doing a cool water change?

Quite likely to attempt maybe in the next week or so, but you will probably miss it, unless you spend all your time in front of the tank.. and by miss it, I mean that they'll spawn, freak out and eat all the eggs right away.

As I've mentioned before, my personal preference is to wait till the fish are slightly larger before initiating a first spawn because I find that general spawning tends to be more successful then. Also, I think it is best to not do it until you have a solid pair because if the female is "forced" into spawning behaviour, she might compromise on the male and that could lead to a lifetime of failed spawn attempts (I find that they will almost never change a partner once they spawn the first time).

 

[kizno1]

Thanks, ill just leave them to it for now then. I just took a quick look and 2 of them are in the corner and have cleared it down to the glass now so ill jjust leave them at it and see how they get on. Ive only had them for a week so im pretty shocked there at it already.

 

[KittyKat]

Hmm, is 2.5-3" body only or including tail?

 

[kizno1]

Theres 2 which are just over 3" including tail and the other 4 are about 2.5" including tail, thats why i was a bit shocked because i would have thought they where way to young.

 

[KittyKat]

Mine started showing spawning behaviour at that size as well (2" body), both the shop bought ones and the ones I bred from the original pair, but didn't make a decent attempt at spawning until they were at 3" body and the big male is now 7 years old and at 4.5-5" body, still spawning regularly. I find that they make an attempt once per month, without any intervention. I'm not into large water changes, so they don't really get any temperature drops except whatever happens with the weather, when it is warmer than the heater is set to. The tank heaters were set to 22-23 C for most of their life, only a couple of months ago did I increase it to 25 C.

 

[kizno1]

7 years old and still breeding you must have a very healthy fish there. Oh right so i still have a while left to wait then. In the last 10 mins the male has started to get a lot more territorial. The tank heaters set at 24c but through the summer it normally never drops below 26c.

 

[KittyKat]

It's sounding more and more like they could attempt spawning soon! Yeah, my tank tends to go into the 28-32 C over summer

I try quite hard to make sure my fish are happy and healthy, that's why I'm so picky about the tank sizes, stocking and so on.. it works for me, and it's always nice to see it working for someone else too

 

[kizno1]

I hope so, by the looks of things one of the males is trying it on with all 4 of the females but there does seem to be one main one thats in the ditch with him. Are the keyhole alright in them temps?

Well by the sounds of things your doing a good job at it. The stocking in this tank is going perfect although i would probably get shot for saying what it is.

 

[KittyKat]

I hope so, by the looks of things one of the males is trying it on with all 4 of the females but there does seem to be one main one thats in the ditch with him. Are the keyhole alright in them temps?

Yeah, they're fine at those temperatures.. might get a longer lifespan out of them if you drop it a couple degrees, but I don't know how much it would affect them. I've always treated them as cooler side of tropical. What pH and hardness have you got?

Well by the sounds of things your doing a good job at it. The stocking in this tank is going perfect although i would probably get shot for saying what it is.

..probably, so you might be better off keeping quiet

 

[beechey]

i would love some of the babies