P. polleni spawn

[Sharpfish]

A pair of P. polleni spawned in a 55 gallon. I really only had them in there to hold them over till I could empty out a 90 gallon. The is approx. 2 years old. The male is 8" and the female is 5". Here are a few pictures. First the male in a 14" pot cut in half. The rest are of the eggs. IMG]http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1046.jpg[/IMG] IMG]http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1032.jpg[/IMG] IMG]http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1026.jpg[/IMG]

[Sharpfish]

Oh No, I don't think I did that right. I will try again.

IMG]IMG]http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/0013/sharpfish/fish1046.jpg[/IMG][/IMG]

[emartin]

A pair of P. polleni spawned in a 55 gallon. I really only had them in there to hold them over till I could empty out a 90 gallon. The is approx. 2 years old. The male is 8" and the female is 5". Here are a few pictures. First the male in a 14" pot cut in half. The rest are of the eggs. IMG]http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1046.jpg[/IMG] IMG]http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1032.jpg[/IMG] IMG]http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1026.jpg[/IMG]
Here you go:

http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1046.jpg http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1032.jpg http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/oo13/sharpfish/fish1026.jpg

[emartin]

Anyway that's awesome! How do you plan on raising the fry (naturally or artificially?)? And these are the small spot polleni right?

~Ed

[gregga]

I'm always glad to see fellow hobbyists keeping and breeding malagazy cichlids. I know how rough these males can be on their females...well done...thanks for sharing.


gregg

[emartin]

I'm always glad to see fellow hobbyists keeping and breeding malagazy cichlids. I know how rough these males can be on their females...well done...thanks for sharing.


gregg
It's a shame they aren't more popular, and that's part of the reason why I want to keep a few, besides the fact that some species are just beautiful.... And I like challenges... (coming from a person who only has experience with mouth brooders!).

~Ed

[Sharpfish]

I almost always pull eggs the first time fish spawn. I just want ensure that they don't eat them. I try to protect my investment. I estimate between 500- 600 eggs. They spawned on Jan. 12. Unfortunately most of the eggs did fungus and were lost. The good news I still 50+ wigglers alive. I really not equip to handle 500+ polleni. Yes, they are the small spot. I have a few the same size as the pair that bred that need to move out.

[emartin]

Btw, the fry, are they capable of eating defrosted frozen baby brine shrimp? Or is hatching them myself best?

[Sharpfish]

I am not quite to that point yet. They still have their egg sacks. They are not free swimming. I will keep you updated as they progress.

[emartin]

Are they free swimming yet? Do provide pics of the fry!

By the way aren't the eggs sticky? How would you be able to remove them to another tank without damaging the eggs?

~Ed

[YoungAquaticPhotos]

Congrats on the spawn! Now if I can get my 8" male & 4" female to spawn!

[Sharpfish]

The first couple of fry are going free swimming today. I have begun to feed Hikari First Bites (APR). As for the spawn the polleni are nonadhesive pit spawners. The eggs roll around in the base of the pit while the female fans them. The eggs seem to resemble a strand of DNA in the way they are attached to one another. They seem to be attached to a central string and spiral around. When the female fanned the eggs before I pulled them the movement reminded me of the way squid eggs move inthe ocean current ( if you ever have watched the show Blue Planet you should understand this observation). Wally

[Sharpfish]

The worst news possible has happened. I have no idea what went wrong, but all except for 3 fry are dead. The last 3 probably will not make the night. I am devastated. I will have to research possible failures on my part. I am sorry to announce I am not the best., BUT I WILL RECTIFY THIS OUTRAGE. Wally

[emartin]

The worst news possible has happened. I have no idea what went wrong, but all except for 3 fry are dead. The last 3 probably will not make the night. I am devastated. I will have to research possible failures on my part. I am sorry to announce I am not the best., BUT I WILL RECTIFY THIS OUTRAGE. Wally
That sucks. Is this your first time raising madagascan fry?

[Sharpfish]

Yeah, that was my first Malagasy spawn. I just finished moving the parents from the 55 they spawned in to a 90 gallon. I just hope they will spawn again this season. I am not sure this is uncharted territory for me.