MarkLB

Thanks everyone for all your advice. I've got Mum & Dad back in their own tank and I'm just gunna let them get on with it. If it happens , it happens. One last question....whats the best way of getting snails out of a tank? :lol: I've heard of putting cucumber under a saucer , leaving it over night and remove it , with snails under it , in the morning. I tried and it wasn't too sucessfull. I pick 'em out as I see them and I'm removing the snail eggs but I'm hoping theres a quicker way.

Hi all. I'm gutted. I was watching Mum last night and every time I had a peek there were less eggs. I made the decision to shift Mum & Dad into the community tank but I felt so mean. :evil: They were not too happy about it and Dad is chasing Mum around the tank. I dosed the breeding tank with meth blue and put an airstone close to the cave entrance. I had a look this morning and guess what?? NO EGGS!! The only living creatures in there is some snails , the biggest is only the size of a pea. Will snails eat eggs?? I think yes. My next move is to remove all snails and put Mum & Dad back to try again. How many shifts can fish handlein a short time? I know it stresses them. Should I leave them in the Comm tank to settle before shifting them back or should I do that today before they settle? Cheers Mark

Hi all. To update y'all on my progress. I have added peat to my filter to up the acidity. My GH reads 60 which I think is soft enough (correct me if I'm wrong). I have been doing 10% daily water changes . I am leaving a night light on. The prospective parents spawned again on Saturday afternoon (fascinating to watch.)and the eggs have survived two nights so far. Mum has gobbled some but I'm guessing they weren't fertilised. She seems to be doing a better job this time (spawning #4) and she is fanning the eggs and chasing off any snails that get too close. I am keeping a close eye on her and if too many eggs are eaten I'm going to move Mum and Dad to the community tank & I'll add meth blue to the breeding tank. I will post again to let you all know how it goes. Mark

Thanks Caserole, I did a water test last night and I have pH 6.8, nil ammonia, nil nitrite and 10ppm nitrate. I'm not testing for hardness but I will be getting a test kit today.

Hi all. My cichlids spawned again while I was at work on Thursday. Heaps of eggs on the roof of a cave. I had to go to Auckland for the weekend (BDO) so a friend was looking after things. She told me that the female started moving the eggs to another site. By the time I got home on Saturday there were 6 eggs at the new site and none in the cave. By Sunday morning they were all gone. I didn't get a chance to dose the tank with meth blue so fungus may be an issue although the 6 eggs that I saw looked ok. This is the third spawning so maybe practice will make perfect,lol. Would another female help matters or make them worse?? Mark

Thanks for your replies ppl. I have removed the Bristlenose so the Cockatoos now have the tank to themselves. They are courting again and I've started giving them Bloodworm, which they love. I'll keep posting and let you know how they get on. Thanks again.

Hi ppl. I'm new to fishkeeping so please forgive any stupid questions. I have a pair of Cockatoo Cichlids in a tank that is 80cmLX30cmWX40cmH. 96litres. pH is 6.8 , temp is 27C. Nil Ammonia & Nitrites. The only other fish in there is a small Bristlenose. The Cichlids have spawned twice in the last month & both times the eggs have disappeared within three days. The first spawning was in a spoon shaped depression in a peice of wood. The second spawning was on the roof of a cave. I can only assume that the adults are eating the eggs. I am feeding them twice a day on flake mostly with Tubiflex as a treat every other day. I tried them on Cichlid pellets but they won't take it. Has anyone got any suggestions as to what I can do to encourage them not to scoff their eggs??