fishandchips Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 So I have a nice tank that I set up at work and everyone was getting along nicely untill sometime over the long weekend two of my jewels decided to bring a nice surprise out from there hidding place behind some rocks. I noticed a "cloud" of young hanging around some really nicely coloured jewels yesterday morning. Was all excited untill I noticed that all the other fish may as well be in a prison cell. Well the cloud has grown alot smaller over night and my clowns seem alot fatter but still the other fish are in a small corner of the tank. Now the logical thing to do would be to set up a tank at home and breed these lovely fish. Gear is not a problem but I can't set up a tank till the weekend. Question time........... Question 1: Is there anything I can do to push the breeding pari to the other end of the tank instead of the middle? Question 2: What is the minimium size tank that I could breed these fish in? Question 3: What do i feed the little ones till they are big enough to eat flake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 yay! a topic i can relate to! you'll find that they lay their eggs on a nice flat smooth surface thats on a about a 45 deg angle, then within 24/36hrs they will move the eggs down into the substrate, best idea to get them to breed at the other end would be to move what ever they laid their eggs on, in our case it was a peice of drift wood Moving the pair to their own tank could be a problem, as mum and dad are very protective of their young if there is no threat for them to team up against then they may well attack each other, best option for this is to place their tank hard up against another so that they can see the fish in the next tank, that way altho there is no actuall threat mum and dad will see the other fish and team up against the perceived threat Best thing to feed the fry would be Liquid food Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 The fry will eat anything crushed up flake BBS decap brineshrimp etc.. They are hardy as.. You could move the parents to a 3ft by themselves and they would probably be fine, just watch the aggression between the pair as casper says sometimes they need other fish to beat up but I haven't usually found this is a problem. For a short term fix you could get a divider cut/make one out of something to keep the other fish safe.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I never had a problem with Jewel parents attacking each other, the pairs were excellent.... if you move your two then just keep an eye, each fish are individuals. Once mum and dad start travelling around the whole tank with babies, look out fish I reckon Ryans suggestion of a divider is a good idea, might give you peace of mind for both parties... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firenzenz Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I've seen Jewel parents almost take out an Oscar once they got moving with their young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I can well believe it firenzenz... they are excellent parents and will try and take on anything that they see as a threat huh :lol: Seems alot of people are intent on keeping them in with peaceful community style fish too... that is definately something I am over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Seems alot of people are intent on keeping them in with peaceful community style fish too... that is definately something I am over... ha-ha Trust me if i could afford (and fit somwhere in the house) another tank for these guys i would! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishandchips Posted June 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Thanks for all the replys people. If i was to set a species only tank, would it work having only 1 male to say 5 females? The reason i ask is that i have read that once they pair up the do so for life. The we terrors have moved there brood to another part of the tank behind some rocks so good for the other fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Jewels are pair forming fish, they will not work in a harem like africans or some dwarf cichlids will.. The pair will beat up and most likely kill any other jewels in the tank they will be more aggressive towards their own kind than any other fish.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 4, 2008 Report Share Posted June 4, 2008 Yeah definately if you are going to keep them seperate, keep just the one pair as ryan suggests.... harems don't tend to work for jewels unless you have a huge tank and there is enough space for pairs to form their own territories... They will attack anything that gets in the way of them and their babies... I saw a mess one made out of someones severum once... :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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