Golfer Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 My female cockatoo has just laid some eggs (I think! @ 50 little grey/brown blobs on a rock face with java fern cover and she's mighty protective of the surrounding area and has turned a nice yellow shade). Tank is 90L with 6 glowlights tetras/8 redeye tetras/2 GBA/ and the pair of ciclids. Any help for raising the fry appreciated. Do I need to put them in a seperate tank? Feeding etc? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 CONGRATS :bounce: :bounce: . I didn't think anyone in Wellington had cockatoos. If you can I'd move the other fish to another tank as there isn't very many in there. I think the tetras would get them but I'm not too sure about the GBAs? Also a quick question for you. How big do dwarf cockatoos get and are they aggro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 congrats! that's great news! u can keep them in your tank till the fry are in the wriggling stage and then you can put them in a smaller rearing tank - just make sure the water comes from your main tank. feed them on egg yolk (old fashioned i know) after the egg sac disappears and then in a week start feeding them brine shrimp or just baby fish food like the ones available your lfs. it is common for the parents to eat the first few batches of eggs. but hey you have a pair of breeding cockatoos! rejoice! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Did the eggs survive the night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted October 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Ah, looks like the parents eating the batch proved to be a prophetic statement :-( Eggs all gone the next day. Still signs look good. My M is @ 6cms and the female about the size of a smallish red tetra (4cm??). The only signs of aggression I've seen from them is the F when the eggs were there and she was busy chasing all others away. I might see about establishing a separate tank for them and see what happens. By egg yolk, you mean the yolk from there eggs and not from a dozen of new worlds finest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Sorry to hear that. Hopefully they'll breed again. I just got a pair of triple reds and a pair of dwarf flag fish so hopefully they'll breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMAZONIAN Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hi All Cockatoos like any other Cichlid will eat the eggs or "wrigglers" of their spawn if they are stressed or uncertain of there surroundings and, or their neighbours. To successfully breed these fish they should be in a "MINIMUM SIZED TANK OF 24 x 12 x 12" with low lighting and plenty of hiding places, and caves. This is a wee cave that I built to breed my "Dwarfs". Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Congrats on the spawning.. I spawned these a few times before i went overseas the first time I removed all the community fish and let the parents go for it but the male ate most of the babies. The second time I removed the mum and cave into a 1ft tank filled with the tank water and let her look after them in there for a few week's. I spawned them in little terrocota pots my mum made for me 10 years ago when I first bred them around the same size as a film canaster (I used these too). The female stays in the pot so its easy to remove the eggs and her at the same time. I have never had the female eat a spawn from this happening. I am not a fan of the egg yoke for fry its just so easy to overfeed and pollute the tank, I find nova baby a good powdered food just use a little once they're fully free swimming, or just green water until they can eat brineshrimp. Good luck what strain of cockatoo's did you get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 My female is proudly strutting around with a mass of fry today. Tips for some other breeders. Make sure the cave has an opeing only just big enough for the biggest of the pair to get in. About the size of a finger or so. I use 1/2 coconut shells and bore a hole using a knife. Leave male in for 2 or 3 days after you see the fry swimming around and then remove either the fry or the mother after 2 weeks. If anyone has tips on how to keep more fry alive then I would love to hear it because I seem to be able to produce tons of fry but only grow up 15 - 20 of them each time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Do the cockatoos usually breed in community tanks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted October 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 Sorry PC issues! Thanx for all the tips. I'll have to see how I get on. Unsure off strain - where can I find out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 Post some pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEd Posted October 20, 2008 Report Share Posted October 20, 2008 I've never bothered feeding them with anything but live BS when free swimming and they are big enough to take them OK. Also found a large percentage of losses was caused by overfeeding and trying to rush their growth. Fry will literally eat till they burst so keep an eye on their belly size! All my mums have been really good as long as you remove the male once the eggs have been layed and fertilized. Easy way to tell is he will be cringing in the opposite corner of the tank. If you feed her up well on live food I had them pop out another batch 10 days later! I chucked a pair in my community tank to see how they'd go and the female spawned on an ornament. I wasn't worried about them getting eaten as I have an Ancistrus in there and Cory's but the mum was fighting everything off plus Tetras and even Angels but were gone 3 nights latter which I'm picking was the night feeding Ancistrus ... developed a craving for caviar. Appisto's are cool fish and make a good community fish! ..... not like those horrible African things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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