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Nics with two generations fry.

Discussion in 'Freshwater Aquariums & Fish Photos' started by MonteSS, Dec 19, 2010.

  1. MonteSS

    MonteSS Thread Starter New Member

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    So. I had the Nic pair in the 75g community. They spawned about 3 months ago and had a decent size brood for first timers. I removed about 40 free swimmers to a 10g.

    Parents were overly aggressive in the 75g. Mainly territorial and protective as would be expected. I removed just the pair and rehoused them in a 46g.

    All was good in the 75g, the Nic pair in the 46g were settling in, and fry in the 10g were eating well.

    Now the Nics spawned again in the 46g but had a very small brood. Maybe a dozen fry. They were not overly protective of the fry and basicly ignored them. I added 10 Buenos Aires Teras to see if it would help their parenting skills (which were VERY good in the old community setting) Didnt really help, but the fry still stay close.

    Anyway. The first babies in the 10g were about 5/8-3/4" long and I needed the fry tank for other fry. So I put the Nic babies in the 46g with the parents and free swimmers.

    Well the parents didnt eat the babies or the fry. And the Tetras and baby Nics didnt eat the fry.

    Still following me?

    Lots of movement and a little aggrevated chasing by the parents but all is good. I will remove the baby Nics and take them to a pet store once they get some size on them.

    Heres a new Vid of the kaos



    ....Bill
     
  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Very nice looking tank. I don't believe I've seen those fish before.
     
  3. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    awe, the lil ones are soo cute!
    Fish have great coloration and look really healthy :)
     
  4. Alleycat

    Alleycat Member

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    Bil, that's some great info on their parenting skills. Odd that the brood size would be different in a smaller tank, but it makes sence. I have an adult pair in a 75 community tank that houses 18 various loaches and a pair of jewels. So far neither pairs have spawned, but a lot of digging on one side of the tank led me to believe the nics were closer than the jewels.
    What are the other cichlids in the tank with the nics?

    Glen
     
  5. MonteSS

    MonteSS Thread Starter New Member

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    I had this pair in the 75g community since they were about 1.5" In that tank with them were a female Thorichthys Mixteco gold, , female Archocentrus Centrarchus, female Con, female HRP Leucistic, 7 Black Ruby barbs, 10 misc cories and a BN pleco.

    All lived together fairly peacfully for almost two yrars. The Nics were bonded pair for a long time. They dug intricate pits, caves, and tunnels in the pea gravel. Always side by side. I added a Cichlid cave from Ken's fish, and a couple days later they started lip locking for the first time and were very colorful with added vertical black bars too. They spawned that night. As I said they wer together almost 2 years!!

    Now they are in the 46g with 10 BA Tetras and their babies and fry.

    ....Bill
     
  6. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    the fish and tank looks really nice !!
     
  7. Alleycat

    Alleycat Member

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    Those caves from Ken's are the bomb, but I don't have one big enough for my female nic to fit into, so I went with a flower pot on it's side. They don't seem to like it much, so I'll yank it out, and find something a little smaller for her to fit into.
     
  8. MonteSS

    MonteSS Thread Starter New Member

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    Ya. This is the largest one. Even the 8" male fits in no prob. They are like love shacks LOL. I think they like the tight single opening that is easy to defend.

    I got the whole set that was like $50. Very happy with it. My Apistos love the smaller ones.

    ....Bill
     
  9. Alleycat

    Alleycat Member

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    I bought the set with three caves, but didn't see the big one. I'll have to check them out over the holidays, and perhaps order some along with something else fishy I have to have... There's always something to add to an order.
    My apistos love the caves I got from plecocaves.com...little mud huts, and they were darn cheap.
    The caves I bought from Kens are a huge hit with my Tanganyikans. I had a pair of N.Cylindricus looking for a place to do their thing, and I plopped a cave into a corner. They keep spawning every other week and I'm running out of tank space for the darn fry... :)
     
  10. Alleycat

    Alleycat Member

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    I forgot I took a terrible picture the other night... it shows how bad I need to clean the inside, and ummmm :oops: outside of the tank. Photobucket tends to cut off some of the picture so I'm not sure how much of the tank you''ll see, but both the cave and the pot with the pair of nics are in the pic
    ai233.photobucket.com_albums_ee237_Alleycat044_038_1.jpg
     
  11. MonteSS

    MonteSS Thread Starter New Member

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    Fish and tank setup look great.

    Kens own brand of food is real good. I like his flake and pellets.

    ....Bill