How to get Farlowellas in the mood ;)

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 17 Feb 2015, 13:22

One week since hatching, they're now about 19mm total length and the shape is developing.
They seem to like the algae powder approach (I'm offering both chlorella and spirulina) and are less keen on the various pellets and wafers I have tried. Pebbles and food in a plastic pot lid are popular though.
I siphon out all the uneaten food twice daily and feed again. I'm not aware of any losses yet, I still have 15. Occasionally one or two escape back into the main tank (they're small enough to get through the exit grating from the breeder box) but they're quite easy to spot, catch and put back in the nursery.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 17 Feb 2015, 13:39

Neat! Well done.
Chhers, Eric

MHRS · Post by **MHRS** » 17 Feb 2015, 22:59

Looking good!
Well done.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 17 Feb 2015, 23:52

Thanks guys

I'm not at all experienced at breeding fish, so all the help and advice on here is really appreciated. This is going much better than my previous efforts, but I know I'll need to keep up the close care for many weeks with these twiglets.

One thing I've found that works well is a chunk of bogwood wedged in the breeder box about half-way up. This gives an extra feeding/resting surface for the fish, and somewhere else for the algae powder to settle where they can eat it. This discovery was a happy accident. The tips given to me about food in a pot lid, algae powder and lowering the water level temporarily all work really well too - thanks!

It sounds crazy but every time I see a curl of green twiglet-poo it puts a smile on my face. The previous two spawns just died as I couldn't get them eating in the main tank.

I'm preparing a grow-out tank for them, in line with the advice given.

Next challenge - the 80 eggs that my gold laser Cories laid a couple of days ago...

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Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 19 Feb 2015, 09:37

Not all the fry are the same colour. The attached photo shows two contrasting fish next to each other.

Anyone know why? Is it to do with rate of development, sexual differences, feeding?

They are 9 days old, 20mm to 21mm total length.

All the fish have been raised in the same breeder box and offered the same foods. One or two fish per day escape into the main tank and I have to scoop them up and return to the nursery. Neither of these two were recent escapes.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 21 Feb 2015, 08:33

The parents laid again last night, on the front glass this time. There look to be about 20 viable eggs and a couple of duds.

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parrot1974 · Post by **parrot1974** » 21 Feb 2015, 20:18

Brilliant news! I'm currently wondering how to get my Farlowellas in the mood and had heard horror stories about raising the babies. I've got that type of breeder box already, so am halfway there

Well, I just need the fish to get their act together!

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 21 Feb 2015, 23:57

Raising the fry is definitely harder than getting the parents to spawn, in my experience. I'm hoping that now the fry are an inch long it will get easier...
There are two problems with this sort of breeder box:
1) the airlift isn't powerful enough for a decent flow. I replaced it with a powerhead and spraybar.
2) the exit grille has gaps big enough for the fry to escape. I have to catch a few out of the main tank every day and put them back in the nursery.
I tried putting a finer mesh over the grille but then the breeder box overflowed.
The fry are easy to catch off the glass with a square clear plastic box.
Good luck!

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Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 22 Feb 2015, 17:47

Well the second spawn is now down to just 3 eggs, none of which look viable. Dad did a terrible job of looking after these, and they were attacked by snails.

Something similar happened late last year when my Farlowellas last spawned - the first spawn was well-guarded and produced lots of fry. They spawned again 3 weeks later and they were not well-guarded and produced nothing.

I have two male F.vittata and one female. I can't easily tell the males apart but I was wondering if she mates with them in turn and one is a better dad than the other?

In the mean time, the 15 twiglets from the first spawn are still doing well, nearly an inch long now. They've started eating micro-worms as well as the veggies.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 26 Feb 2015, 21:00

The biggest twiglet is now 28mm long, they are now eating microworms, spinach leaves and broccoli stalk as well as the algae powder.
Their grow-out tank is currently cycling and I'll move them over when it's ready.

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Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 11 Mar 2015, 20:16

I moved the twiglets to their grow-out tank a couple of days ago and they're settling in and eating well.
There's something weird going on in the water though, despite having two cycled filters in there I am measuring high nitrite levels. I have added Prime, Polyfilter and am doing 2 50% water changes daily but it's still unacceptable. The odd thing is that all the fry are still alive, active and apparently unaffected. I am confused!

I hope it's some sort of false reading.

Meanwhile, the parents are spawning again!

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Post by **Shane** » 11 Mar 2015, 22:04

Great job! Having raised These before I know how much work it is.
-Shane

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 12 Mar 2015, 09:56

Thanks Shane!

I've got the nitrites back to zero now (phew) and have lost a couple of the babies, but still have most of them. I hope there's no long-term damage. I'll be keeping a close eye on them.

The parents laid 43 eggs last night, most of which look viable.

Cheers,
Paul

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 22 Mar 2015, 19:25

Just got back from the catfish convention. The twiglets are still doing well in their grow-out tank.
All of the eggs laid 10 days ago vanished completely within 24 hours. But strangely I have come home to find a few newly hatched twiglets on the glass. I can only think Mum spawned with both males on about the same day, but one spawn was in the back corner of the tank and that's what has just hatched.
Oh well, time to get the breeder box out again ;)

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YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 22 Mar 2015, 19:54

You've got some busy twigs, making all those twiglets. Congratulations!

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 22 Mar 2015, 20:46

I was just looking closely in the tank to see if there were any more twiglets hatched yet, and saw my female Dicrossus being unusually aggressive to a twig (6 times her size). On closer inspection she is herding a group of her own newly-hatched babies!
I've had the Dicrossus lay eggs before, but never had them hatch. Wow. Now I've got two lots of babies in the same tank!

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Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 27 Jul 2015, 20:26

After a few months off, my twig cats have laid again. But the eggs haven't stuck to the glass and most of them are now wedged between a branch and the glass - some have fallen to the substrate.

Dad is still vaguely guarding them but he looks confused.

I had some success with the previous broods but also some disasters. I still have two juveniles about 65mm long, back in with the parents and eating well.

Any advice welcome

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 09 Aug 2015, 17:37

Well, here we go again

I've seen them spawn 3 times before, but this is the first time I have witnessed both males getting in on the action at once.

Survival rate of the previous broods has been poor but I still have two twiglets which have grown to about 70mm TL and are now eating well.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 10 Aug 2015, 21:27

Both males continued to take part in the mating, which lasted several hours yesterday evening. It was noticeable that while the two males were jostling for position, some of the eggs were getting knocked off the glass and falling on to the substrate. When I went to bed last night there were about 30 on the glass and at lest 10 on the substrate, and they were still at it.

When I got up this morning, there were only 10 eggs left on the glass and the two males were still jostling each other to guard the remainder. By the time I left for work an hour later they had all fallen down. So - here's a lesson. Unlike with Cories, having two Farlowella males in on the act is a bad thing!

Anyway, when I got home this evening I siphoned up all the eggs I could find. After discarding half a dozen bad ones, I've put the remaining 44 eggs in a breeder box hung on the outside of their parents tank, which has a good water flow through it. They're just sitting on the bottom of the box getting moved around a little in the current, and tending to clump together again. I'll just have to wait and see if they fungus up or if any survive to hatch.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 12 Aug 2015, 21:49

The eggs that I rescued from the substrate a couple of days ago seem to be developing well in the hatchery. None of them have fungussed, and I can see baby twiglets developing inside.

The hatchery is a Marina 2L breeder box, modified so it is fed from a powerhead rather than an airlift, and with a coarse mesh sponge fitted in the outlet corner, followed by an enlarged outlet. This permits a much greater water flow rate than the standard version. Other mods to the breeder box include an emergency overflow channel, and some black plastic stuck to the base and back. The box hangs on the outside of the parents' tank and uses the same water.

The flow through the modified breeder box is enough that the eggs are getting moved around regularly, which probably helps keep them 'good' in the absence of their two fathers.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 14 Aug 2015, 21:34

I managed a couple of nice pictures of my twiglets on their two favourite foods - see below.

In my experience, they love red bell pepper and they also love 'lollipops' made by dipping twigs in Repashy gel.

When the new lot of eggs hatch (they're still mostly looking viable) I'll try to wean them on to these foods once they're beyond the Chlorella/Spirulina powder stage. Fingers crossed!

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 15 Aug 2015, 07:43

Neat photos! Good luck with the new eggs. I never would have imagined that peppers would be a good food.

Cheers, Eric

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 15 Aug 2015, 08:55

Thanks Eric,

Red peppers are very popular with all my 'veggie' Loricariidae, including the Otos, Hypoptopoma, Farlowella, Ancistrus, and even the L244s and L397s. I'm not sure if the L24 goes for them as well.
They also eat courgette, spinach, broccoli stalk etc but bell peppers are definitely favourite and get eaten right down to the skin in a couple of days, with red poo everywhere!

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 15 Aug 2015, 13:52

It the pepper raw? Do you peel it?

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 15 Aug 2015, 13:58

Raw, with pith and seeds removed. Not peeled. Well washed though, and I try to get organic ones if I can.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 15 Aug 2015, 14:01

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Cheers, Eric

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 16 Aug 2015, 11:11

After 48 hours in the tank, this is all that's left - basically just the skin. One of these was the twig cats, the other was the Otos.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 17 Aug 2015, 09:26

Two days ago, one of the eggs I rescued from the tank hatched, rather prematurely. The little twiglet struggled to get out of the egg and despite wriggling frantically for an hour or so, it didn't make it.

This morning, the majority of the eggs are hatching. About 10-15 had got free of their eggs and were sucking on to the sides of the hatchery (one even suckered to my finger when I reached in to give them some sticks to sucker on to). Another 10 have their tails free of the egg but seem to be having the same problems in getting out of their eggs. I've left them to it while I go to work; it will be interesting to see if they manage it. Because the eggs were rescued from the main tank, they're not stuck to anything so the little guys end up trying to swim around wearing the egg like a helmet, but they can't get it off. I'm not sure what to do - I suspect they're too small and delicate for my ham-fisted fingers to help. Any ideas?

The remaining 15 eggs hadn't started to hatch when I left home.

YouTube · Post by **bekateen** » 17 Aug 2015, 09:29

Sorry, can't help with the egg issue. But I wanted to say thank you for the red pepper suggestion. I picked up some at the local grocery tonight, and my juvenile albino BNs are all over it.

Good luck with the Farlowellas.

Mol_PMB · Post by **Mol_PMB** » 17 Aug 2015, 11:19

A photo of the hatching twiglets. Terrible quality I'm afraid - just a snap with the phone before I left for work.
Hopefully by the time I get home, more of them will have worked their way free of the eggshells and I'll have a tidy-up.

Eric, I'm pleased to hear your BNs like the red pepper

I believe it's quite nutrient-rich as well as being tasty.
Yellow and orange peppers go down quite well but they don't seem to like the green ones so much.
I've also tried chilli peppers which were popular too!