Happy Keyholes!

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:14 am

Nothing earth shattering, just some happy news. I was out all day yesterday. Got home around 12:30am!

I guess the Keyholes liked the house being so quiet because they were in the process of spawning when I got in. They've been digging pits for weeks. There are two big ones either side of where they've laid the eggs. I sat and watched them for a little while. It was just lovely. There are eggs down the side of a rock and some on the sand. I left the living room lamp on so they could see enough to defend their patch. Everything still intact this morning. Though what chance they stand in the community tank ultimately, I don't know.

But anyway... I just thought I'd tell you all about it. I'm quite happy because though I kind of suspected I had a male and a female, I wasn't sure and didn't know if I was just fooling myself into just seeing what I want to see. But now I am 100% sure, and if nothing else comes of it, it's nice to now be sure of what I've got. Hooray!

Adam · Post by **Adam** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:22 am

Hi Mindy,

Congrats, it's always nice to have an unexpected spawn.

It's funny how so many spawns take place when people are on holiday or just out of the house for a while.

Well done.

Adam

nesolb · Post by **nesolb** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:24 pm

Hi Mindy,

My sisters Blue Acaras spawned in her community tank and they hatched fine, funny looking little things.

The parents, being typical cichlids, pushed all the other tank inhabitants into the far end of the tank, none of them dare venture into mid-water for fear of getting beaten up. It's quite funny to see because they're not even fully grown and a few of her other fish are quite big.

Damian

Des · Post by **Des** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 8:08 pm

Congrats Mindy,

What other fish have you got in there with them?
You could always put a tank divider or a fine plastic mesh as obtained at garden centres, to keep the other fish seperate.

Regards,
Des.

PS Havent yet gone to wholesale Tropicals re: the Farlowellas.

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 8:57 am

There's all kinds in there. A good sized group of cardinals (x12), rummynoses (x7), various other tetras, lots of corys/brochis. The parents are doing well to fend them off at the moment, though I'm sure it will get a bit hair-raising when the fry hatch. Not sure what I'm going to do. Not sure what I CAN do at this point. Here are the proud parents...

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 1:24 pm

Congrats Mindy

Good news, and a couple of lovely looking keyholes!!!

How are they getting on?

rob

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 1:37 pm

Thanks! I am quite smitten with my Keyholes. They are lovely fish and have great "personalities". Being cichlids, they're more interactive than the other fish and will always come to the glass to have a chat when you're there.

Sadly it got to the third day with the eggs and they were eaten. Presumably by the parents. I've been told by a dwarf cichild expert (I know Keyholes aren't dwarf) that I need to lower the TDS in the tank, because if the eggs don't hatch the parents will eat them. And that my TDS might have hindered the hatching. Personally, I think it's something to do with the stress of defending them from all the other fish... but... I'll give it a try and see what happens. They're still digging pits so I know it's going to happen again soon.

Andrew C · Post by **Andrew C** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:52 pm

Mindy
Nice Keyholes, have they laid any new eggs again recently ?

This is the information i found when researching for an article on dwarf cichlids (and cichlids that are popular with dwarf cichlid enthuiasts);

C. maronii is found in the Rio Orinoco basin and rivers of Guyana.

C. maronii has a oval shaped, short body, and a rounded forehead.

It has a mottled golden brown coloration, occasionally marked with faint lateral lines, a curved dark band, that runs from the front of the dorsal fin, through the eye down to the corner of the gill cover. It has fins that range from body colour to dark green blue in colour, and can rapidly change its body colour from golden brown to dark brown, when frightened. A characteristic dark splotch, near the midsection of its body, is said to resemble a keyhole, hence its popular name. C. maronii need a sandy or fine gravel substrate, with plenty of hiding places, because of how timid they can be, and some open spaces should also be provided in the tank for swimming room. Sexing C. maronii is hard. Males are typically larger than females and have more elongated, anal and dorsal fins.

C. maronii can be fussy when choosing partners, it is better to put several juveniles in a tank together and leave them to pair off on their own. They are open spawners with up to 300 eggs being deposited on a clean flat stone, and the eggs are cared for by both sexes, who will fan them with fresh water and pick out unfertilized eggs. The fry hatch after 3 to 5 days and are free swimming several days later and accept newly hatched brine shrimp immediately. It is not uncommon for a pair to eat their first brood, but they will spawn again within a matter of days. If the egg eating is continuous, the eggs should be removed after they are laid and hatched and raised in a separate tank. C. maronii become sexually mature at around 6cm to 7cm in size.

C. maronii are relatively undemanding of water chemistry, but for breeding a slightly acidic pH is preffered.

Male adult size - 10cm
Female adult size - 8cm

Waters pH - 6.0 to 7.5
Hardness - 2 to 8 dGH
Temperature - 22 to 25 Degrees

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:40 pm

They did spawn again, but the same thing happend. Eggs turned white (though not fluffy) and they ate them.

Though this time, they seem to have fallen out with each other. The male has become quite intimidating to the female who has to hide a lot now. I'm not really sure why this is happening, or what to do. I rearranged the tank, but it didn't help.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Andrew C · Post by **Andrew C** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 2:27 am

It is probably down to the female eating the eggs, any dwarfs i've had beat up the females if they are not interested in breeding and i have found the bullying worse when eggs have dissappeared.

If its a young pair, give them a chance and they might suprise you.

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 8:23 am

I'm not sure how old they are, though I've had them nearly a year. They're over 3" now, but not yet 4". I don't now if that gives an idea to their age. I would imagine under 2yrs. They've almost doubled in size since I got them.

I did witness the most extraordinary behaviour from them last night though. They were in the middle level of the tank, out in an open space, and they were just hovering there and slowly turning in circles, together, like ice skaters in formation. Then one started "staring" at the other's side. The other turned black and then started slowly rolling onto it's side until it was laying flat, but in mid water, if you see what I mean. And it kept rolling until it was vertical, head up. Then they started kissing. Not lip locking, but kissing. Just touching mouths - kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss. Over and over. Then a little more rolling, then kissing again. Eventually one swam off, and then I saw a little more chasing. Very odd.

I should also add, that this is my 4ft display tank which over the last few weeks has had the worst case of whitespot I have ever seen. It must be some kind of superstrain of whitespot. I've never seen it so bad. It's wiped out almost every single fish in the tank (despite two courses of treatment). Virtually all my tetras, all but one of my marbled hatchets, both Apisto Agassizi. Though it hasn't touched the corys or the whiptail. Both Keyholes looked shocking, and I thought I was losing one the other day, but now seems to be healing. One is definitely on the mend. So there isn't much left in the tank to distract them now. They nearly have a 4ft to themselves...

Andrew C · Post by **Andrew C** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 4:10 pm

Sorry to hear about the whitespot outbreak.

Just a suggestion, try giving the keyholes a chance to breed with less fish in the tank, its great seeing the parental care of cichlids

Mindy · Post by **Mindy** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 4:16 pm

Well, they seem a little friendlier than before so it will indeed be interesting to see what happens with less fish around. One thing's for sure, I won't be adding more fish in a hurry. Give this whitespot thing a chance to be cleared up. I have no more infected fish. Just a few with a bit of fin and skin damage which will heal with healthy water I'm sure. I'll just do changes for a few weeks and see how they get on. The longer I leave it, the better. The Keyholes can do as they please!