Zeb male eating fry?

bengranger80 · Post by **bengranger80** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:11 pm

Hi all,
I have recently had a hatched spawn and fry from a medium sized male.
They have just used their yolksac and are now free feeding but staying in the cave most of the time.
Today I noticed that the male in the cave has changed!
Now there is an even bigger male in the cave and the fry are still in there.
I am just concerned that the male is going to sabbotage the other males efforts and eat all the fry.
I would take him out but I have found the big males impossible to get out of the caves once they have decided that they want to stay.

Has anyone experienced jealous males eating fry?

Jo's Zebs · Post by **Jo's Zebs** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 1:08 am

It is unusual for a male to get tipped out of his cave by another how are the fry fairing now after a few days?

bengranger80 · Post by **bengranger80** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 11:43 pm

Hi Jo, thanks for the reply,
I had a nightmare on Saturday night, I decided to go for it and try to attempt saving the fry, as the new male simply wouldnt move out of the cave and I was worried about the fry.

I picked up the cave placed it in a big tub and decided the only way to get the male out was to break the cave. I tried using pliers but that didnt work and I was nearly stupid enough to use a hammer but found a G clamp just in time, and wound it up around the cave, it broke perfectly in 3 peices and a very angry male came thrashing out. I scooped him up and put him in solitary confinement as punishment in another tank and then counted up the fry and there was 9 in total!
I put them in a breeding trap and they are doing well on lobster eggs, feeding nicely.

Now just wait for some more action, if I dont get any joy in a few weeks the male I took out is going back in the mix to hot things up again.

I would really like to take all the other plecs out if I get another spawn and just leave the male and female in there to try and set up a new colony from the others.
Has anyone else done this and what were the results?

Thanks guys any new advice apreciated

Joby · Post by **Joby** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:17 am

I had to smile as you described the angry male shooting out the cave

Glad you got him out and also rescued the little ones, good luck with them

Zebraholic · Post by **Zebraholic** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 10:14 am

Try getting a cave with removable lid. All my caves have removable lids so if you need to take the fry out, its simple as lifting the lid, gently using the finger to help the male and isolate the fry.

Lifted193 · Post by **Lifted193** » Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:07 pm

I can understand your concern about the fry's safety but I would have taken my chance with the new male in the cave then risk hurting the male and the fry's by breaking the cave to get him out. Just my opinion. Happy to hear everything turned out alright!