1st trapping ????? help

[craigzeb]

i think i may have my 1st trapping in my tank i have a zeb ontop of another in 1 of my caves hope its breeding time and not a male killing a male bit excited at the min only had them 5 of them a year and bought another 3 about 7 months ago.
should i keep my lights off in my tank ???? can i still do a water change as 1 is due today or should i just leave them to it not sure how long they have been in the cave as i was away for 2 nights and not had my lights on or checked the tank,
all help welcome cheers guys !!!

[TwoTankAmin]

Give them at least another 24 hours. See what happens. Holding off a day or two on a water changes isn't fatal. If you get eggs, doing a wc carefully is fine.

[craigzeb]

Just not sure how long they have been there already as I was away for a few nights ??? So I can do a carefull water change ok should I do half tank as normal or more of a water change if eggs do turn up ??? I usually put my lights on at night but have left them off for now what do you think ? Leave them off or put on as normal so hope they spawn

[TwoTankAmin]

I never found lights to matter.

I have had spawns not happen due to being interrupted by a water change.

I have never lost eggs or wigglers due to doing a water change.

I have never had a spawn, eggs or wigglers impacted by looking into a cave with a flashlight.

[craigzeb]

well i left them alone checked again this morning and think male is in the cave on its own well there is only 1 that i can see so hopefully he mite be sat on some eggs ??? i did a water change tonight to clean out uneaten food and clear water.
my cave is on a angle where i can just about see the plec but no eggs as cant quite c the back of the cave so its a waiting game now and fingers crossed

[craigzeb]

i cant see the back of cave to see if eggs are because the front of the tank is curved so do you think it would be ok to pick up the cave to see whats inside ???? or would this upset the dad ???

[TwoTankAmin]

Most of the time the dad tries to hide the eggs/wigglers when we look into the cave. Early on this can be easy to do and we see nothing. However, dads do something that is usually a dead give-away he is on babies. He will bounce and flap his fins and tail at somewhat regular intervals. He is keeping the eggs well aerated. This behavior is usually a good way to determine if he is on offspring or merely in the cave and then hiding from prying eyes and flashlights.

[craigzeb]

i could not resist so this morning i quickly picked up the cave then put it back and i saw some eggs just under the dad so hopefully he will get it rite and the little ones will hatch fingers crossed now

[jsalas623]

Nice!! And congrats!!! Can't wait til mine get to breeding age!!


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[craigzeb]

Gutted caught the dad kicking out something before it was a hatched egg with a tiny zeb on it then he did it another 2 times so lost 3 babies hopefully some more still inside not sure if they died or the dad has had a bite of them ??? It's his 1st time so not sure fingers crossed I get some babies coming out soon