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first spawn for me only had 3 zebs all @ 5.5cm 1 male 2 female
3 eggs out side (dead) and male sitting on 7 from what i can see .
iv just moved cave into floating hatchery as iv just put in two 7cm zebs i bort 2day and dont want them to upset him ?????
dont no if iv done right or not?

Congrats on the first spawn.

Its probably a good idea to put the dad and cave in a safe place. Once you start to get beyond a pair or trio and into groups/colonies, you get into pecking orders. And it can often mean a few months of fighting before they work out the pecking order. Sometimes this can even result in death but normally is more likely to result in non fatal injuries. Be sure you have lots of places the fish can hide if need be. More caves than males for sure is a good idea.

I was looking at the pics of the new ones and although I am a very poor sexer, I think you have a fm in the top pic and a male in the bottom. However, do not trust my opinion but seek other's advice. Since you now have spawning started, which is the hardest part, the fish should continue spawning. However, by introducing additional fish you may actually put a halt to that until they work things out. You may want to consider putting the new ones into their own tank.

Congrats, try not to disturb the dad for a few days now untill the eggs hatched, putting a towel over the area where the floater is to darken the area works well, good luck.

Congrats on your first spawn Hope you have wrigglers soon

Hi mikeyboy
Well done on the spawn

Jerry

just an update male has kicked 7 dead eggs out up to now ,they r formed with big egg sacks think there r 3-4 left
ill keep u up to date

Hi Mikey, congrats on your spawn getting your first spawn is the biggest achievement so well done.
Sorry for your losses
Have you checked your params? Are your nitrates high above 20 ppm?
This is the biggest killer for fry.
Search wrigglers in cave, one of my first posts when my zebs started breeding & this may be a help to you bud.
Keep us posted.

will do stevie

hi all i think male killed all his wrigglers
checked params all ok
dont no what to say am gutted
mybe it was the introduction of new larger zebs
and i must admit a bit of flashing with torch could,nt help myself
next time lights of and wait ten days before i look again.

Sorry to hear that, If you moved dad I don't think introducing the new fish have caused this, there may have been something wrong with the fry or just his inexperience.
But as TTA & John say I agree & say get the other fish out as you may halt any more spawns you may have.

Sorry to hear they are gone

stevie k how long b4 they will spawn again

Theres no gaurantee they will straight away, but it would generally be 4-6 weeks.

cheers

hi guys here is a pic i got of 1 of the spawn u can see at what stage they were !
can anyone say how old they were?