It seems that it was really too good to be true. I saw the parents eating the eggs this morning, which probably means that the eggs weren't fertilised. I don't see any other reason for the parents to eat the eggs, as they are usually quite protective of their young.

But, the female is still displaying mating colours and her stomach looks a little bloated, so I think it's just a matter of time really. At least now I have micro-worms ready for harvesting should they decide to spawn again.

As for the white worms, I'm suspending feeding for a while, as I've split the culture into three. One big "base" culture, and two smaller "sub" cultures. The plan is to wait for about a month or so, and then put the "sub" cultures up for sale on the web. Honestly, $20 for a small starter culture in a pet shop is quite ridiculous, so I'm planning to sell it to hobbyists for maybe $5. This way I can help other aquarists out there, while marginally making some pocket money. If you think about it, I'm not really in it for the money, since I have to maintain the cultures and feed it until it blooms in about a month, before selling it for a measly $5. So, I think it's more of an extension of my hobby which will also benefit other hobbyists.

If there are no takers for the white worm cultures, then I'll at least have two back-up cultures. However, if demand is really high, I might just start a bigger culture and go from there. But then again, who knows what the future holds..

The Aquarist

Labels: breeding cichlids, micro worms, white worms

5:07 AM

It would appear that I've been given a shot at redemption! After 2 days in the new tank, the parents have already made themselves comfortable enough to spawn, which is a very pleasant surprise!

This morning I noticed the female was displaying her red mating colours, which to me, was already a very good sign. I was expecting them to spawn in the next couple of days or so, but during feeding this evening I saw some eggs laid on the gravel. I truly did not expect them to spawn again so quickly, but I'm not complaining about a chance at redeeming myself.

According to previous experience, the fries should be free swimming and weaned off their yolk sacs by Wednesday, so the micro-worms should be ready for harvesting by then. But there's never any guarantee on anything.

In the meantime, I've gone all out to prepare the parents for the care-taking period. I fed them nearly 5 white-worms each this evening, after a feed of their staple pellets and half a spoonful of freeze-dried blood worms! They're really feasting tonight, and they showed no signs of slowing down. I guess white-worms really work a treat with them.

What I've been doing with the white-worms was also to "gut load" them by sprinkling powdered fry food into the soil every night and adding a bit of water to keep it moist. It seems to be working, because most of the powder is gone by the next evening, and the nutrients will then be passed on to the fish during ingestion. Another thing I've found is that if the soil is very moist, the worms will tend to approach the surface of the soil, making it easier to get them out for feeding.

All I hope now is to raise the eggs till the fries are big enough for the big tank, then the chances of survival are much higher.

The Aquarist

Labels: blood worms, breeding cichlids, mating cichlids, micro worms, white worms

5:03 AM