GaryofMontreal
Apr 1st 2010, 07:38 PM
My taeniatus Moliwe brought out their fry. It's hard to get shots of first day freeswimming cichlids with my camera, but if you squint...
Here's the male guarding while Mom goes foraging. I had put in freshly hatched artemia and they had drifted to the other side of the tank. Dad was holding the fort while Mom scouted up some food for the young.1873
Here are two shots of when the very efficient young Mom has gotten the fry to the trough. The fry are bright orange from their bellies full of artemia. The female is out of her top-notch colours, to be a little more discrete as she guides her young. Her pectoral fins have darkened, and she's using them to signal to the young where they should go. The gaggle (a small first spawn - it's usually the pattern for the first time) are schooling tightly and very obediently. These wild-caught adults seem to have figured out aquarium life quite well. When I would first approach the tank, the female would signal the fry to hit the ground and blend in with the gravel. Now, she seems to see me as an annoyance, but no threat, and simply keeps the fry closer when I take pictures.
1874
1875
Here's the male guarding while Mom goes foraging. I had put in freshly hatched artemia and they had drifted to the other side of the tank. Dad was holding the fort while Mom scouted up some food for the young.1873
Here are two shots of when the very efficient young Mom has gotten the fry to the trough. The fry are bright orange from their bellies full of artemia. The female is out of her top-notch colours, to be a little more discrete as she guides her young. Her pectoral fins have darkened, and she's using them to signal to the young where they should go. The gaggle (a small first spawn - it's usually the pattern for the first time) are schooling tightly and very obediently. These wild-caught adults seem to have figured out aquarium life quite well. When I would first approach the tank, the female would signal the fry to hit the ground and blend in with the gravel. Now, she seems to see me as an annoyance, but no threat, and simply keeps the fry closer when I take pictures.
1874
1875