Aphysemion Bitaeniatum Lagos

[daworldisblack]

Got the eggs shipped in from the UK for these guys. It was probably harvested on the 17th and I was told not to wet it till the 29th. the weather in Ottawa was humid and 30 degrees outside on the day they were supposed to get here but I think thanks to the packaging they stayed good. I got them on the 24th which is about a week or so after they were harvested and looking at the eggs, they were all eyed up and mature. Besides, I thought, they are non-annual killi eggs and are supposed to incubate in water so I decided to put them in a tub with water from my planted tank. Next day I got home to see some wrigglers already! As I used my pipette to suck 'em into another container, I realized that ALL of them had hatched! 20 fry! I decided to keep the tub for another night just in case and the next day after straining my eyes, I found one more straggler - total count: 21! 105% hatch rate!

Looks like these guys take a while to develop (4 months from hatching to young adults)but am real excited to ensure they all grow up healthy and awesome. Fingers-crossed for good sex ratio. Here are the obligatory pics:



Eggs came in this with name, pic and proposed hatch date.

[exv152]

That's awesome. What is involved in the hatching process, if you don't mind me asking?

[daworldisblack]

Its as easy as dropping it in the correct water conditions for the species and you're good to go In this case, they like soft slightly acidic water so established planted tank water it was! No unicorn horn and leprechaun pee involved contrary to popular belief :p

[exv152]

...No unicorn horn and leprechaun pee involved... :p

lol.... good to know. I did find this online though, is this pretty much what you did ?
http://www.killi.co.uk/hatching.php

[daworldisblack]

Yeap pretty much! The article however is specifically for annuals and the A. Bit Lagos are non-annuals but wetting is pretty much the same. Non-Annuals eggs dont need to be dried at all so it was a bit of an experiment getting them in peat rather then water but it worked out! They also hatch way quicker - hence why non-annual eggs aren't shipped as often. Mine was supposed to take about 11 days to incubate but hatched in 7-8 days instead. I tought they'd incubate in the water like they're supposed to but they hatched!

[daworldisblack]

Been a while since an update and thats for a reason I suppose.. these guys take a looong while to mature! As of now, I am down to 12 lil guys/gals. Really slow growers and you can tell at this point which are the runts. Still feeding them microworms and white worms. Want to get them to frozen bloodworms and flakes/pellets soon!

[daworldisblack]

Figured it was time for an update!

Heres the lone male from the brood. Awesome orange finnage.



Another one:



He has a harem of 9 females. They like putting things in their mouth - heres one snacking on shrimp sashimi



I see them trying to do the shimmy to get some babies going - perhaps they are trying to tell me something!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[exv152]

Nice orange finnage for sure!

[fischkopp]

Cool fish! Again: get them do the breeding thing!

[daworldisblack]

Looking handsome!

[fischkopp]

Great little fish!

[daworldisblack]

Great little fish!

How are your A. Australe Orange doing?!

[exv152]

That last pic is amazing Rah. Love his colours.