To Think I Was Worried That The Tiger Barbs Might Nip ...

So firstly I increased my shoal of Tiger Barbs from 6, to 12 by introducing 6 smaller, younger Green Tiger Barbs.
I knew this should make them less interested in their tank mates, but I wasn't certain that the two shoals would fully integrate because they are different sizes.
Anyway, that's not been a problem at all and they are getting along fine together.

The main concern I had however, was the introduction of a pair of Agassiz's Dwarf Cichlids.
I wondered if the Tigers might nip them as they are quite slow moving and their fins aren't the shortest...

But the Agassiz's really won me over in the LFS and I decided to risk it.

When I was choosing the pair I noticed that one female was fond of hiding beneath a peice of coconut that had a little green moss or algae on it.
So I asked if I could buy the coconut too! No harm in asking ...

So now I have a very territorial female Agassiz's that chases away the Tiger Barbs and woe betide anyone that tries to get underneath her coconut!
It's fascinating to watch her, she is so feisty! He's quite placid.

I'm really hoping that the Cichlids might spawn, I'd love to see how they behave protecting their eggs and fry.

I didn't specifically look for eggs, I put it in the tank quickly after introducing the pair.

I haven't seen any eggs when looking since, but it is pretty dark under the shell. I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for either, just presuming that I'll know them when I see them.

She certainly does act as though she's already defending eggs.
She is quite pretty too, quite yellow, I even remarked the other day that she seems more attractive to me than the 'drab' reputation the females have, but of course I don't have anything to compare with really.

I'll have to get a magnifying glass to see if I can spot any eggs.

Or if she hasn't already spawned, she could be getting prepared, or she just could be a little madam!

Lovely fish though, really pleased with them.

And talking of Tiger Barbs, apart from when I had the initial six and a Cardinal Tetra lost his dorsal fin on the day his shoal was introdcued (he has since died ), they have been as good as gold. They're really more interested in chasing each other.
Their reputation is undeserved IMO, as long as you have a large enough shoal of course.

Great news!

The female will  now be quite aggressive even towards the male. This is what used to alert me to the fact my cockatoos had spawned.

The fish most at risk are the cories. They have no concept of territory and won't learn to stay away when chased.

What to do with the fry is a tricky one. Once the eggs hatch you will have wrigglers which are little more than eggs with tails. They'll be kept in the cave until they become free swimming. The eggs will disappear from their spot on the roof and the female will be seen guarding the wrigglers on the bottom of the cave.
The problem then is that fry do really need to kept with the mother to learn how to be good parents themselves when they grow up. She will care for them to the best of her ability until they reach a certain size, then it's every fish for itself. But you have fish in the tank that will make short work of free swimming fry, the female won't be able to protect every single one of them at all times - as they get bigger, they venture further and further from mum.

What you do with them is up to you. The fry will be eaten if you leave them in the tank. Is the fry trap one of those hang on the side net ones or a solid plastic one with slits? Both have their problems. The slits in the solid kind are big and the fry will escape. But the fish will suck fry through the fabric of the net kind, especially the mother. She moves fry round the tank by taking them into her mouth and spitting them out where she wants them. She will know they are in the net and will desperately try to suck them through the fabric to 'rescue' them.

One thing you could try - make a basket from craft mesh slightly bigger than the fry net (if that's what you have) and suspend the net inside it so that no part of the net is in contact. The adult fish won't be able to reach the net to suck the fry though. I used these mesh baskets as birthing traps when I had endlers - I sewed the panels together then sewed strips of polystyrene tile round the top edge as floats. The female apisto might get upset though if she can see the fry and can't reach them.

The other alternative is to let this batch be eaten and set up a small tank for next time. When they show breeding behaviour, move both male and female into it and then remove the male as soon as he has done his job. Moving the cave with eggs and mum can result in disaster as she can become so stressed by the move that she eats the eggs. Leaving mum and fry together in a small tank means you will get to see her parenting behaviour.
This is what I did with my cockatoos, the problem I had was the tank springing a leak when the fry were about a week old 

That is a possibility - though the adult fish might still be able to suck the fry through the fabric. And you can't block the holes as they need to be there to allow water to circulate. What this kind of trap is normally used for is to put a pregnant livebearer female into them and the fry drop through the slits to safety. And livebearer fry are a lot bigger than egg laying fry!


I have lost fry kept in a net because the honey gouramis I had then sucked the fry through the fabric. I would be worried about the barbs doing the same thing, and the female apisto if she can see/smell/whatever the fry but can't reach them.

Just a thought - you might want to start something like a microworm culture ready for when the fry outgrow infusoria. I got a starter from Ebay and used cheap own-brand instant porridge as the culture medium. I used that and managed to rear 5 cockatoo fry to adulthood in my QT after the leaking tank episode. Catching week old fry on sand is not very easy!!

That's the stuff. It does take a week or so before they can be harvested and you have to start a new culture regularly. If you have it in ready you can judge from the size of the fry when they can eat it.

You need 2 or 3 cheap plastic tubs with lids. Sand down the insides to make then rough and stab holes in the lid. Make up some instant porridge with water to a depth of quarter to half an inch, when it cools sprinkle dried yeast on the top (optional but it does work better) then lay the starter culture on top of that. Try and keep the porridge off the sides of the tub, and spray with water if it starts to look dry. Keep the tubs warmish (I put them on top of the tank over the lights). Harvest the worms when they crawl up the sides of the tub - that's why you roughen the insides, it gives the worms something to grip on to. The culture will go off and smell. Start a new culture every week using a spoonful of the current one as a starter. Throw the old one away when it starts to smell.
Some people use a child's paintbrush to harvest the worms; I used a sliver of plastic plant label. I also added the worms to a tiny bit of tank water and used a turkey baster to deliver the worms right in front of the fry group.

Thanks again Sue.