Breeding Malawian cichlids. B. Mouth Incubating Fish How to Procreate from Cichlids

In Africa, as you know, there are various animals, including a wide variety of fish that inhabit its water bodies everywhere - from small puddles to giant rivers and lakes.

Of particular interest are fish that bear and grow their offspring in their mouths. To such caring parents cichlids are large African lakes- Malawi (Nyasa) and Tanganyika.

For the last twenty years, these cichlids have been very popular inhabitants of aquariums among true connoisseurs of underwater exoticism.

Most of the African cichlids that are kept and bred in Tashkent have adapted well to our aquarium conditions, adapted to Tashkent water with its rather unpredictable hydrochemical parameters.

The main indicator that fish live well in an aquarium is their desire to breed. However, sometimes they do it even in a not very comfortable conditions: cramped small aquariums, restless neighbors, etc.

However, reproduction implies not only spawning (it is this that most often occurs in common aquariums), but, most importantly, obtaining full-fledged, viable and strong offspring in the form of, for example, hundreds of fry.

How cichlids spawn

Usually African cichlids spawn in some favorite place of the aquarium, having previously processed it accordingly: moving part of the soil, clearing the place of plants and small stones, driving away other fish.

Spawning itself occurs quite quickly - the whole process fits into the time period of ten to twenty minutes. Only some species of cichlids can stretch this pleasure for a longer period.

A huge advantage of the cichlids under consideration over other types of cichlids is that during the spawning period they do not occupy part of the aquarium for their nest for a long period. for example angelfish guard and incubate their masonry for about a week. Here everything is different!

During spawning, the female lays eggs and immediately picks up the male's milk with her mouth, thus fertilizing them in her mouth.

The process ends when the female completely fills her mouth with eggs. Therefore, even without being a witness to spawning, you can understand by the swollen sac under lower jaw females - she has already started incubating eggs.

Natural incubation of eggs

The female usually carries the eggs for about three weeks. Rather, after three weeks we can definitely say that larvae have already formed from the eggs.

After about a week, the eggs turn into primary larvae, and over the next two weeks they turn into larvae.

Throughout this period, the larvae feed exclusively on their own reserves - the contents of their egg sac. Most females do not feed at all during incubation and at the same time become very depleted.

Another problem with natural incubation caviar is what's in community aquarium females practically do not have the opportunity to release larvae for a walk. Yes, this is exactly what they do in nature, giving themselves the opportunity to rest and the larvae to try zooplankton “by the tooth”.

AT aquarium conditions patient females will carry the larvae for a very long time, often exceeding the time limits set by nature.

All this can lead to the death of not only offspring, but also the mothers themselves. And if the female turns out to be lazy, then in a few days you will find a scattering of eggs on the ground, which she simply spat out, forgetting about her maternal duties.

How to get offspring from cichlids

What to do to get offspring from your pets?

There are two options: to deposit the female with eggs in a hotel aquarium, where there will be no one else but her, or to artificially incubate the eggs.

But there is a third option - to give the female the opportunity to vilify the eggs for a week or two, and then take the already formed larvae from her.

What are the advantages of this option? First, you don't need a fairly large female jig.

Secondly, a high probability of shedding eggs by the female during her catching is excluded.

Thirdly, and most importantly, you allow the female to fully realize her natural functions - carrying and nursing eggs. This is very important, and if this is not done, then the female may stop breeding altogether.

And the advantages of this method over artificial incubation are even greater, since it is not eggs that are shaken out, which will have to be incubated for a rather long period in very specific conditions, but larvae, which are more resistant to various influences and water parameters compared to eggs.

So, the meaning of all of the above is that when breeding incubating African cichlids, the most the best option To obtain the desired offspring is to shake out the larvae (not eggs!) From the female's mouth a week or two after spawning. In this case, the probability of survival of all larvae can reach one hundred percent.

The most famous and widespread in aquariums around the world is the Siamese cockerel. betta splendens building foam nests on the surface of the water. But this method of reproduction does not at all prevail in a very numerous, more than 60 species, genus Betta. Most of its representatives bear eggs in their mouths, this breeding method is more progressive, since eggs, and later fry, are maximally protected from predators and adverse conditions external environment.

This group, distinguished by the method of reproduction, includes many types of cockerels, for example, Betta fusca, Betta albimarginata, Betta macrostoma, Betta rubra, Betta picta, Betta simplex, Betta foerschi, Betta pugnax and many others. The process of discovering new species is still going on and all new species are just cockerels that hatch eggs in their mouths. Their sizes vary greatly - from small three-centimeter Betta rubra up to huge ten centimeters Betta pugnax. These cockerels have a lot common features in maintenance and reproduction, and several species described below can form an idea about this group of fish. It is very important that cockerels of this species can be kept in a group, they do not have such pronounced aggression as the well-known Siamese cockerels, and they can be kept together with medium-sized non-aggressive fish, but it should be borne in mind that they can eat snails and shrimps - neocaridins . Larger shrimp - filter feeders and amano can be settled with medium-sized cockerels.

Betta rubra

As it is easy to guess from the name, the name of this cockerel is given to him by color, rubra means “red”, it is this color that is very pronounced in the color of the cockerel. They live in Indonesia and on the island of Sumatra, in lakes and small rivers, often found together with related species, Betta dennisyongi. This species has been described for a long time, but due to local conflicts his capture was impossible. Since 2007, the situation began to change and rubra appeared on sale, and, as a result, in amateur aquariums around the world. In reservoirs where the rubra lives in nature, there is usually a peaty bottom and soft, acidic (pH 5.5) and saturated with humic substances water. Therefore, when keeping them in an aquarium, you need to be guided by information about natural places cockerel habitat.

Rubra is a medium-sized species of cockerel, the size of which varies from 3 to 4 cm, the color is quite bright: the male is reddish with alternating thick transverse blue and red stripes along the body, red fins and a bright red spot with a dark transverse stripe on the gill cover. The females are reddish, differing from the male also in a more rounded abdomen. You can keep them both in pairs and in a group, males are not aggressive towards each other.

An aquarium for a couple can be from 30 liters, for a group it is better to take a container of 40 - 50 liters, always with a lid, as the males jump perfectly. It is better to put a fine dark soil on the bottom, since the fish look the most contrast on it, it is also better to use a dark background.

When preparing water, it is better to use distilled or osmotic water, the water should be acidic and with low hardness. In addition, the water must be clean, free of nitrites and ammonia, with no large quantity nitrates. Water temperature 22 - 27 degrees.

In the aquarium, the presence of snags is very desirable, they form shelters for fish, and also serve as a source of humic acids, the water in such an aquarium acquires a brownish tint. It is also good to put a few almond leaves on the bottom - the fish will be able to hide in them, and the leaves themselves release humic substances into the water, which contribute to creating a more comfortable environment for cockerels.

The light in the aquarium should be subdued, rubra does not like bright light. Based on the above, plants must be selected very carefully - various ferns and cryptocorynes, floating plants such as Pistia and Salvinia will do.

Rubres in nature live in water bodies without current or with a weak current, so the filter is not very desirable, it also applies to aeration. There should be an air gap between the surface of the water and the lid of the aquarium, since cockerels belong to the suborder of labyrinths and they breathe atmospheric air, capturing it on the surface of the water.

Rubra are quite whimsical to feed - they prefer live food, such as bloodworms, coretra, daphnia, grindal worm, fruit flies - Drosophila are also suitable, but it is more convenient to accustom these males to frozen food - bloodworms, medium and small, daphnia are suitable for them , coretra, moina, daphnia, cyclops and microplankton. In no case should you overfeed rubr, they are prone to obesity.

Breeding rubra is very typical of a mouth-brooding group. When kept in pairs and groups in a species aquarium, spawning occurs without any stimulation. If the bettas live in a group with other fish, then a pair for spawning should be placed in a separate aquarium with the same water parameters as in the main aquarium. The male is colored more brightly, after courtship, he hugs the female and squeezes eggs out of her, simultaneously fertilizing her. He catches the eggs and takes them into his mouth for incubation, then the cycle repeats, and so on until all the eggs are squeezed out. It is better not to remove the female, as this will serve as stress for the male and he can swallow the eggs. Incubation period is 10 - 17 days, the fry are hatched large enough and can immediately eat nauplii, brine shrimp and microworms. If the aquarium is species-specific, spacious enough and overgrown with plants, then the fry can not be separated from their parents.

Betta albimarginata

This is a very interesting and popular type of cockerel, its name can be translated from Latin as a white-edged cockerel, which refers to the color of this interesting fish- in males, the body is orange with darker orange fins and a wide white border along the edge of unpaired fins. The gill cover is bright orange with a black spot. Sexual dimorphism is well expressed, females are colored in Brown color with a reddish burgundy fin. It lives in Indonesia, on Boneo and Kalimantan, is endemic to these places. Habitat The habitats of this cockerel are shallow (up to 10 centimeters deep) reservoirs with a very weak current, an abundance of snags and fallen leaves. The size of these fish is not at all impressive - from 2.5 to 3 cm, males are slightly longer than females, but females are thicker.

Betta picta

Picta is one of the representatives of medium-sized bettas with a characteristic bright edging of unpaired fins, there are many such species, they do not differ very much in appearance, most of them are endemic and cannot interbreed. Picta lives on the islands of Indonesia and the island of Java, prefers to settle in medium-sized reservoirs with a small current, is found even in roadside ditches, there is usually no vegetation in habitats, snags and stones are used as shelter. In length, this species reaches 4 - 5 cm, is colored brownish with several horizontal stripes along the body. The bases of the unpaired fins are reddish, the edging is bright blue with a blue stripe along the edge. Sexual dimorphism is well expressed, females are more massive than males and not so brightly colored.

In addition to picta, you can find on sale Betta enisae.

Betta pugnax

This is one of the representatives of a group of species of large cockerels that bear eggs in their mouths, which is widespread in nature. Similar species many, most often they are endemic to a certain area, and all of them differ only slightly from each other in color and size.

This cockerel does not have a Russian name, transcription is usually used Latin name- pugnaxes. This species is widely distributed in Malaysia, it is also found in Singapore. It usually lives in the foothills, in shallow (up to 80 cm deep) reservoirs with a gentle current, clean water, usually without vegetation, but with a clean sandy bottom, but with a lot of snags and fallen leaves. Since large parts of the pugnax's range have been converted to oil palm plantations, these fish have adapted and now often live in the sewers of these same plantations.

In length, this type of cockerel reaches 6 - 7 cm, the color is brownish with longitudinal stripes of shiny blue scales. On the operculum there is a bright blue spot with a longitudinal black stripe. Unpaired fins are yellowish with bright blue edging. Sexual dimorphism is quite well expressed, males are larger and more massive, the color of females is not bright.

For the content of these big fish you will need a large aquarium - from 40 liters per couple and 100 liters per group. They are harmless, they do not arrange fights with each other, they are not aggressive towards other fish, despite their impressive size, but small fish like neon can be mistaken for prey and eaten. from large and aggressive fish will hide, therefore it is better to keep them either in species aquariums, or with medium harmless characins - palmeri, diamond tetras, ornatus, it is also possible with iris and other labyrinth fish.

Of other large bettas, like pugnax, amateurs have Betta raja, 6 - 7 cm long, males of this species are light brown with horizontal rows of blue scales and bright blue-green unpaired and pelvic fins, a neon blue spot on the operculum. Females are a modest gray-brown color with darker edging of unpaired fins and a dark spot on the gill cover. The fins of bettas of this species are elongated and pointed, the muzzle and head are also pointed, which gives the fish a very exotic look. The other most popular type is Betta bellica, which also has pointed and elongated unpaired fins, and the main color of males is deep blue-blue, only the head and part of the back are brown, females are colored brown.

Betta macrostoma

Macrostoma (there is no Russian name) is a rare, expensive species forbidden for export from the island of Borneo. In Moscow, single deliveries and divorces of this interesting fish are known.

This is an endemic of the island of Borneo (starts in the state of Sarawak), the habitats of this cockerel are listed in the IUCN Red List, the species is designated as vulnerable there, it may disappear in short term. The Sultan of Borneo banned the export of this fish, but in Sarawak it continues to be caught for sale.

In nature, they are found in slow rivers flowing under a canopy rainforest, the bottom of such rivers is covered with snags and fallen leaves, the water is clear, but brownish, saturated with humic acids. Unfortunately in Sarawak, macrostomy habitats are being converted to oil palm plantations, and bettas cannot adapt to such changes and die out.

In length these unique fish reach 9 - 10 cm, sexual dimorphism is pronounced - males are much brighter than females. The body of the male is intense orange with brighter orange fins and a bright neon orange spot on the gill cover. The anal fin has a black base of the fin and a black edging; the dorsal fin has a thin blue edging. The female is light brown with reddish fins and two longitudinal black stripes along the body.

In nature, their main food is shrimp, so no shrimp should be planted with them. It is difficult for them to get used to dry food, it is preferable to feed them with crickets, live bloodworms, medium-sized cockroaches, and moths. Fine-cut seafood and frozen large bloodworms are also suitable - but they may have to be accustomed to inanimate food.

Reproduction of macrostomes is generally no different from that of other mouth-brooding bettas, but mating may be difficult. With artificial selection of a pair, the male can be aggressive towards the female up to lethal outcome, therefore, it is more desirable to select for breeding a pair that has itself formed in a group of fish. Another difficulty lurks during the gestation of eggs by the male - at the slightest stress, he swallows the eggs.

betta foerschi

This species differs from other bettas that hatch eggs in their mouths in their appearance - the main tone of its color is dark, deep blue, only the head and upper back are painted reddish-brown, and on the gill cover there are two transverse bright red stripes. Only the male is colored this way, the female has a light brown color, that is, sexual dimorphism is well expressed. The size of the fish is 4 - 5 cm.

This species does not have a Russian name, a transcription from Latin is used - fourshy. This cockerel lives in Malaysia, Borneo and Kalimantan in the channels of swampy forests, sometimes these channels are so shallow that their depth reaches only a few centimeters, the bottom of such reservoirs is usually covered with fallen leaves and snags, the water is brown from humic substances dissolved in it.

Water preparation for aquariums with bettas

You can also keep all of the above types of bettas in aquariums with ordinary water - with neutral pH and medium hardness, but when breeding (or if you want the fish to breed in a common aquarium), it is important to prepare the water, since, for example, in Moscow, it flows from the tap not at all the water that suits cockerels. To do this, you need a set of tests to measure pH, total and carbonate hardness of water. You can add distilled water to ordinary tap water or use conditioners such as Sera pH minus, JBL ph-Minus to lower the ph oak extract and Prodac Mutacal to reduce water hardness.

Alder cone conditioner from Dennerle, ToruMin from Sera, conditioner for creating black water ADA Aqua Conditioner Blackwater are also suitable for improving water quality.

Diseases

The most common diseases in bettas are oodinium blight, which is easily treated with Sera Oodinopur. With this disease, the body of the fish and its fins are covered with the smallest golden rash, better visible in side lighting. Sick fish are lethargic, with poor appetite, with compressed fins. Mycobacteriosis, a slow infection caused by tuberculose-like bacteria, is also common. Characterized by dropsy, ruffled scales, dropsy, lethargy and loss of appetite. It is not treated, it is contagious, but in healthy fish with good immunity, as a rule, it does not manifest itself.

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Alexandra Chebotaeva

And amphibians.

The disadvantage of bearing eggs and offspring in the mouth is a small number of eggs. The advantages of this method of reproduction are the ability to quickly change the location of the nest in case of a threat and save the vital energy of the female incubating eggs in her mouth by reducing the number of eggs produced.

Prominent representatives of mouth-incubating fish are many African cichlids.

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Notes

Links

• Ad Konings. Back to Nature: Malawi Cichlids. Cichlid Press (November 30, 2003). ISBN 0-9668255-9-4 ISBN 978-0-9668255-9-6
• Bernd Degen. Malawisee-Cichliden, Faszination. Bede; Auflage: 1., Aufl. (18 March 2005). ISBN 3-89860-099-8 ISBN 978-3-89860-099-6

Excerpt characterizing Incubation of caviar in the mouth

Grandpa's sister, Alexandra, with the help of friends, managed to escape at one of the stops. By common agreement, she was supposed to get (if she was lucky) to France, where this moment her whole family lived. True, none of those present could imagine how she could do this, but since this was their only, albeit small, but certainly the last hope, it was too much luxury to refuse it for their completely hopeless situation. At that moment, Alexandra's husband, Dmitry, was also in France, with the help of whom they hoped, already from there, to try to help the grandfather's family get out of that nightmare into which life had so ruthlessly thrown them, with the vile hands of brutalized people ...
Upon arrival in Kurgan, they were settled in a cold basement, without explaining anything and without answering any questions. Two days later, some people came for grandfather, and stated that they allegedly came to “escort” him to another “destination” ... They took him away like a criminal, not allowing him to take any things with him, and not deigning to explain where and for how long they are taking it. Nobody ever saw Grandpa again. After some time, an unknown military man brought grandfather's personal belongings to the grandmother in a dirty coal sack ... without explaining anything and leaving no hope of seeing him alive. On this, any information about grandfather's fate ceased, as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth without any traces and evidence ...

As a fish care practitioner, I am often approached by aquarists with the following question: "You know, doctor, I have a female Malawian cichlid that got sick, she stopped eating, she has a swollen mouth and protruding gill covers. What can heal her?" - I explain that it is not necessary to treat, and the female did not get sick at all. It's just that she, if you look for analogies from the world of mammals, is "pregnant" - she has caviar in her mouth.

Malawians hatch caviar in their mouths. This is best solution, in order to preserve it in the conditions of a very dense population of Lake Malawi (Nyasa). It must be admitted that for an average aquarium, where the fish stock is also very dense, the gestation of eggs in the mouth is also very effective and productive. After 21 - 25 days, the females release already fully formed nimble fry into the light of God. which are quite successfully "skerry" in various shelters. With properly organized feeding, they have enough food and some of the fry, sometimes quite significant, survive and successfully join the fish team. But not all females benefit from more than a three-week hunger strike. Or rather, it doesn't work in any way. But large and well-fed fish endure it without risk to life and then quickly eat it up, and young females and fish occupying a low position in the hierarchy of the aquarium society, which are not very well-fed anyway, during incubation, the eggs become skinny without measure and may die. In order to alleviate their fate, caviar must be taken away. Below we will see how this can be done. Caviar in females Malawian cichlids they are also taken in order to obtain as many offspring as possible. Caviar is easily incubated in special devices (incubators), the designs of which have been developed in a great variety. They may or may not be simple. In a special article, I will tell you how to make an incubator for caviar of Malawian cichlids with your own hands and in just 10 minutes. Hatching of fry in such a device is very high and approaches 90 - 95%.

Photo 1.	Photo 2.
Photo 3.	Photo 4.
Strange things sometimes happen to female Malawian cichlids. They suddenly stop eating, try to stay away from other fish, (in upper layers water, or hide in shelters), their gill covers are slightly protruding (as in photo 1 above), the bottom of the oral cavity protrudes noticeably downwards (as in photos 2-4), in addition, these fish periodically “chew” something nervously in the mouth. It may give the impression that something constantly interferes with their eating, and even such fish can tighten their fins, which is also suspicious. And meanwhile they are not sick at all, in their mouth this is what:
Photo 5.
		Photo 6. In some cases, however, you need to look closely to see all the signs described above. This photo illustrates just such a complex case, the arrow indicates the place to which you need to carefully look. Some bulge is still visible.

While the fish has caviar in its mouth, the bottom of the oral cavity is more swollen, the hatched fry can be placed more compactly and now the fish's mouth no longer looks so full. It may seem that the female did not inform and ate the caviar, which, of course, also happens sometimes. These changes are often confusing for inexperienced aquarists. Here I specifically brought a photo and video (see video 2) with a weak pronounced signs the fact that the female carries fry. AT in practical terms it is useful to learn to identify these cases.

Well, now let's see how you can take the caviar. It may look a little scary from the outside, but it's not at all difficult to put on. Usually females easily give eggs, stubborn mothers are relatively rare. The operation of weaning eggs proceeds without visible harm to females, if it takes no more than a minute. If nothing happens during this time, let the fish rest in covered top, aerated jigger and try again in ten minutes.

Quote message Bigmouth motley: a fish that hatches eggs in its mouth

Most parents want their children to be around them all the time, but the bigmouth motley take that desire to the extreme by carrying the fetuses in their mouths.

Of course, if he moves away from parental romance, then there is a completely natural explanation for such behavior. Fish thus protect offspring from predators. When fry emerge from the eggs, dangers will lie in wait for them at every step, but at least they will already have fins and the strength to escape from a predator, and the eggs are absolutely defenseless against the eater.

After the female marks the eggs, the male fertilizes them and collects them in his mouth. The gestation process does not last very long - 5-7 days, then fry appear, which go to "free swimming".

Bolsherots live in burrows, which they themselves dig in the ground, and spend their whole lives near them, swimming in an upright position. Very often, whole colonies of largemouths are formed in areas suitable for digging holes. They feed on planktonic or benthic organisms. Found in the coastal waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as off the Pacific coast of Central America.

The pictures were taken in Lake Worth off the coast of Florida by amateur photographer Steven Kovacs.