Hi all,
Our peacock's been holding eggs, so we got the egg tumbler out and our son helped extract them. First breeding, we're excited. Any tips would be great. They're in the tumbler in our 180g tank now, secluded and doing okay - bouncing around but not too much.
A peacock sitting on eggs
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
When working with cichlids, it's essential to respect their natural behavior. Removing eggs from the mother can be detrimental to both the young and the female. Cichlids exhibit parental care, with the mother playing a crucial role in raising the babies. Artificial rearing can hinder their ability to learn proper brood care, potentially affecting future generations.
Chasing and catching the female to extract eggs can cause significant stress. This stress may negatively impact her overall health and well-being. It's crucial to consider the welfare of the fish and avoid such practices.
In the future, if you decide to intervene, it's best to wait until the eggs have hatched and the babies are free-swimming. At this point, you can offer them newly hatched brine shrimp as a nutritious food source.
Chasing and catching the female to extract eggs can cause significant stress. This stress may negatively impact her overall health and well-being. It's crucial to consider the welfare of the fish and avoid such practices.
In the future, if you decide to intervene, it's best to wait until the eggs have hatched and the babies are free-swimming. At this point, you can offer them newly hatched brine shrimp as a nutritious food source.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
That's exciting news about the peacock eggs.
It's been a while since the initial post, so I'm curious - do you have any updates on the eggs?
While I agree with coltin that leaving the eggs with the parents is ideal from a natural perspective, I think it ultimately depends on what you're trying to achieve as a hobbyist. If you're not too concerned about the long-term survival of the babies, then leaving them with the mother is the way to go. She'll take care of them for roughly a month before abandoning them to fend for themselves. At that point, it's every fish for itself, and only the strongest will survive in the rockwork until they're large enough to hold their own.
However, if you want to maximize the survival rate, stripping the eggs as you've done is likely your best bet. From my experience breeding Yellow Lab Cichlids, I found that stripping the female resulted in significantly higher numbers of healthy juveniles - often 20 or more. An alternative approach would be to isolate the female in her own tank with plenty of rockwork and wait for her to release the babies on her own, then remove her. This method is less invasive, but there's a risk of waiting too long, as the mother may eventually view the babies as food rather than her offspring.
It's been a while since the initial post, so I'm curious - do you have any updates on the eggs?
While I agree with coltin that leaving the eggs with the parents is ideal from a natural perspective, I think it ultimately depends on what you're trying to achieve as a hobbyist. If you're not too concerned about the long-term survival of the babies, then leaving them with the mother is the way to go. She'll take care of them for roughly a month before abandoning them to fend for themselves. At that point, it's every fish for itself, and only the strongest will survive in the rockwork until they're large enough to hold their own.
However, if you want to maximize the survival rate, stripping the eggs as you've done is likely your best bet. From my experience breeding Yellow Lab Cichlids, I found that stripping the female resulted in significantly higher numbers of healthy juveniles - often 20 or more. An alternative approach would be to isolate the female in her own tank with plenty of rockwork and wait for her to release the babies on her own, then remove her. This method is less invasive, but there's a risk of waiting too long, as the mother may eventually view the babies as food rather than her offspring.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
They're doing great in the egg tumbler, really thriving. We've only lost a handful, around 5 to 8 at most.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
That's great to hear, really good job on the egg tumbler setup. I'm looking forward to hearing more about their progress and how they develop.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
I'll keep updating with pics daily.creekdwlr wrote: ↑Mon Apr 14, 2025 6:51 pm That's exciting news about the peacock eggs.
It's been a while since the initial post, so I'm curious - do you have any updates on the eggs?
While I agree with coltin that leaving the eggs with the parents is ideal from a natural perspective, I think it ultimately depends on what you're trying to achieve as a hobbyist. If you're not too concerned about the long-term survival of the babies, then leaving them with the mother is the way to go. She'll take care of them for roughly a month before abandoning them to fend for themselves. At that point, it's every fish for itself, and only the strongest will survive in the rockwork until they're large enough to hold their own.
However, if you want to maximize the survival rate, stripping the eggs as you've done is likely your best bet. From my experience breeding Yellow Lab Cichlids, I found that stripping the female resulted in significantly higher numbers of healthy juveniles - often 20 or more. An alternative approach would be to isolate the female in her own tank with plenty of rockwork and wait for her to release the babies on her own, then remove her. This method is less invasive, but there's a risk of waiting too long, as the mother may eventually view the babies as food rather than her offspring.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
Looking forward to seeing the little ones grow. Mom's identity is no mystery, but dad... that's a different story - we have 5 other peacocks, so it's anyone's guess.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
I'm excited to see how the little ones turn out. We know who mom is, but dad's a mystery since we have 5 other peacocks.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
They're doing fantastic. Nothing beats the thrill of being a new parent to your little fish.
Re: A peacock sitting on eggs
That's awesome, congrats on the new additions.