keeping wild caught cynotilapia afra ndonga

[sharpfin12]

Hey guys, just a quick update - my wild caught cynptilapia afra ndonga have finally spawned and I'm pretty stoked about it.
I've isolated the female with the brood from the rest of the group, but I didn't get to see the actual spawning. What I did catch was the male going ballistic, defending his rocks and showing off some serious colour - it was intense.
Now, here's the thing - I've also got a group of wild caught synodontis multipunctiatus, and I'm guessing most of you can see where this is going.
The synos are mostly male and juvenile, so I'm wondering if there's a chance they've spawned with the cichlids? I've never successfully bred either species before, but I've got a soft spot for the afra ndonga - they're just so much rarer.

If only the female would just open up and give me a glimpse...

Any thoughts, guys? I know I could just wait it out, but I'm not exactly the most patient person - I'm the type who can't resist shaking Christmas presents. Guess I'll just have to resist the urge to shake my fish tank instead.

[kalevi]

Congrats to you, sharpfin12, those afra ndonga are indeed a rare find. I'd say the female's probably bred with her own male, given the male's defensive behavior. As for the synos, they won't spawn till they're fully grown, but I've heard they can interfere with cichlid breeding - they'll eat the cichlid eggs while laying their own, and the female cichlid will pick them up. Not sure if you knew that already, but thought I'd mention it.

[sharpfin12]

Cheers kalevi, yeah I've had multis for ages, never seen them spawn around cichlids though, it's weird. Hopefully they're not like human teenagers, getting into all sorts of trouble. I know multis hatch faster than afras, but there's a two-week gap where they could've spawned, so I'm not ruling it out just yet. Thanks for the reassurance, I was hoping I could rule out the multis, these wild-caught afras are a real treat, I've never seen any like them before. I'm chuffed to bits, I've bred some standard mbuna before, like zebras and yellow labs, but this is my first time breeding wild-caught fish, so I'm pretty stoked. Now I just have to wait for her to drop the eggs, I'm far too excited, I just want to see what's going on in there.

[kalevi]

Hey guys, just a quick update - my wild caught cynptilapia afra ndonga have finally spawned and I'm pretty stoked about it.
I've isolated the female with the brood from the rest of the group, but I didn't get to see the actual spawning. What I did catch was the male going ballistic, defending his rocks and showing off some serious colour - it was intense.
Now, here's the thing - I've also got a group of wild caught synodontis multipunctiatus, and I'm guessing most of you can see where this is going.
The synos are mostly male and juvenile, so I'm wondering if there's a chance they've spawned with the cichlids? I've never successfully bred either species before, but I've got a soft spot for the afra ndonga - they're just so much rarer.

If only the female would just open up and give me a glimpse...

Any thoughts, guys? I know I could just wait it out, but I'm not exactly the most patient person - I'm the type who can't resist shaking Christmas presents. Guess I'll just have to resist the urge to shake my fish tank instead.

Fair play, I reckon you've got a good chance of getting some cracking F1 Ndonga out of this spawn. I'm pretty sure she's paired up with her male, so fingers crossed you'll have some nice little ones soon. I've gotta say, those Ndonga are absolute stunners, I've never seen wild caught ones like 'em before.

[sharpfin12]

Just got a glimpse into her mouth and I'm stoked, there's a bunch of fry in there. The F1 babies are guna be absolute crackers, can't wait to see them develop.

[kalevi]

Just managed to sneak a peek into her mouth and I'm stoked, there's a decent number of fry in there. The F1 babies are guna be absolute gems. Anyone know of anyone with wilds or F1s atm, would love to get in touch?

[sharpfin12]

I got them from Stevenage Specialist Aquatics, they had two wild pairs at the time and I think they've still got one left - a big male and a smaller female. They moved to Crews Hill in Enfield, North London last year. I went for the smaller male 'cause of his size, but the bigger one had a dodgy eye that wasn't gonna get better. The guy in the store was chuffed when he heard they'd bred, he's keen on buying the babies. I'll grow them out a bit, about two inches, before I think about moving them - got the space and time, so no rush.

[kalevi]

Hey guys, just a quick update - my wild caught cynptilapia afra ndonga have finally spawned and I'm pretty stoked about it.
I've isolated the female with the brood from the rest of the group, but I didn't get to see the actual spawning. What I did catch was the male going ballistic, defending his rocks and showing off some serious colour - it was intense.
Now, here's the thing - I've also got a group of wild caught synodontis multipunctiatus, and I'm guessing most of you can see where this is going.
The synos are mostly male and juvenile, so I'm wondering if there's a chance they've spawned with the cichlids? I've never successfully bred either species before, but I've got a soft spot for the afra ndonga - they're just so much rarer.

If only the female would just open up and give me a glimpse...

Any thoughts, guys? I know I could just wait it out, but I'm not exactly the most patient person - I'm the type who can't resist shaking Christmas presents. Guess I'll just have to resist the urge to shake my fish tank instead.

Mate, I'll have to check out the site and give Rick a shout, I've had fish from there before, been a while though. You're doing the right thing, if I'm honest, keeping them and watching them grow - I'd do the same if I were you. Got any pics of your male, I'm curious to see him?

[slyzen]

My afra ndonga babies are defo not up for grabs, no way. Mike Bonnick's got loads of them for sale though!

[kalevi]

LOL cheers mate, ill check out Mike Bonnick's stock then