raising auratus and metriaclima patricki 'jalo reef' fry

[lentoa]

My tank's been running for a few months now and I've been keeping an eye on my female auratus - noticed the telltale sign of her holding, jaw's protruded and all that. So I sat there watching her and sure enough, she's got eggs in her mouth, constantly opening and shutting it while hiding in a quiet spot.

Got a new 15-gallon tank, Tropicaquarium 68, specifically for my auratus so she can spit her fry naturally - first time I've had a holding female, so this is a new experience.

Auratus fry are 2 weeks old now.

Yesterday, I spotted my Metriaclima Patricki 'Jalo Reef' holding too, with eggs in her mouth.

Stripped the female and got 13 little ones into my WC bucket. Managed to snap a decent pic of one of the fry with my point-and-shoot.

New fry are in the holding net in my fry tank for a couple of weeks before I release them with my auratus fry - they'd get eaten otherwise.

[kalevi]

Auratus fry always turn out nice, colours pop from an early age, looking forward to seeing how they progress with yours.

[lentoa]

Cheers

[slyzen]

Not entirely convinced on the chiwindi ID, my female looks different

[lentoa]

Carl at Midland Malawi's gave me the ID, pretty confident on the Auratus ID

[slyzen]

mine are blue too, like the males, sorry pic's not the best angle, here's one of mine

[darkflow]

Those auratus fry colour up so quickly, I mean 2 weeks and they're already golden, my yellow labs took ages, didn't show colour till about 2 1/2 months.

[lentoa]

Those auratus fry colour up so quickly, I mean 2 weeks and they're already golden, my yellow labs took ages, didn't show colour till about 2 1/2 months.

As soon as the mother spat them out, the lines and colours were visible, and over the past couple of weeks they've coloured up really nicely. They're very active in the tank now. A few of the Metriaclima Patricki 'Jalo Reef' fry have managed to escape from the holding net and are swimming around happily with the auratus fry.

[slyzen]

no worries mate, chiwindi are one of my top species, always been a fan, and they're pretty rare in the uk too, Metriaclima Patricki is a better match for your fish, nice catch. this is one of my males

[lentoa]

check out my male, nice colour on him and he's a real show off