Neptun
In the articles “Lalius in the aquarium” and “Lalius fish” we talked about the existing varieties, content and paid some attention to reproduction of representatives of this species. Today we will consider in more detail the breeding of lalius in the home.
If the aquarist aims to get a full-fledged offspring of these wonderful fish, it is necessary to take care to create the best conditions for the maintenance of the producers. In addition, it is desirable to take males from one fish farm and females from another. This will prevent inbreeding and allow you to get a stronger offspring without signs of degeneration. About the possibility of degeneration should always remember the aquarist, because in artificial conditions degeneration manifests itself more quickly. This can be clearly seen in the degradation of paradise fish to some species of modern macropod.
Getting ready to spawn
Laliuses reach sexual maturity by the age of six months. Spawning of these fish is better planned in spring or early summer. It is these periods are rich in small food, which is relatively easy to obtain in natural water bodies. These foods are best suited for feeding lalius fry. But first things first.
Fish with perfect coloration should be selected for spawning. There should be a correct alternation of red and blue stripes. These stripes should be as even as possible and not torn.
Immediately stipulate that spawning can take place and in a common aquarium, but if you want to achieve the best results, it is better to plan spawning in advance and equip for these purposes spawning tank, stocked with growing tanks and food base.
Lalius breeding Forming a pair of breeders
For spawning one pair is enough aquarium for ten liters. This is if you have a formed a proven pair of producers. The fact is that just put a male and a female to spawn will not work.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rules and, in extreme cases, you can try to plant in the spawning tank a couple of fish at random. But in most cases, it is desirable to take care of the formation of a pair in advance. To do this, you need a flock of about ten fish, which should be only three males. Yes, the men are also fastidious. They want a choice. Soon after the creation of this flock will form pairs. With these pairs in the future can be engaged in their breeding. Fish left without a pair can be given to another fish farm, maybe there they will have more luck in finding their destiny.
Possible ways to pair fish
It is not always advisable to buy a whole flock to form pairs. Therefore, you can try to negotiate with the seller to purchase from him a formed pair. Such a pair will probably cost a little more expensive than ordinary fish, but will definitely cost less than buying a whole flock. You can also show observation in the market. After watching a little bit of the flock in the commercial aquarium, you may be able to see two fish that try to stay close to each other most of the time and are differentiated by their basic sex characteristics. Ask the seller to catch them for you.
Each of the methods described above has its advantages and disadvantages. Buying a flock is the most reliable way, but also the most time-consuming. The purchase of a formed pair does not exclude the purchase of old fish. And the choice of a couple right in the bazaar does not guarantee that you have chosen a couple. Perhaps these fish accidentally appeared next to each other, but are not really a pair. I hope that you will find the method most acceptable to you and sooner or later you will have a formed pair.
To be fair, I have to say that I have never set myself the task of lalius breeding. Nevertheless, almost every year in spring one of the males starts to build a nest. Perhaps, for the formation of a pair is important only the presence of male and female and good conditions of keeping.
What to do if spawning has started in a common aquarium?
If the male has started to build a nest in a common aquarium, then you will have to decide whether to allow spawning in a common aquarium or to equip a spawning tank.
As already mentioned, a spawning ground for one pair is sufficient for a volume of ten liters. The water level in it should be 10-12 centimeters.
The soil is needed for the plants. However, you can plant the plants in small pots and leave the bottom without soil. Although if you use plants that do not need rooting, such as Elodea canadensis, there will not even be a need for pots. Plants are necessary. The fact that the excited male is so active and demanding to all around, including the female, that his actions can be mistaken for aggression.
Therefore, a thicket of long-stemmed, small-leaved plants should be established. These thickets will provide a safe haven for the female from an impatient male.
Lalius breeding Water treatment
Water for spawning should be freshly tempered, aerated, soft, slightly acidified, warm. Now slow down. In most communities in our country, water is chlorinated for disinfection.
Even traces of chlorine can be destructive not only for eggs or fry, but also for adult fish. Therefore, water from the tap should stand in a wide bowl for at least a day. Chlorine during this time to fly away. Accelerate this process can be boiled water. However, it should be borne in mind that together with chlorine from the water will also leave and dissolved oxygen in it. Therefore, boiled water should be mixed with the same amount of distilled water. And after this solution cools down, aerate it for at least three hours. The procedures you have done will not only free the water from chlorine, but also make it soft. Usually this is enough to start lalius breeding.
Although some authors say that water should have a total hardness of no more than 2 degrees. If you want to achieve such a hardness, you will probably not be able to do without hardness analysis and specialized chemicals. However, a number of other authors indicate that they have been able to achieve good results with a higher total hardness.
Dealing with acidity
It is desirable to lower the acidity of the water slightly, to about 6.5. This can be done with a few drops of orthophosphoric acid. At the same time it is necessary to control the acidity with an indicator strip. If there is no such possibility, it is better not to correct the acidity at all. Tap water has an acidity close to neutral, which is quite acceptable.
Temperature is important, too
The water temperature in the spawning tank must first be equalized with the water temperature in the general aquarium. After that, you can put the spawners in the spawning tank. After they slightly calm down, you can gradually raise the temperature by two degrees and stabilize it at this level using a heater with a thermostat.
When the male finds the conditions paradisiacal, he will start building the nest. The nest consists of air bubbles encased in the male’s saliva. The male uses small plants floating on the surface, such as ritchia and cassava, to build the nest. Sometimes the nest is located as if on a branch of a larger plant, which contributes to its stabilization in space. In general, the nest turns out to be high, compact, strong and good. When the male is busy building it, he is so enthusiastic about his work that he will not tolerate the slightest interference in this creative process. Even the female will get to the nuts, if she comes at an unacceptably close distance. Therefore, it is necessary to have a thicket of plants to give the female a place to hide from her future father while he is engaged in creative labor.
Start of lalius breeding
Once the nest is ready, the male will drive the female under the nest as impatiently as he used to drive her away from the nest. If the female is ready to spawn, a whole spectacle will be played out under the nest, which can be watched for hours. The male as if squeezes out of the female eggs and, picking them up with his mouth, places them in the nest. If the female is not yet ready, the annoyed male may even beat her to death. And here again to help her will come to the thickets of plants, which you so carefully provided her. After the end of spawning female is better to remove from the spawning ground, providing care of the offspring father.
He will carefully put in place the eggs that have fallen out of the nest, remove the dead ones. Immediately after the end of spawning is desirable to establish low-flow aeration. Bubbles should be small. The smaller, the better. The flow of them should be weak so that do not create a noticeable flow of water. Aeration is necessary because the labyrinth apparatus is formed in the fry only two weeks after they swim. Until then, they are extremely sensitive to the lack of dissolved oxygen in the water.
The aquarist takes care of the offspring
After 34-48 hours, larvae will hatch from the eggs. For the first five to six days, they feed on nutrients from the yolk sac. All this time, the male will carefully take care of them. However, when the fry swim, the father is better to withdraw. At the same time, you should start feeding the fry. The best starter food for lalius fry is “live dust” obtained in the nearest freshwater pond.
You can check whether the food you have obtained is suitable for your pets by using a magnifying glass. If the bellies of the fry rounded up, it means that the food they came to both size and taste. If not, it is necessary to establish feeding in advance multiplied infusoria, and the next day to go for the next portion of “live dust”. It is possible, of course, to feed exclusively on infusoria. But infusoria are not nutritious enough. Fry grown exclusively on infusoria grow slowly, develop poorly, increases their waste. Therefore, home culture of paramecia can be used until the search for suitable food in the surrounding water bodies are not successful.
Lalius breeding Dry food for fry
Artificial feed, such as egg yolk, powdered milk can be used only in the most extreme cases. For example, when lalius breeding caught aquarists by surprise. But it should be borne in mind that with this feeding will be able to raise no more than 10 = 15% malkov of the possible. Sometimes the literature indicates that the young lalius can be fed the smallest grindalom. However, this information is rare. However, if you have such experience, you can share it with the readers of our site.
After about two weeks, you can turn off the additional aeration and transfer the young fish to larger feeds. When selecting feed, it should be remembered that the fry grow very unevenly. Select feed should be on the smallest of them. It is desirable to sort the fry by size as they grow to avoid cannibalism or oppression of weaker individuals by stronger ones.
Hopefully, this article about breeding laliuses has answered some of your questions and was at least something useful to you. And perhaps even caused a desire to acquire such beautiful and interesting fish like lalius.
