Re: Husbandry of A. panduro

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

Bill,

Koslowski wrote in his book that the male challenges any fish entering its territory. If it is a female he starts to court her. If she is not receptive she leaves. If she is receptive then a short courtship dance ensues where the male tries to make himself less aggressive looking. The female usually decides where to lay the eggs. So, although the male starts out as an aggressive defender of his territory, it is the female who decides with whom, when, & where to spawn. We rarely see this courtship behavior in our tanks because it last for only a short period of time - 5-15 minutes.

Mike Wise

William Vannerson wrote:

> >>I think we'd see a lot of the older literature at least was looking through testosterone-tinted glasses.<<
>
> I recall reading somewhere (and I really wish I could remember were) that many cichlid species' spawning behavior is induced by the female.  The behavior patterns between spawning and normal territory defense is very similar.  When a female approches, the male starts with a standard defense posture, show of fins, shimmy, whatever.  For other males and females that are not ready to spawn, their response is either to fight or flight.  A female in spawning condition sends a different signal back to the male in a combination of behavior and color patterns.  This combination in response than changes the male's attitude and stimulates his spawning behaviour.
>
> I truly wish I could remember the source as this is not the first time the subject has come up in conversation or on a list.  If this rings a bell with someone who knows the source, please let me know.  Thanks.
>
> BTW, It's amazing how similar that is to the human species.  A little make up and the right shimmy and all the boys start behaving differently <VBG>.
>
> Bill Vannerson
> McHenry, IL
> http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/william_vannerson
>
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