Re: nijsseni - spawning problems

[Geo/Len <szucs@total.net>]

Hi Gary

I  got to my Nijsseni to breed for the first time  last August. I do have 3 pair.
I did put the   3 pair`s in a 50 gallon community tank. (PH 6.5 and hardness 140
ppm) They did pair off, don`t know if they lay eggs or not??? I think they might
off??? Once they pair off, I put two pair`s in two 15 gallon  tanks and the other
pair in a 10 gallon tank

I do mix the R.O water with tap water 75% R.O     I also lower the PH using
Seachem Acid Buffer and also use  Tetra Black Water Extact

One pair I think did lay some eggs, but never saw any fry`s??? That the one in the
10 gallon . The other pair did spawn twice, less than 10 fry`s each time, but the
other pair breed like rats ( just like my Triple Red) I do exactly  the same thing
in each tank and my tanks are set up the same way also. Just have Java Moss and a
few plants.

I leave the fry`s with the parent for 2 or 3 weeks, then I put them in a 5 gallon
tanks with some Java Moss. I do a little water change every 2 days with tap water,
I do lower the PH using Seachem Acid Buffer . Never even loss one fry`s yet.

I have at least 100 Nijsseni right now, fry`s and very young adult

My panduro I only got them to breed once, 8 fry`s, but I only had them for 3
months

George

> Hello,
> I'll go out on a limb and say I figure the njisseni problem is njisseni.
> It's not long since I saw a reference to the fish in an aquarium mag as
> a 'mythical' apisto. I saw some wilds for a year or so, then captive
> specimens usually from Czechslovakia, then nothing, at least locally. In
> the last six months, I've picked up two wild morphs - a dull blue male
> with good caudal colour with a female with no green spot, which was
> mixed with some panduro, and (yesterday), a traditional njisseni with a
> green spotted female and a stunning little male with bright yellow fins
> and a lovely caudal. In breeding the first form, I found enough problems
> to convince me njisseni will always be a problem apisto.
> I don't have RO, and won't til I redo all the plumbing in my old house.
> Right off, that makes njisseni tough, in maintenance of water quality.
> Nothing happened except in very soft acid water. I then faced a steady
> fry mortality as I had to add tap (pH 7.4, 140ppm). I did so gradually,
> but. I now have a little group of squabbling juveniles (nine), with a
> good sex ratio. The mother raised them for 2 weeks.
> It's snowing like crazy here, so I'll have all the soft water I need for
> a month or two, but these fish are a lot more work than cacatuoides or
> borelli. They're worth it, but they'll always be a problematic creature.
> When I first saw 'live' njisseni, I was told "breed them quickly before
> they die of a bacterial disease". Unfortunately, when I've had breeding
> pairs (three times), they've never lived more than 2 spawns, and the one
> pair that made it to the second were captive bred.
> I think we get spoiled by the bursts of availability of apistos like
> njisseni. We're eventually going to have to become like the killie
> crowd, and hunker down to keep our fish going for generations. That'll
> be difficult...
> -Gary
> Ps Helen, what does "to a band playing" mean? I think I like it, but I
> haven't heard the expression before.
>




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