Re: cannibalism (was:spawning?)

[IDMiamiBob@aol.com]

Michael

> I've had more trouble with parents canibalizing the fry
>  than eating eggs.  Any thoughts?
>
Fry-eating probably has the same causal relationship.  Something convinces 
mom or dad or both that the fry are not going to make it.  It could be a 
dietary trigger, a water quality trigger, or some insecurity that convinces 
the parents someone else is going to eat them.  In any event, the result is 
the same.  No babies.  I've had the best luck in ten-gallon tanks when 
pulling the male.  I've decided the probable reason for this is because his 
"perimeter guard" function can't be carried out far enough away from the 
female.  She perceives him as a threat, and boom!  No more fry.  In a twenty 
long, no problem with the same pair of fish.

Bob Dixon
  


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