# Age of tropheus spawning? Mine Just Did



## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

Three months ago I purchased 30 tropheus Kirizas that ranged from 1.25 inches to 2 inches. They are now 2.75 inches to 3.25 inches in length, due to, I believe, being in a 180 gallon tank, water changes every ten days, and a diet of only New Life Spectrum.

Just before going on vacation I noticed a female holding eggs. When I came back, she was still holding so I stripped her of three fry today!!! I was pretty excited as I thought the fish were too small/young to spawn.

A couple of questions. How old do you think my fish are? (Obviously over three months). But how long might it have taken to get from birth to the size at which I purchased them? Someone said that they need to be a year to spawn. If that were true it means nine months from birth to an average of 1.75 inches. That just seems too long of a time. My estimate is that they might be six months old but I have no idea.

My second question is wanting to know how long the female had been holding. I stripped her 15 days after seeing her holding but have no idea how long she was holding before I noticed. I post below a picture taken today â€" the day she was stripped. I would not normally strip fry this soon. The egg sacs are huge but luckily the fry are free- swimming. Sorry for the poor picture quality.

Also, are three fry for starters pretty typical? What is average for older females?


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## IrkedCitizen (Apr 26, 2007)

Congrats on the fry!

There is really no set age on the breeding. It is more or less size and the readiness of the females and males. Around 3" they should start to breed depending on the type kept. Some fish no matter what size are hard to breed. Red Rainbows are a type that some people have had real issues trying to get them to breed.

I don't know how long she had been holding since the fry still have the egg yolk. Now that you know they are breeding you should wait longer to strip them. If you strip too early you might remove eggs and not fry. I have been waiting 30-32 days to strip my Duboisi. Even if you lose track of how many days you should be able to tell when they are about ready to spit because their mouths will be really full. Like they are about to burst!

I'm pretty stoked on my Duboisi. They are like 8 years old and I have only had them since mid May. They are still breeding and producing fry. I've got 15 fry from two females.


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## rogersb (May 21, 2007)

That's fantastic. I bouhgt mine about the same size as yours in September - they're lupota. The fisrt week in January I saw spawning behavior and have continued to witness it many times after water changes, however I have yet to have a female hold. I have gotten numerous fry from my gobies, but the T's don't seem to get it. Fantiastic you got yours to. There was a thread from another member here about the quality of fry from young mothers, it may help on fry count as well as usual size they begin successfully holding to term. I believe lloyd was the thread starter.


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## jumpman (May 13, 2004)

From raising my group of Kiriza since October last year and the sizes you are talking I would say about 9 months old is about right. I bought mine at approx six weeks old and they are now between 2-4 inches. Have my first holding female and have seen spawning activity the last couple of months.

Congrats on the fry! :thumb:


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

I just got an email from Spencer Jack, the importer from whom I got the tropheus. He says that Kiriza spawn at 12 to 15 months typically. As mine are from the lake one cannot predict their age with certainty but he figures that they would have been 6 â€" 8 months old when I got them. I would think that they would grow slower in the lake than in a controlled tank with lots of quality food available but I could be wrong on that one.


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