# Brichardi Death Squad Story



## Neolamprologus Marco (Jan 14, 2008)

So,I have a mated pair in a 55g. They have fry on a regular basis. The oldest surviving fry,just one,is about 4 months old and about 1.5 inches long. He got along great with mom and dad,shared thier cave and stayed in close proximity to them at all times.I did a water change and gravel vacume on Sunday which involved removing everything from the tank. Now,mom and dad and baby all live in a castle(gift from the wife),when I lifted the castle to put it back in I find baby lying on the floor under the castle motionless.I put him back in the tank and he lived(he was out of the water for a good 10 minutes). He seemed a little shaken but I would expect nothing less. I didn't see him for the next two days and I figured he was recovering somewhere. Today I get home and find him at the top of the tank beaten to near death. I set him up in a floating isolation tank and its gonna be day to day. Now the question. Was he beaten because the tank had changed or because he was weak from the trauma? Or was there another reason :?


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## Sin in Style2 (Feb 6, 2004)

I would put money on the changes. Alot of peopel rearrange tanks to give subadults a chance at being lead or to introduce new fish to a tank. This has evidently backfired and the mated pair has claimed a new territory and decided everything else is a threat to it.

This is my "guess" anyway.


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## Charles (Feb 25, 2003)

the change of tank can break the bond even for a mating pair.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Charles said:


> the change of tank can break the bond even for a mating pair.


I agree, but it may be that the fish was out of water longer than we know, resulting in a weakened condition when you returned him to the tank...Cichlids always tend to pick on the ones who aren't in good shape to start with, so that's something to consider.

May I ask why you only had one "oldest surviving fry"? What happened to the others?

I think I need some fishy birth control for mine! :lol:


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

A mated pair of fish won't let their offspring hang out in their territory forever. Eventually your fish want to mate again and when that happens it's time for the others to clear out! It's natures way.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

MidNightCowBoy said:


> A mated pair of fish won't let their offspring hang out in their territory forever. Eventually your fish want to mate again and when that happens it's time for the others to clear out! It's natures way.


Hmmmmm...I have what I believe to be two pairs in a 55G with at least 3 different clutches growing out at various stages, and I've not noticed any disappearing, but of course it's impossible to keep count. :wink:

They are all still pretty small, and I seem to have an oddball subadult that isn't part of a pair that they don't bother at all.

Not sure how well I'll take it if they start killing each other off!


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## Neolamprologus Marco (Jan 14, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> Charles said:
> 
> 
> > the change of tank can break the bond even for a mating pair.
> ...


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## Neolamprologus Marco (Jan 14, 2008)

I don't know what happens to the fry. They will usually have a boat load. I would guess around 100. They slowly disappear. Right now I have about 15-20 fry from 4 or 5 clutches.I guess they die off. I leave them in the 55 and don't do anything special for them


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I have heard that they will "clear out" fry if there are too many in the tank, or even stop breeding if it's overpopulated.

I guess I'll find out what's what when some of my younger ones start to mature.


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## Tall Cool One (Apr 8, 2006)

How and what do you feed the fry?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I feed mine crushed flake, the same way as I feed the adults. I've not seen any need to shoot it into their area of the tank, since they've done so well. I can't imagine what I would do if I had more of them! :lol:


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## Neolamprologus Marco (Jan 14, 2008)

Crushed flake. I don't know what else I could feed them.Any suggestions?? :-?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

If you think you might be losing them because not enough food is getting down in the tank to them, you can take some crushed flake in a small container with tank water, and then you just use a syringe or turkey baster to draw the food and tank water up, and shoot it into the area where the fry are gathered. There is a fry feeding video in the library that shows you how to do this well! I used to use this technique with Bolivian ram fry, but I've never had to with my brichardi. I seem to have a really high survival rate, though, and if your tank isn't overpopulated with them, I think there must be some reason behind your fry mortality rate, so the target feeding is worth a try!


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