# Etroplus canarensis / Canara Pearlspot Have Spawned



## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

For several days now, it's looked as if a pair of Canara Pearlspot cichlids were getting ready to spawn. They had singled out one particular rock as a potential site. Knowing that Orange Chromides, if given a choice, would always choose the inside of a flower pot laid on its side, I thought I would try it with these... which I did last evening. At first they steered clear, almost as if they were scared of it. This evening, I went down to my fish room and noticed that the pair had placed a cluster of eggs in it. I removed the pot with eggs tonight, just before I posted this video.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Nice video, they don't like the camera looking at their eggs, do they?

Is there any particular reason you aren't letting the parents tend the eggs and raise the brood? I can't remember if this is their first spawn and if any other fish pose any problems.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Thanks. No they don't. I can tell I'm making them nervous and they're a little ticked off at me. I pulled the eggs because very often, parents will eat their eggs in early spawns and I want to make sure that I get some fry. Once I'm assured of getting at least a few fry, I'll let the parents tend their young. There are a couple of other pair in there that look like they'll be spawning as well.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

The eggs are just beginning to hatch. Out of the estimated spawn of ~150-200, only about 20 have fungused. It's into the fourth day and the water temperature is ~80F. So it's looking good.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Here are the newly hatched fry.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

On Thursday, April 10th, 2014, a pair of my 'canarensis' spawned. I pulled the eggs to hatch them artificially and they began to hatch about 60 hours later, on Sunday, April 13th. They have been absorbing their yolksacs for the last week, all the while wiggling away and scurrying around the bottom. It's now one week later, Sunday April 20th, and they are just now beginning to free swim. I'll wait until tomorrow morning before I give them their first feeding of newly hatched baby brine shrimp. Here they are, starting to school and "swim like a fish".


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

The fry have just finished their first meal of newly hatched baby brine shrimp. They've settled down and are now calmly schooling.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

One pair of Canara Pearlspots that laid eggs a week ago have done it again. Their first spawn is now free swimming. Here the female is nervously tending to the new clutch of eggs while the male is doing peripheral guard duty. There are eight other canarensis in the tank ( 60" x 18"x 12"), two other pairs of which have also spawned. I didn't save these and they were eventually eaten. There are two 1 1/2" T. wesseli in there plus a 2" female H. bartoni which will be a threat to the spawn.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

The eggs, 24 hours post spawning.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

The fry as of Thursday, April 24 and Friday, April 25. Today, they're strangely clustered on top of a small power head that is not running. Why there? I know they love to school but they're taking 'togetherness' to a whole new level ... and at the same time making me a bit nervous.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Cute little wigglers! It's interesting that they are all balled up on the not running PH, I wonder if there was some tiny food present and they all just collected in one spot.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Before I removed the power head earlier this evening, they had stayed up there for about 5 or 6 hours. A little strange to say the least.


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## MizOre (Sep 20, 2013)

Did this behavior start around sundown, lower lights? Often they nest together at night (parents round them up and put them to bed in a lot of species).


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

MizOre said:


> Did this behavior start around sundown, lower lights? Often they nest together at night (parents round them up and put them to bed in a lot of species).


When I turn the lights off, they always rush down to the lower corner and cluster in a tight bunch. This other "ball" schooling occurred in the day time with the lights on and lasted for several hours. They stayed up there until fed, and then returned to the ball configuration. Go figure it :-? . When I pulled the power head out, they dispersed into a looser school and started moving about the tank, which is their typical behavior.
Here are the fry as of yesterday, April 28th. They are feeding well on newly hatched BBS, frozen BBS and microworms. They have to be the "schooling-est" fry I have ever seen. I might have suspected this extreme schooling behavior. Even the older fish school incessantly until they reach sexual maturity and then go their separate ways (in pairs), becoming quite territorial.


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