# Spawning pair SRT & Midas



## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Hi, I'm new to the forum and would like some advise on my new spawning pair. I have a female SRT and a Jeff Rapps F2 or F3 (he wasn't sure) male Midas that have spawned. They are in a 125G all by themselves with a divider. The first time they spawned she ate the fry the first week. We were pretty stupid and kept looking in the tank to see if the the eggs were good. I think this stressed her out a lot. The second time I covered the tank and she didn't eat the fry. They spawned the night of November 22 and the fry were free swimming on the 28th. I have a 55G set up to house the fry once I remove them from the parents. The question is when should I remove the fry? I know cichlids make awesome parents but I also know they will eat their fry too.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I remove fry after they're free swimming for a couple of days then feed decapsulated brine shrimp. Not a big fan of hybrids though...


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Ok Thanks. Here are a couple of pics of the fry. One with proud dad protecting his babies.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

Nice! Congrats on a stunning pair.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Thank you bluejack! I removed 30 to 50 fry and put them in the 55g. The next morning when I checked they had eaten all the fry I had left with them  I was pretty upset with myself and wished I had removed them all. Oh well lesson learned the hard way. I hope I get some that have his sunburst orange to yellow with her pearls. They are so aggressive with each other I hope they calm down some as time goes on.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

I want one


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

:lol: Sure thing bluejack! I have my fingers crossed the fry do well. This is her 4th time laying eggs. Her first 2 times I had my male Escondido in with her and he refused to spawn. She was crazy about him but he didn't like her. She was tail slapping the divider and swimming back and forth. He wouldn't give her the time of day. She was only in the tank with him 1 week and she laid eggs. Like I said the first 2 times the eggs went bad. Then I bought the Midas from Jeff and switched them out. She was sooooo mad slamming around the tank. I was afraid she would hurt herself. She finally calmed down and it took all of 2 weeks and she was laying eggs again with the Midas. She already looks like she wants to spawn again.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Look at this way... you saved the ones you could... From the sounds of things it looks like you'll have plenty in the future.

I typically take half the fry from a spawn I want or need...


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

That is very true TheFishGuy. I saved a few. I just thought I could leave some fry with the parents as well. Let them raise a few, me raise some. I guess they didn't like that idea much. But yes I do think she is going to keep producing. I have had her for about 2 1/2 years. I bought her when she was around 5". I had no idea she was fertile, you know being she is a hybrid. She started showing signs she was fertile, but she was in a 75g all by herself so she never laid eggs. Finally I said what the heck I'll put her with a male and see if she really will lay eggs. Boom 1 week later eggs every where!


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

i have tried the same in the past with my pairs and it seems to always have the same results, similar to yours, all fry left were gone. i like to think that leaving half with the parents doesnt freak them out as much as if you were to remove all at once. but maybe hats just me overthinking things.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

How exactly did you remove the fry? That could be part of the problem...


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

That is what I thought too bluejack, if I didn't take all of them they wouldn't freak out as bad. The fry were no longer in a cluster they were swimming all over the 125 at the point I decided to remove them. It made it a lot harder to catch them. Hopefully by the time they are big enough the weather will have warmed up enough to ship one out to you. Could you live any farther away?!? :lol: Florida to Washington!

I used 1/2 in diameter clear tubing to syphon them into a bucket TheFishGuy. I was trying to not to upset things too much but the Midas was attacking the tube. Now the SRT she is a whole other story. If she even sees me with the vacuum syphon she flips out. She will wait at the top of the tank to see where I'm going to put my hand in and then try to jump out of the water to get my hand. She doesn't go for the vacuum she goes for the hand. She hits hard and fast! She is so mean, I love that fish!!!


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

The way you removed them is the best way but my thinking is you may have waited too long. I try to remove fry only after a couple of days free swimming, if its a spawn I'm really after or needing I'll remove wrigglers... You just have to be prepared to feed the fry as soon as they go free swimming is all. I use decapsulated brine shrimp. Easy peasy.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks TheFishGuy I agree with you 100%. I waited too long. I just had to try to see if the parents would raise some of the fry. Here are some new pics of the fry in the 55g. they are getting bigger.
























They aren't the best pics but the fry are so small.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

Any updated pics?


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Here are some new pics of the fry. They are about 1/2" now.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

looking good! i look forward to seeing more growth.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks bluejack. Here are some new pics.




































They are about an 1" now.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

Thanks for the update! They are looking great so far. it will be cool to see them change as they grow.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Yes, I agree it's going to be interesting to watch. What I am looking for is for them to turn black and then peel to Super Red.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

I have always admired super red Texas. Your parent fish are both awesome so i'm guessing these fry will be great looking no matter what traits they grow into.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks bluejack, I'm really hoping I get one that is a sunburst SRT. I have ended up with 24 fry total. I have another 55g that I want to transfer all the smaller ones to as soon as it's ready. Hopefully split them up about half and half. There are some larger ones that are a little more aggressive that need to be kept together for now. I am starting to see pearls in the dorsal fins of some of the fry. I will keep posting pics as they grow.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

And ill look forward to it!


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## Zombie Cichlid (Jun 26, 2012)

Awesome! You've got great unique fishes! congrats!
I'm a big fan of hybrids made naturally in a fish tank, like you did.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Thank you Zombie Cichlid. I know a lot of people don't like hybrids but I try to keep an open mind about it. I go with what I like. I love the bright colors of the different Flowerhorns. I love all fish.....I'm a fish nerd.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

New pics. I was trying to capture the pearls in the dorsal fins. Sorry everybody I wish I was a better photographer.

















Now this guy interests me, his head is turning dark. It's kind of hard to see in the pic.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

Looking great!


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## gutted (Mar 7, 2012)

Congrats! I have a few breeding red texas' myself. The top fry in the second pic looks like he'll grow out to be a chunky looking fish. Keep the updates coming.

Where did you get your SRT?


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Thank you gutted! Yeah there are a few that are pretty chunky looking. I bought her from a guy on craigslist, I paid $380 for her when she was about 5".


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Here are some new pics. The fry are getting larger so it's easier to get a pic now.













































This is the one that was dark. I had a really hard time getting a good pic of her. This pic shows the red/orange coming in.









The one in the last pic is the only one that looks like that. All the others look the same.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

I love seeing your updates!


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## Moondragon (Jan 30, 2013)

That is a great looking srt female. To bad you couldn't get the male RT to spawn with her as this would have been ideal. Your fry look healthy and spry. As a flowerhorn/hybrid enthusiast, don't expect fantastic results from this spawning as the midas traits will actually take away from the srt characteristics. In other words, you will actually go backwards as hybrid quality goes. You have a willing and spawning female. If you were to pair a very pearly male ZZ flowerhorn to her or a blood red Kamalua or red dragon then you would get some insanely brightly colored and pearled fish. Nonetheless, great job on your spawning. Breeding hybrids can be fun. I just got a batch of 600-700 fry from my flowerhorns.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks again bluejack! I'm getting a little better at taking pictures.

Thanks Moondragon. It wasn't a Red Texas it was an Escondido I was trying to get her to spawn with. Here is a pic of him.









I thought that when two different fish spawn that about half the fry would look like the female and half like the male and about 3-5% will look like both.
The fish that you have suggested are awesome but they are all hybrids and would be difficult to find one that is fertile.


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## Moondragon (Jan 30, 2013)

This will be true if the parents are hybrids themselves or if the parents are both pure species. This will not be true in your case since that midas holds a lot stronger and stable genes. His genes are going to be more dominate and have more control over the genetic situation. Especially since your srt female already has midas in her family tree. Srt get their fading gene from midas. So if she has midas gene in her already and your male is already midas, it will make the fry more "midasy". You ARE going to get fish with pearls and you ARE going to get a few decent ones. But don't count on getting anything that has pearls as crisp as your srt. You are going to get more of a faded out pearling on the fry. More of a "mutt" look. KAtt and a few other people i have known through the years have already tried this type of spawning. 
The Carpintis male is what i ment. It was a typo. That would have been your best bet. He is beautiful btw.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

I see what you are saying Moondragon. That makes a lot of sense. Thank you very much for your help. So I have most that look like Flowerhorns and are getting pearls on their fins and body do these have a chance of peeling? Some are getting a little dark on the body and fins and their belly has a little orange coming in. I have one that looks like a Midas and has already faded but very few pearls. It that one probably just a Midas?
Thanks on the Escondido his whole body and fins are as blue as his tail in person. It's hard to catch it in a photo the flash washes out the color. The SRT fell head over heals for him. He was just no way with her. She is so mean but boy she liked the Escondido.


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## Moondragon (Jan 30, 2013)

You should get A LOT of **** to fade since they both carry the fading gene. I'm actually surprised that you haven't gotten more to fade at a smaller size actually. I think you will be fine regarding fading/peeling though. Your female still hasn't 100% fully faded anyway since i still see some black on her. I still think you are going to get a lot that fade within the next 3 months. Or at least start to fade. Sometimes the process can take up to a year once it's started.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Actually I think my female SRT has finished peeling. The black comes out in her when she is ready to spawn. She goes through different color changes as she spawns. First super red, then the black spots come in the closer to spawn time, then she fades to a pale orange once she lays eggs. This color change, coupled with getting a fat belly, is what made me think she was fertile. She kept doing this when she was in the tank by herself. That's when I put the Escondido in with her and boom 1 week later eggs everywhere. I think the one that has already faded is more Midas. It didn't get very black before it faded just a little dark. It's turning a bright yellow now and the fins are turning orange. I have my fingers crossed the rest are SRT's.


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## Moondragon (Jan 30, 2013)

Cool. Well, how many eggs did she lay this last time and how many fry did you end up keeping?


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

I'm not sure how many eggs she laid but it was a lot. Maybe 300 to 600 eggs. I had a divider in because the Midas was so aggressive. So at least half the eggs didn't get fertilized. I removed just a few fry (24) and left the rest with the parents. I thought this would stress them less to only take a few fry and leave them the rest to raise. But the next morning they had eaten all the remaining fry. I was pretty upset that I hadn't remove more fry. If I had known they were going to eat the remaining fry I would have removed them all. But I have 24 fry left right now.


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## Moondragon (Jan 30, 2013)

Dang, sorry to hear that. That is precisley why i never chance the parents with the fry unless i don't have any more space. I take my eggs out and hatch them artificially. Other people like to take the parents or the fry out.


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

Yeah I thought it would be less stressful on the parents. He was being such a good parent I wanted to give him the opportunity to raise some fry. I see more pearls coming in on their bodies now. Some of their tails and fins are getting darker. Others are getting a little orange/red in the fins and belly. They are all such little beggars everytime I walk into the room they all come racing over and start doing the glass dance.


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## bluejack23 (Jan 23, 2012)

I wish I had room id grow some out for you


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## FL-SRT (Dec 4, 2012)

HA! I wish you had more room and lived closer too!


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## gutted (Mar 7, 2012)

Your female is worth every penny! How long have you had her? I got real lucky and have a fertile faded male. Lets see those updated pics. The last one you had looks like they'll be real nice. They havent tried to spawning again?


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## gutted (Mar 7, 2012)

I dont know what part of Florida you're in or if your're even looking looking for another RT but theres this guy for sale http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwflowerhorn&1360644831

Bluejack23 - I think we ALL wish we had more room. LOL. There is never enough space!


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