# Pundamillia sp.crimson tide



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

Has anyone here ever raised some Pund. sp. crimson tides from fry and then bred them?

I have a trio I bought at 1/2 inch and raised up; now they are breeding.

My trouble is....one female has bred twice and either spit or swallowed after one day each time. The second female has bred once and held for 5 or 6 days before spitting or swallowing.

Is this common with young Vic mothers? I never had that much trouble with my mbunas.

I just watched them spawn again and counted 48 eggs so I really, really hope she holds this time!


----------



## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

sometimes they are bad mothers. sometimes they feel to threatened by the male and eat the eggs. sometimes they dont do it right and the eggs dont get fertilized.

there are a lot of factors for first time mothers. but i think that goes with a lot of species and not just vics.

i had a trio of chromogynos and they breed many times but i never had any fry from them. then i got a group of 5 white top haras from a buddy who had them for a year and never had one spawn. i had them for about 4 months and had 2 spawns, now its been about 8 months and i have about 80 fry from them.

it can be the water or the food, the tank mates, decor, or just the fact that they are new. try different setups, tank mates, removing extra males, adding some frozen treats or live food and see what happens. each species is a little different and may be missing something that your other fish do not need.


----------



## tires_6792 (Mar 25, 2005)

you may have to move her the day after breeding to her own holding tank so she can hold in peace. i went through this exact same thing with my protomelas turquoise hap. the 6th time breeding i moved the female out of the main tank and i finally got some fry!


----------



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

Well, I removed her about 20 hours after the spawn and she still spit or swallowed by the second day. I'm wondering if she is the product of generations of eggs being stripped and tumbled and now the holding instinct is lost. It can't be that the eggs were infertile....they wouldn't have spoiled and caused her to spit that soon, and I watched them circling many times even after she quit laying.

I'll let her try again (she does every 3 weeks or so) and see what happens. It's been three times now; if it gets to five I'll have to decide whether to strip and tumble or give up on them.

The second female should be spawning soon to so it will be interesting to see what she does. She has only spawned once before and held for 6 days before giving up.


----------



## StructureGuy (Jul 27, 2002)

malawimix said:


> Is this common with young Vic mothers?


Yes. Often the first time or two this happens if they breed when they're real small. I predict they'll get it right eventually. Is she being harrassed by other fish?



malawimix said:


> I'm wondering if she is the product of generations of eggs being stripped and tumbled and now the holding instinct is lost.


No. That's not the problem at all.

Kevin


----------



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

StructureGuy said:


> Is she being harrassed by other fish?


She wasn't until she spit and I returned her to the main tank this morning. Today she must have taken a little beating from the big guy... when I got home I noticed that her tail is a bit chewed. All is calm again now.


----------



## tires_6792 (Mar 25, 2005)

my young group finally bred this weekend. cant wait for the fry as well.

any pics of your male?


----------



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

tires_6792 said:


> any pics of your male?


just some fuzzy ones....will try to post soon


----------



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

let's try again....


----------



## football mom (Feb 19, 2006)

Great color on your fish!
How long did it take before the male colored up? And how big are they now?


----------



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

the male is about 3.5 inches and the two females of the same age are about 3 inches max.
I got them as 1/2 inch fry less than 6 months ago. the male has been colored like this for a few months now.
I feed NLS pellets and spirulina flakes....I have mbuna in the same tank and they all seem to do very well on that diet.


----------



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

Well female #2 has been holding for 9 days now. I moved her to her own 10 ten gallon yesterday and she is still holding so hopefully this time I'll get a few fry.


----------



## malawimix (Oct 8, 2008)

UPDATE..............
The 2nd female spit at 15 days. I got 19 healthy ones and one runt that died after a few days. They are a good month old now and doing fine.

She bred again after only 16 days and just spit about 25-30 healthy, fully developed fry after holding for 16 days.

I got rid of the 1st female who would never hold the eggs and got 2 more young females to grow out.

Question.......I don't want the one female to spawn every 2 1/2 weeks; that will be too much stress on her. Should I just strip and dump the eggs if she spawns so soon again? Or is it better to keep her in another (grow out) tank until I want more fry and then put her back with the male?


----------



## samaki (Oct 25, 2002)

Hi if yu want yur female to get some rest, the better should be to have 2 or 3 females more but don't cross a father with his daughters, try to have some females from another breeder.
xris


----------



## Morgan Harris (Sep 15, 2010)

YAY!!!!! Finally got my first nyererei holding!!!!! I'm excited. Was lucky enough to actually catch the breeding in progress. A little while after they were done and she was trying to hide in a corner I pulled her out and put her in my grow out tank all by herself. At about 24 hours now and she's still holding. This is her first clutch so I'm hoping she doesn't eat or spit early, but..... I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The male is my gorgeous Crimson Tide, the alpha male of the tank.

Wish me luck. LOL


----------

