What A Surprise!

[pirate monkey]

We've had Bruce our GT for some time now, we've always found him to be the most interesting of our FW inhabitants.

We had a nice surprise this evening, after 2 days of him digging and rearranging the newly scaped tank, I looked in the tank to see Bruce guarding eggs!

We spent all this time thinking she was male! I have to say I have had my suspicions in the past, but never been sure. What always made me wonder were the fins as they didn't seem so extended but I think I put it down to her being young. and the fact no one on here ever corrected me when I referred to her as a male!

Anyway I have really mixed feelings, it's always great when you have a fish spawn in your tank, but I feel a bit sad for her as she is guarding those eggs so well, and nothing will come of them!

Here's a pic of Bruce from earlier this year (now you're all gonna tell me how obviously female she is )

We're now considering getting a male, but unsure about how this will go down. bear in mind she's about 5" in total so would we be better off getting a younger male, an older male, or forgetting the whole idea?

Oh and suggestions for a more feminine name are welcome

 

[amyw2008]

New Name - Betty

 

[Verminator89]

And getting a male smaller but not juvi would be best. A bigger male added would/could kill your beloved female. Even then there is no guarantee that they will pair up.

Good luck with 'her'

 

[fluttermoth]

I used to have female rabbit called Bruce when I was a teenager

Some animals just aren't easy to sex, are they!

 

[SBL]

Are those Archocentrus nanoluteus in your tank? I love those fish but mine died months ago from my HRP pair.
Edit: Nevermind, They are cutteri instead, but I do enjoy cutteri too.

 

[BethK]

betty, bridget, bev, bianca, billie.................

pretty fish x

 

[star4]

I cant offer advice from experience only from what I have read and been told by someone who breeds GT's. Firstly if you do want a male and breed them, they will need a seperate tank as they are very aggressive when spawning and guarding eggs & Fry. If you do want to get a male and your female is 5" you want a male the same size or slightly smaller as pairing they can get very aggressive with each other too, large male GT's will often kill a smaller female in a tank as he is ready to breed and she may not be, the timing of adding the male should be when the female is a couple of days off spawning so she is ready to accept him.

 

[karin]

Lovely fish... Brucella

 

[pirate monkey]

thanks for the suggestions!

here's a photo I took just now

I cant offer advice from experience only from what I have read and been told by someone who breeds GT's. Firstly if you do want a male and breed them, they will need a seperate tank as they are very aggressive when spawning and guarding eggs & Fry. If you do want to get a male and your female is 5" you want a male the same size or slightly smaller as pairing they can get very aggressive with each other too, large male GT's will often kill a smaller female in a tank as he is ready to breed and she may not be, the timing of adding the male should be when the female is a couple of days off spawning so she is ready to accept him.

Thanks for the advice star, I did think a smaller male would be the way to go.

We'd be happy to keep the columbians and the 2 plecs in as Bruce completely ignores them anyway, the plecs are both small and have lots of hidey holes, but I appreciate the cutteri would have to be rehomed.

Can anyone tell me why she has spawned with no male around? I've kept female fish in the past but the only ones that spawned were the cutteri pair. Is it just something they do?

I guess we will wait a couple of weeks and try a male, we have a spare tub we can use if it looks like things aren't working out so we can keep attempting to introduce them.

A few questions if anyone can answer them:

• Is it likely she will spawn again on her own?
• How long after these eggs is that likely to happen?
• how long before she eats these eggs?

The hard bit will be finding a suitably sized male!

Are those Archocentrus nanoluteus in your tank? I love those fish but mine died months ago from my HRP pair.
Edit: Nevermind, They are cutteri instead, but I do enjoy cutteri too.

I've not heard of those before, they are cute! I see the similarity to cutteri

 

[the biffster]

what other fish are
in the tank with her

 

[star4]

A female will still produce eggs, some species of fish will absorb the the eggs back into their body others spawn without a male, sometimes you get 2 females spawn together. I have a female Ellioti that spawns constantly without a male, even though there are 2 males in the tank, she wont spawn with them . As I said before I dont know on the GT its just what someone who breeds them has told me, my blue acara however once they started spawning did about every 3 weeks, I would guess as they are the same family it would be around the same sort of time. Hope this helps

 

[Carlovel1]

Never seen a GT that colourful. You have a beautiful specimin

 

[pirate monkey]

what other fish are
in the tank with her

in my signature

A female will still produce eggs, some species of fish will absorb the the eggs back into their body others spawn without a male, sometimes you get 2 females spawn together. I have a female Ellioti that spawns constantly without a male, even though there are 2 males in the tank, she wont spawn with them . As I said before I dont know on the GT its just what someone who breeds them has told me, my blue acara however once they started spawning did about every 3 weeks, I would guess as they are the same family it would be around the same sort of time. Hope this helps

that's useful, thanks. I think I will see what she does over the next few weeks and keep my eyes open.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[hamfist]

Can anyone tell me why she has spawned with no male around?

Of course, she hasn't actually spawned (which is the process by which a male and female lay and fertilise eggs), but she HAS certainly laid some eggs, which is not that unusual for a lone cichlid female. There is a very small chance, I suppose, that the male cichlid of the other species in there might possibly have fertilised the eggs. You will find out in due course !!

As for a mate, I would suggest a male GT just slightly smaller than her if possible.

 

[pirate monkey]

Of course, she hasn't actually spawned (which is the process by which a male and female lay and fertilise eggs), but she HAS certainly laid some eggs

oops!

I suppose, that the male cichlid of the other species in there might possibly have fertilised the eggs. You will find out in due course !!

No male cichlids in the tank, just a female GT and a female cutteri

thanks