# Breeding??



## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

My two biggest reds have started acting really weird. They stick to one side of the tank, away from the other two reds and are hovering side by side and rubbing up against one another. They've been doing this for the past 10 min or so, and they seem to be trying to dig up the river rocks i have for my substrate. they keep sticking their faces down in it and flicking rocks aside. They've also turned really dark and my ph is kind of high at 7.4-7.6 ....any thoughts on what the hell they are doing?


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## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

here's a pic of my biggest and how dark he/she is (sorry about the quality, taken with webcam)


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## FeederFish33 (Jan 22, 2003)

sounds like breeding to me, have a fry tank ready with a sponge prefilter on the intake.


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## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

hmm.. if they are breeding, can anyone give me the basics on what to do? or can a mod move this topic to the breeding forum. Thanks!


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## tweaked (Aug 3, 2003)

I would look up NIKE's threads on breeding. Some great info. And please get a fry tank ready. Good Luck.


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## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

congrats to you :nod: here is a handy thread to help you out and give you an idea whats up ahead if you plan on raising fry!!









http://www.piranha-fury.com/forum/pfury/in...?showtopic=8092


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## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

wow, thanks for the info Nike!







I am not sure what my Reds are up to, they stopped "digging" a nest for about almost a week and now they are back at it. It's the two biggest ones. I can hear them at night knocking around the river rocks, but I don't see what they are up to. Should I move some of the plant cover around to "hide" the spot they've selected for the nest? Occasionaly they'll get side by side and kind of rub their tails together, then they swim around each other. I tried to view the breeding video on the forum but i can't get it to come up. Do their movements sound like breeding?


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## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

if you keep doing water changes on weekly basis (the same day) you can most likely have them breed, "nothing forsure" later on that evening thats when they like to breed is after you have completed your water changes. they no that once this is finished they have time to start to build a family







you will notice the male/female start to darken in color turning black and start to dig up a nest area. for me it is the males that start doing this and the female is usually up high just above him. he will dig four hours with his nose straight down in the rocks and tail pointing up. he will blow and bite the gravel and move it around a bit, he will start to get aggresive among fellow tank mates including the female. when he is happy with the nest he will surface up to the top where the female full of eggs will be waiting for his signal, and bump into her and bring her down over top the nest, where together they will fine tune the nest and start to breed in it. the actual breeding motions is both of them with their noses down in the gravel side by side wiggling together. they will do this for several hours into the night. you will find in the morning that the male/female will be over top the nest spinning around freeing it of any debris that is trying to settle over top the eggs. the eggs will look orangish in color and very small scattered over the nest area.

here is a pick of the female/male in a nest breeding.


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## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

thanks for the quick response. all the things you mentioned sound exactly like what my Red's are doing, the two biggest got really dark and began, digging with their mouths, sometimes even literally picking up rocks and spitting them out. I'm do for another water change either tonight or tomorrow, i'll do it when i get home from work. I'll keep you posted on what happens. Oh, one more question... is there a way to tell which is the male and which is the female? Thanks again Nike.


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## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

the female is usually alot thicker than the male is, in my case the females are one inch bigger than their males and are alot thicker with belly's buldging out.

here is a pic of one of my females that floats up to the top just before she is ready to start breeding.

once again goodluck and keep us posted :nod:


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## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

I think my P's don't know what they want, its been quite awhile since I've posted back on this reply, simply because my P's keep acting like they are mating but never lay any eggs. I watched the video on the Reds mating (excellent







) and that's exactly what my two biggest reds are doing. Do I have to do something to make the female more comfortable to lay eggs, or is it something with the water quality? The PH is aroung 7.6, water temp remains between 81-83, nitrites and nitrates are barely detectable, no ammonia, and water hardness is in the 60's. Anything I am missing?


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## dudelo560 (Oct 30, 2003)

yea...the romantic music !!!!


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## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

Runningmad said:


> I think my P's don't know what they want, its been quite awhile since I've posted back on this reply, simply because my P's keep acting like they are mating but never lay any eggs. I watched the video on the Reds mating (excellent
> 
> 
> 
> ...


when my second pair started up the were in the same boat, they needed a few practice runs at it till they get it down. i had noticed with mine that the female was releasing the eggs but the male was not doing his job fertilizing the eggs. they will figure it out. water parameters sound more than good enough. just keep doing what you have been doing and they will figure out the routine and bless you with litle orangish eggs in the near future.







they might bounce around from a different nest once in awhile to find the best location. this is quite common and still works out fine. good luck and keep us updated agin......


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## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

Hey Nike,
In the next week or two I plan on changing over from the river rock I have to black sand. Do you think the sand will help with the mating process... with the rocks my Red's had a rough time "digging" a nest for their eggs, they could barely move them. Just curious. Thanks.


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## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

take a little look at this thread from alittle while back okay :nod:

http://www.piranha-fury.com/forum/pfury/in...showtopic=15819


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## Runningmad (Aug 13, 2003)

thanks once again nike!


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