# Salvini Cichlids



## Niko001 (Sep 14, 2005)

Finally my salvini have spawned...I just found a rock covered with eggs and the female guarding it while the male is busy chasing other fish:










the white specs on the top is a result of the flash bouncing light from the eggs.




































Any information on how to hatch them artificially?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Just like angels. Put the rock in a 1 gal jar or 2.5 gallon tank with an air stone or sponge filter and tint light blue with methylene blue (not necessary if you wait until they are wiggling before use take them). Start up your brine shrimp hatchery. Don't feed until they are free swimming/


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## Niko001 (Sep 14, 2005)

Thanks for the information.


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## Niko001 (Sep 14, 2005)

Unfortunately the eggs were all eaten as I cannot see them anymore. Just a question, would parents-to-be salvini manage to move the eggs around to avoid being eaten?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Its possible, my angels and rams always move the wigglers. Is one fish unwilling to leave an area of the tank? Is the other one guarding a perimeter? Do you get attacked if you stick a hand in? If so, you may still have eggs. On the other hand, if the parents are moving freely all over the tank and acting normally, the eggs are gone. It pretty normal for a pair to take several spawns to get it right. Of course, some never do. If you really want fry, take the next spawn at lights out the first night and replace the rock with another. If the eggs disappeared overnight, leave the light on for a few days next time. There will be a next time, once a pair of cichlids starts spawning they usually go for a while.


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## Niko001 (Sep 14, 2005)

They had the third spawn from last time and this time I removed them. I think that only 2% of the eggs hatched. I did place them in Methylene Blue but I did not place any airstone under the eggs. Next time around I will try to remove the pair in another tank.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You mean give the pair their own tank? Thats a good idea, just watch them closely. Sometimes if there isn't any other fish to chase, they turn on each other.


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## Niko001 (Sep 14, 2005)

After the second attempt I decided to breed them artificially. I placed the eggs in another tank filled with methylene blue. Half of the eggs were placed near an airstone and the other half without. Hatching rate was quite low. In actual fact I found that there were 20 fry. They are a week old and are eating powdered food and some bbs as a treat.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Congrats, its good that they are already taking dry food. You could try a different anti-fungus like malachite green. Often a young pair will take several spawns before all the eggs get fertilized.


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## Niko001 (Sep 14, 2005)

I counted around 20 fry. They are growing well. Thanks for the help


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