# L. brichardi temperature range and breeding



## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

My tank, which is about 20 degree (give or take), has 2 new brichardi that I took from a friend who breeds and had no room for them (they were planned as feeders for the newts.) Instead, they have made a nest and the female is dancing a bit for the male. Is breeding something I can expect, given the lower temperature? What other behaviors are common?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

That is cold for them, but this fish is the convict of L. Tanganyika. Its almost impossible to keep both sexes and not get fry. They lay sticky eggs on a hard surface, but will move wigglers to pits. Both parents will takes turns at guard and they will actively defend an ever increasing territory and older fry will protect younger fry. This fish will take over a whole tank of any size bit by bit by breeding its own army. 

This is a fish where I sold all my adults and fry and let the tank sit with no filter as I procrastinated on cleaning the heavy layer of algae off it. When I finally went to clean the tank weeks later, a movement alerted me to a dozen or so 3/8" fry that had apparently hatched (or spontaneously generated) after I sold the rest and had grown up eating algae and grunge.


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

The fry won't last long with the newts patrolling constantly. I understand the males have longer tail strands, is there any other way to tell the genders apart?

They have dug a pit and defend it somewhat. What does the female dancing usually look like? What behavior is a giveaway that they have bonded? They don't fight at all and hang out in the same region of the tank consitently, but aren't very aggressive towards other fish (they tore the **************** out of my Labeo, who is now happily living with the pond fish he'll be spending his life with.) I really want them to spawn as the newts will love eating them.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Digging a pit and defending it are both signs of breeding behavior in cichlids. I would expect a possible clutch of eggs soon. If there are newts, they might not hatch, but you still might get some eggs.


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

Where should I look for the eggs? In a pit? How often do they lay and how long til they hatch?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

N. Brichardi like hard alkaline water..temp about 80F...crushed coral or dolomite for substrate...lots of rocks piled up for hiding places...they are actually cave spawners...
feed em and leave em...weekly water changes and there should be fry in no time.


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

The temps won't be changing cause it will kill the tank mates. The substrate is small pebbles, much bigger than the usual that they prefer. They still have dug into it though!


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

So has anyone heard of these guys being hermaphroditic? I really want fry!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You need to give them their own tank. Eventually, it will be so overpopulated you will have fry to feed. In a tank with a predator, they will likely lose the eggs or wigglers before they get any size.


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

That is fine as well...so long as they are laying the eggs, I don't really care when they get eaten! 

Do you know if they are hermaphroditic?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

no ; they are not hermaphrditic.


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## arch aquatics (Feb 28, 2012)

we give our large shells and they spawn in them.

Recently sold every juvie we had because the adult female killed her mate and her son that she picked for her new mate wouldn't settle down and spawn.

of course 2 days after they left in the mail another spawn has come and we got tiny eyeballs with tails

If you have a male and female good luck getting them to stop breeding!


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

I think they are two males, unfortunately. If I chucked a female in, would the two males get along with her?


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## arch aquatics (Feb 28, 2012)

if you had 2 males they would be fighting more then likely

possibly 2 females

give it time they just need to be comfortable and happy

remember this;

bored fish breed!


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

There is definitely one male, the other one looks like a male too but it's hard to say. They made a nest together, but when i moved things in the tank to limit aggression (which worked) they stopped making nests.


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## Ponera (Oct 31, 2011)

I bought a smaller female today from a pet store. I hope it's female, kinda small to tell for sure but it was one of the largest ones. The other larger ones were all obviously male, this one had a squared off anal fin and short runners on the caudal fin, so I'm about 60% sure. She's big enough to breed, apparently, so yeah we'll see what comes up!

So far the males are interested in the new fish, chasing it around. I think this is a good sign, but I am unsure.


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