Keeping and Breeding the Paretroplus damii – Part I
Paretroplus damii is perhaps the cutest of all the known Madagascan cichlids. We were lucky to have started with a group of 10 F1 individuals, donated by Jean-Claude Nourissat in October 2003. The original colony was collected by Jean Claude himself in the Sambirano River. The fish has a rounded shape, the most ‘innocent’ looking face imaginable, and a subtle pink/grey coloration which makes it look almost angelic. Paretroplus damii is a shoaling species which means a colony should be kept; keeping less than 6 fish in the same tank may well generate aggression towards one individual. The fish grow to over 40 cm. In contrast to other species males and females grow to the same size; therefore, each fish will require its own vital space in the tank. Paretroplus damii are generally peaceful (though they can and will defend themselves should the need arise). All in all, they are the perfect candidate for a great-looking large tank – with one catch: they are not readily available, so finding them may prove to be extremely difficult.
We got our colony when the fish were about an inch long; they had not, at the time, colored up yet. There was a hint of red visible under their eyes but that was all. Their adult coloration became more prominent once they reached the 10cm (4 in) TL (that equates roughly to one-year-old fish) and started displaying to each other. Madagascan cichlids tend to direct their aggression against conspecifics therefore different species can be housed in a large tank without the danger of one species eradicating another. By “large” we mean really large. We consider 1000 – 1300 lit (264-343 gal) set-ups (2.5 meters [8.2 ft] length) a bit on the small side for 10 fully grown-up individuals. We currently keep ours in a 1000 liter (264 gal) set-up, but we are aware that the fish will require a much bigger tank in a couple of years as they grow up. On the main, we would recommend 100 liters (26.4 gal) of water for each individual, which can easily be doubled if the aquascape is on the heavy side.
The fish appeared to be entering adulthood shortly after they hit the 14-month mark. The first pair was formed when the fish were aged about 18 months and spawned a couple of months later. A second pair formed almost immediately which spawned, too. (1) We raised a couple of broods back then which were donated to friends. (1) The two pairs went on spawning regularly for one year and then (2005) they suddenly stopped for no apparent reason.
This is the reason for this article: to re-visit the issue of keeping and breeding Paretroplus damii and present our experience with this beautiful fish since the initial spawns. Though we often refer to the initial article written by George here, hobbyists who have read it will find it easier to understand what we have done differently since.
Tank set up and general care
In August 2006 we relocated to our new home. The Paretroplus damii colony was housed in a 1000 lit (264 gal) tank, measuring 250 x 65 x 60 cm. (98 x 26 x 24 in). We furnished the tank with stones and bogwood, creating lots of caves, crevices, and overhangs, but still leaving open space for them to swim. The new aquascape was far more suitable for the P. damii since it served the fish in two ways. They were allowed to form one large group and swim together if they wished to, while they could also find favorable spots, invisible to the other members of the group, and make those their spawning sites.
Two Eheim Professionel 3 external canister filters took care of the filtration while an air blower delivered 9000 L/h (2381 gallons) of air through 6 outlets located along the back of the tank. Temperature was kept constant at 27oC (81o F) during winter months using 6 x 300 W heaters. During summer, the temperature would exceed 31oC (88o F) at times. The fish were fed twice daily using an Eheim automated feeder. Water changes were performed every week during which approximately 40% of the old water was removed and replaced with water of the same temperature. No water conditioner (or any other chemical) was added.
The number and kind of tankmates of the fish also changed during the relocation. The fish had far more space for themselves; they shared the tank with 6 catfish (a colony of Pseudacanthicus leopardus and a Pimelodus pictus), a pair of Paratilapia sp. ‘east coast small spot’, and a pair of Parachromis loisellei. Add to these three new P. damii, actual siblings of our own who were given to us by our teammate Francesco during our August meeting in Belgium and who joined the colony immediately and without any incidents. Given the superiority in numbers, the tank was quite close to being a P. damii species tank which was reflected in the behavior of the fish; this resembled closely what has been described as “normal behavior in the wild” (2-5).
The fish were fed Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 and 2 (medium pellets), Dr. Bassleer XXL pellets, and OSI shrimp pellets at noon (12:00) and in the evening (19:00). Once every other week they were offered a treat of frozen bloodworms (Ocean Nutrition). When cleaning our other tanks we would also offer them some aquatic snails which were eaten although not really appreciated (in contrast, P. menarambo and P. maculatus devoured them instantly).
Spawning
One month after the addition of the three new adults – and without any other change in the tank or the routine of the fish – one of our old pairs laid eggs for the first time after two years. We watched them guarding their eggs till the fry hatched but we never saw any survivors in the tank, something which was to be expected. Twenty days later the same pair spawned again; the following day a second pair laid eggs behind a stone at the back of the tank. We were delighted to see two pairs guarding eggs at the same time and kept wondering if they would resume normal spawning activity from that point on. Well, they did a lot more than that. Next month there were three pairs spawning in the tank. It appeared that the hormones released by the first pair did the trick. At the beginning of 2007, a fourth pair laid eggs, too. The three pairs would spawn once per month while the fourth pair would lay eggs at longer intervals, once every three months.
It is impressive to notice the regularity of the spawns as well as to see a pair preparing for spawning. All pairs have their favorite spawning location in the tank. The fish will normally swim around in a school but once a pair is ready to spawn they will separate themselves from the school and go to their preferred spawning location (always the same). They will start cleaning it and preparing it for laying the eggs. At this stage, they are an absolute delight to watch. All other fish will be signaled to go away; if they choose to ignore the signal the damii will soon explain to them that they mean business. An unbelievably black band will appear on their forehead and most parts of their body, their opercula will show a most impressive deep wine-red color while a pale yellow band will appear in the middle of their body. The fish have no issues attacking the intruder and they work well as a pair, defending each other and their spawning site.
P. damii will spawn on almost any substrate (even on the glass at the bottom of the tank after all the sand and snails have been carefully moved away). They will spawn on vertical surfaces, upside down, on stones – there is really no rule. They will spend a couple of days cleaning their spawning site, so you know where the eggs are going to be laid well in advance.
Paretroplus damii spawning
Knowing, however, does not always help in planning how to retrieve the eggs. Our damii have proved to be, times and times again, excellent in selecting spawning sites in that they will pick the one surface that cannot be removed for a variety of reasons.
There is one instance related to the P. damii spawning we thoroughly enjoyed and would like to share. A new pair formed and chose a spawning spot near the spawning site of an existing pair. As it happens both pairs were preparing to spawn simultaneously. The two males were clearing their sites when the unavoidable happened: the debris removed from one site was “dumped” to the other site. It took a while for the males to realize what was going on as they both turned back to the job at hand after depositing the debris. Once they did, they confronted each other. Reds and blacks were instantly flashed alongside an “invitation” to jaw lock (which was ignored by both parties in the end). Eventually, the smallest male took some sand in his mouth and spat it right on the face of his opponent!!! What happened next was absolutely unbelievable. The bigger male attacked; the smallest retreated slightly (so he was under the safety of his chosen spawning site, under a piece of wood), and continued to threaten him. Both fish stood guard for over an hour, in full display colors, until, eventually, it was lights off, which put an end to the argument.
After a number of spawns, we have noticed the following:
- Temperature may play a role in triggering the fish to spawn for the first time but it is indifferent to them thereafter. Our fish have spawned in a range of temperatures between 26o and 31oC (79o and 88o F). However, we recommend raising the temperature to 30oC (86o F) the first time you try to breed them.
- Large colonies are more likely to result in a pair, or more, spawning. It pays to have more than 10 fish in the same tank since there seems to be some sort of competition between them as to which pair will produce more fry. Having said that we have recently been made aware of one pair of fish who spawned in June 2008 without being part of a colony and only three weeks after they were introduced to each other in the same tank. (6)
- Good filtration and – most importantly – good aeration of the tank is a must.
- Parental care is usually exemplary. After so many years, we have only seen one pair eating their eggs and this was during their first spawning. Following that, all pairs guarded their eggs until the fry hatched without any problems.
- In most cases, the male will guard the eggs while the female will do the patrolling around the spawning site. Since both fish are almost the same size, this makes sense.
Artificial hatching and raising the fry
In general, we do not like to remove the eggs from the parents but sometimes this is the only way to go. The presence of the P. pictus and the Paratilapia sp. ‘east coast small spot’ in the tank would never allow for any survivors. Therefore artificial hatching and raising the fry is the only solution.
During these past couple of years, we have refined the technique used for artificially hatching the eggs of this species. The eggs are removed from the main tank using a container to ensure that they do not come in contact with the air. They are then placed in a small plastic container (a small tank or even a glass Pyrex© will do) with a heater (set at the same temperature as the tank where the eggs were laid) and an air pump. The air stones are placed in a way that provides good water movement. We make sure the air bubbles do not come in contact with the eggs. Methylene blue is added till the water turns dark blue. Every 12 hours a water change is performed and new methylene blue is added. This agent may harm the fry when they hatch so we remove it before hatching. Unfortunately, it has the property of being absorbed by almost any substrate on which the eggs may be attached; therefore, water changes are a must. One day before hatching (48 hours after the eggs have been laid) a large water change is performed and no more methylene blue is added. We wait half an hour for the substrate to release any methylene blue absorbed and perform one more water change. This is repeated till no blue tint is visible in the discarded water. We have achieved hatching rates between 80 and 95% using this technique.
The eggs hatch within a 12 – 16 hour window. Hatching starts at approximately 72 hours after egg laying (at 27o-29oC; 81o – 84o F) and may last for 12 hours or more. In the next photos, the eggs are shown 7 hours and 72 hours after egg laying.
We remove the wood or stone on which the eggs were laid together with any remaining eggs approximately 14 hours after the first fry hatches (that is 84 hours after egg laying). Experience shows that the remaining eggs are not viable so they will only rot and foul the water.
Once the eggs have hatched we remove everything (but the fry) from the container; the fry are left there till they become free swimming. At the same time, a tank (sized between 20 and 30 L; 5 and 8 gal) is prepared using furniture from other running tanks. We do this to ensure that the fry tank has plenty of infusoria (which lives on the wood and stones we transfer). We wait till we see the first fry being able to stay in the water column for about 5 seconds and then we remove as much water as possible from the container with the fry in and transfer the fry to the tank we prepared for them by immersing the container they are into the water of the tank which has been prepared for them. This has to be done very slowly to avoid any harm to the fry by the pressure of the water as it rushes in or out of the container. We then transfer the heater to the new tank and set the air pump to low to allow the fry to swim without too much resistance from the current.
Fry development
Below are photos of the fry development. Time “0” is when we took the fry from the parents (in this instance the fry have hatched in the main tank). The photos have been taken at 32 hour intervals. The eggs are tiny and you need to go higher than 1:1 magnification ratio to get some photos with enough detail.
These photos shows the eggs of Paretroplus damii immediately after hatching and being transferred in a floating nest to allow us to take some good quality pictures. The thin, transparent bodies are clearly visible on the top of each “egg” while the yolk sack is readily visible. You can also see the light grey spots which are going to become the eyes.
One day later (24-32 hours after hatching), the yolk sack diminishes in size, the developing eyes are far more visible and a melanine pattern develops on the top part of their bodies.
At the end of the second day post hatching (48-56 hours after the eggs hatched) the little creatures show very few external changes by comparison to the previous day. The most notable ones are the appearance of a silver circle around their developing eyes and a pink formation, barely visible in some of them, which is probably an internal organ (we figured it is a bit to the back to be their gills). The melanin pattern becomes more visible.
At the end of the third day (72-80 hours after the eggs hatched) there are still no notable visible changes. People with a relevant scientific background may notice more differences in the development of the fry – this is part of the reason those photos were taken. It is interesting to notice the difference in the development of the fry between P. damii and P. sp. “Andapa”. By this time (almost 7 days after the pair spawned) the P. sp. “Andapa” fry are already free swimming. However, this is partly due to the mass of the yolk sack the fry carry at the time of hatching, which is – obviously – proportional to the egg size. The P. sp. “Andapa” fry carry a much smaller yolk sack at the time they hatch (smaller than the one the P. damii have 3 days after hatching). Furthermore, the “Andapa” fry sack is rapidly reduced in three days, while it takes ages for the sack of P. damii to get consumed. Talking of slow growers …
After the fourth day (96-104 hours after hatching) the development becomes noticeable:
- the yolk sack is obviously reduced in size during the last day. The sack is not pointed at the end but round and shorter,
- the gill covers are evident though they are still disproportionally large compared to the head and body of the fry,
- the little mouths which are already shaped are clearly visible,
- the intensity of the melanin pattern on the body of the fry increases
- the eyes look fully formed.
- The fry make their first attempts to move. They move in circles around the net frame very close to the bottom. When they get tired they let themselves go. As a result the water current carries them all to a corner of the trap and all you can see is a dark brown “vibrating” mass. This was also the first time that we saw fry resting in the normal (horizontal, belly down) position instead of lying on their side.
After the completion of the fifth day (120-128 hours after hatching) some of the fry are already free swimming while most of them are able to stay in the normal position (belly down) for much longer. With time more and more fry are able to make long jumps which soon become swimming attempts. It is evident they will soon need food so they have to be removed in the special tank prepared to host them.
Written by Marina Parha and George J. Reclos – Thursday, 28 May 2009
