Interesting Sewellia behavior...

[Jim Powers]

In a recent post I had commented that in one of my tanks with a male /female pair of Sewellia, there is little interaction between the two fish. Well, something has definately changed. Yesterday the female kept venturing into the big male's "lair", an area that includes a dark area in the back of the tank and a large rock sitting in the current flow. When she would get into that area, the male would chase her away. Tonight, when she did this, he began topping her and nibbling along her back. They also swam side by side and upward into the current and have been chasing each other all over the tank. I am hoping this is....well you know what I am hoping. So we will see. I think I will put off gravel cleaning in this tank for a couple of weeks or so. One thing I need to keep an eye on is the HOT filter. I have an Emperor 280 with its intake (unfortunately) right next to the male Sewellia's lair.
Something must be the water I used during yesterday's water change since my chenis spawned this morning.

[Martin Thoene]

Love is in the air!

Jim, with my Penguin HOB, I just put a knife slit in a 1" thick rectangle of coarse black sponge so I could slip it over the intake strainer, i.e. cut a slit from one edge at the center line of the sheet, deep enough to cover the strainer, then just squeeze it to open the slit and slip it over. The sponge tension holds it in place.

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

I think I have a piece of sponge filter that will do the trick. Thanks for the tip!
Is this the same kind of behavior you saw with your Sewellia when they released eggs?

[Martin Thoene]

Exactly the same

Martin.

[Emma Turner]

Fingers crossed, Jim! Although there has been a definite increase in general activity in my River Tank since adding the grown-on babies, most of the real action seems to take place once all the lights on the tank go off. I have a blue moon tube on there too, but once that light has also gone off, lots of chasing, topping, nibbling at each other seems to begin. I wouldn't be at all surprised if mine spawn in the darkness. This increase in activity levels is really obvious in the Sewellia sp. 'spotted' who remain hidden much of the time when the lights are on - in the darkness they seem to run riot!

Emma

[Graeme Robson]

Sounds promising, Jim!

[Jim Powers]

I checked the filter pad on the Emperor 280 today and saw nothing that looked like eggs. Hopefully, if they did spawn, they did so in the last area I saw them before going to bed last night. They were against the back wall of the tank, behind and small hollow log in an area that is hard to vacume.