Loaches Online Forum

I've currently got 5 WCMM fry growing up in a 5 gallon, and I'm wondering if they're big enough yet to be moved into the river tank.



For comparison, the white pipe is about 22mm diameter, so they appear to be a little under 2cm TL. I don't have any large or aggressive fish, so I'm not worried about them being eaten. I'm more concerned about how they'll acclimatise and if they'll be able to compete for food.

Any advice would be much appreciated

When I bought mine, they were under 2cm... clearly able to withstand not just acclimation but shipping from Asia.

hth

Congratulations with spawning and raising them.

Cheers Mikev
These are the first fish I've managed to breed, so I'm a little bit paranoid about their wellbeing. I've them on a drip for a few hours now and if anything they've coloured up a bit.

Cool! I have had this species for years but have yet to have them breed.

Whitey_MacLeod wrote:Cheers Mikev
These are the first fish I've managed to breed,....

Cool! How exactly if you don't mind telling ...

Well, I'm not sure exactly what encouraged them to spawn, but i'll do my best
From my own obsevations, they seem to prefer temperatures around 22c- they're less colourful in coldwater tanks and not as active in higher temperatures. I've read that a large, cooler water change can encourage spawning but I haven't found that myself- I hadn't done a water change for over a week when this batch of fry appeared.
I saw a marked increase in fin displays and possible mating behaviour when I began feeding frozen foods regularly, although I didn't see any actual spawning until moving them into the river tank.
pH is about 6.6, with almost zero KH/GH, and I've got a lot of bogwood, so the water has a nice tea colour.
I've seen them spawning in the depths of my anubias a few times, and everything I've read agrees they like dense plants for spawning in.
When the fry hatch they stick to the sides near ther surface or hide among floating plants, so it was quite easy to scoop some into a breeder net. The fry don't seem to be temperature sensitive- I moved them from the breeder trap to an unheated tank where the temperature varied from 15 - 22c, depending on the weather.

In general, I'd say that lots of current and a moderate temp are the most impotant factors in keeping them happy, but I'm really not sure which factors are most important in encouraging spawning, hence the slightly rambling reply I hope this has been of some help, and I'm sorry I can't give you a more definitive answer

That is very interesting, Whitey.

Congrats on those babies, and thanks for sharing.

Very nice!!

Thankyou Graeme, Loachmom, Jim
I came downstairs tody to find them all zooming madly up and down the tank with the adults- I think they like it in there

One more picture for anyone whos interested- the one in the foreground is the mother