Spawning? Help?

[Dow]

My second largest taiwan peacock is bullying everyone out of a specific section of the tank, including his female. He'll swoop in on his side and do tight circles over the beds he's dug out and he won't let any other fish (including my loaches and pleco) anywhere near it. He does this strange little dance and has been displaying almost nonstop. This behavior is strange for him because he isn't the dominant male in the tank.

I think he might be getting ready to spawn but if I'm wrong, I'd like to know so I can race out ange grab suppies to get my holding tank set up.

Are there specifics I need to know about breeding these two? I've read up quite a lot but personal experiance is always loved and appreciated.

[imagirlgeek]

Sounds like classic spawning behavior to me! We have a male peacock that does the exact same thing. He digs out a pit, chases everyone off, then displays his colors and shimmies for the ladies.

Eventually, he'll entice her over and they'll do their thing. One thing I'd mention, since you only have 1 male and 1 female, really keep an eye on them during and after the spawning. It's usually a good idea to have a harem situation with peacocks. That way it spreads around the aggressive behavior from the male. Even while the female is holding, he may still want to breed with her and eventually kill her trying.

[Dow]

I have a few peacocks in there. Some smaller ones and, oddly, two pairs. The smaller male is the one that's doing all that but he keeps chasin' around all the ladies! It's strange.

[cichlid1409]

he will chase them to lure them back to his pit. when the females are ready they will submit to the advances and follow him back to his love nest )

[Dow]

What should I do to house the babies? I don't have a very big budget but I do have a topless, 10g reptile tank that I can grab a cheap filter for. Should I move both male and female or just the female? How will I know for sure that she's holding? What do I do if the eggs are already laid before I move her?

[armthehomeless]

A female peacock will hold the eggs in her mouth for 3-4 weeks. I'd leave the female in the same tank for a couple weeks to see if she is holding anything in her mouth. It should look something like this:
256382-001.jpg

A decision can be made at that time. You can remove the female to the 10g tank for her to feel more secure and let her spit the fry naturally (what I did when I had peacocks), you could leave the female in the tank and see if any fry survive (perfect if you have no extra tank space), or you could strip the fry.

[Dow]

How does one strip the fry?

[imagirlgeek]

First, let me go on the record saying that I personally wouldn't strip unless necessary, but it's your decision. There are quite a few methods, but here are the basics...

1. While holding the female, gently open her mouth using your fingernail (some people use a pen cap or q-tip).
2. Dip her head into the water and the fry generally fall/swim out of her mouth.

Obviously this is stressful for the fish, and you risk stripping too soon and would need an egg tumbler to finish the job she was doing. But, to be fair, sometimes it is in the best interest of the female to strip. If she is becoming to emaciated and is weakening, getting the fry out for her will allow her to get back with the group and start eating again.

[Dow]

Thank you for that. I don't think I'll strip her unless necessary, I'd like to keep the fry or some of them. Im' going to put her in the ten gallon in a few weeks, if I can get a hood and filter. If not, holey tupperware!

[imagirlgeek]

Keep us posted!

[Dow]

I definately will! Thank you all so much!

[Dow]

He's oddly not going after anyone anymore. He's back to his docile ways. :/ Strange. I think he'll start up again soon. I'v rearranged the tank to put it so that there's more space for him to claim on the bottom. :)

[imagirlgeek]

Isn't that how it always goes?! When you aren't ready, they are...once you get prepared, they stop. I think they like playing games with us.

[Dow]

Feh, silly fish. I even had the tank set up with water and gravel from my newt tank -__-... I want to get a Johanni or however it's spelled but I've heard they're worse than Demasoni.... I just don't know if that's a good idea currently, when almost every one of my fish is claiming territory

[armthehomeless]

Johanni can be seom mean fish! They are much more aggressive than peacocks IME.