I have a pair of dottybacks. I bought them last October. They started to spawn in the middle of December. They spawn almost every one week since the first. Is this normal for this species? I am worried about their health that they may not be having enough time to recover from the spawning and may die in a debilitated condition. So far, however, they are in good condition.
My orchid dottyback is spawning too often
- Thread starter bandeng
- Start date
Fishboy42
Premium Member
[welcome]
I'll let the more experienced here fully answer your question, but I know that dottys spawn fairly frequently. A friend's pair has spawned at least that often for him -- which has given us lots of opportunities to TRY to raise the larvae. As long as they are well-fed, I wouldn't think it would be a problem.
-Matt
I'll let the more experienced here fully answer your question, but I know that dottys spawn fairly frequently. A friend's pair has spawned at least that often for him -- which has given us lots of opportunities to TRY to raise the larvae. As long as they are well-fed, I wouldn't think it would be a problem.
-Matt
mwp
In Memoriam
Just keep pumpin' 'em full of quality food & nutrition and their bodies will do the rest. Granted, some of the experienced dottyback breeders here may say differently.
My ONLY concern with "overbreeding" comes from my experience with running the cichlid hatchery for a while...sometimes we'd "slow" the fish down (by separating them) as they'd otherwise breed themselves out within a year. Generally older fish are not as productive as fish in their prime, but you probably have at least a good year or two ahead of you, at least that'd be my hope! It seems that fish start out breeding, have some mishaps, finally get it right, production improves and then as "old age" sets in production drops dramatically. Only the experienced long-time dottyback breeders can tell you for sure when to expect that final collapse...I can only guess.
Now, if they were spawning DAILY like my mandarins, then I'd be worried
MP
My ONLY concern with "overbreeding" comes from my experience with running the cichlid hatchery for a while...sometimes we'd "slow" the fish down (by separating them) as they'd otherwise breed themselves out within a year. Generally older fish are not as productive as fish in their prime, but you probably have at least a good year or two ahead of you, at least that'd be my hope! It seems that fish start out breeding, have some mishaps, finally get it right, production improves and then as "old age" sets in production drops dramatically. Only the experienced long-time dottyback breeders can tell you for sure when to expect that final collapse...I can only guess.
Now, if they were spawning DAILY like my mandarins, then I'd be worried
MP
Thank you for all the kind advices. I feel easy now. I could only raise less than 100 juveniles of 3 cm TL in two months rearing. I was worried also the quality of the eggs caused by this short interval of their spawning. Another trouble with my rearing has been this frequent (weekly) supply of the hatched larvae. I often run out of rotifers.
Bandeng
Bandeng
