Need some help here with my Black Onyx

[rschwadel]

Ok, so I work at an LFS and we had these black onyx that were paired and doing nothing...just bobbing up and down. Then again, we were always walking by and I fed them once a day.. so there wasnt really any scheduled lighting or feeding times.

Anyway I brought them home with another pair of A. Ocellaris and put them in two separate tanks. I have had them in my home for about a month, and have noticed new behaviors come and go. I increased feeding to 3 times a day and raised temp to 80. water parameters are normal and I water change about 20% twice a week. I have noticed the male cleaning vigorously for about two days, and now he just hovers over one spot on the top left outside part of the clay pot they have. I looked for a hidden clutch by the male but I see nothing.
That was about a week and a half ago. Then I noticed them both cleaning the inside for a day or so, and now the male is back at his spot and the female keeps nipping at him to stay there. Now I only see her clean by slashing and fanning..not with her mouth. The male bobs up and down in his one spot.

So i'm discouraged. I have a rotifer culture and larval tank ready to go and all that stuff but I want them to start spawning already! I know im not being very patient but what can you guys tell me that will make me feel better? Thanks every body.

 

[reefstew]

Only a month & you expect them to breed? Are you kidding? I have adult pairs that have taken over a year to spawn & some pairs have never spawned.

 

[D-Nak]

It sounds like they could be getting ready, and are cleaning house. Just be patient. Keep in mind that once they start breeding it's probably best to let the first few clutches go before trying to raise them. I waited until the sixth clutch, since they seemed to get pretty good at laying, and the male good at taking care of the eggs. Each time the clutch got bigger.

Long story short, when they first start laying, you've got a least a month before you'll want to raise the clutch. I've let my rot culture die, waited a couple of months, then started it up again when I was preparing to collect the babies. Maintaining the rots with nothing to feed them to was a PITA, IMO.

 

[ChrisBWoodysRee]

Once they start cleaning it usually takes another few months to spawn...& you gotta let the first 8 batches go they wont make it

 

[rschwadel]

thanks

thanks

reeftstew, we've had the pair for quite a long time, it is only a month ago that I actually brought them to my home so they can have a little more privacy, and nobody walking past them day and and day out. I know where your coming from though, I have absolutely no patients. I'm working on it lol. But I am sorry to hear the some of your pairs never spawned its always kind of a let down. but yea i'm not new at this, just new at breeding fish, any way there is more to come. and yes I was prepared to let the first few clutches go.