[Killietalk] Bitaeniatum questions

["Joel Saunders" <fishguy5000 at hotmail_com>]

Hello everyone.  i have my first pair of killies (A. Bitaeniatum "Majitam") 
set up to breed in a 10 gallon bare-bottom tank with a thick floating yarn 
mop that reaches all the way down to the bottom of the tank.  As this is my 
first attempt at spawning killies, I would just like some feedback on what 
I'm doing.  The fish have been in the tank for three days, and I have not 
actually witnessed any spawning behavior, although I don't sit there all day 
and watch.  The female seems to want nothing to do with the male, and spends 
her time hiding inside the mop.  The male does not seem to go in the mop, 
but pursues her vigorously whenever she ventures out of the mop.  I am 
feeding them twice a day, once with BBS and once with frozen bloodworms. I 
pulled the mop today and examined it for eggs.  I only found one egg, but it 
appears to be viable.  I put it on damp peat to incubate, and replaced the 
mop in the tank.

My questions: this egg production seems very low, could it be that they are 
simply not ready to spawn?  Could it be that they are eating the eggs 
immediately after spawning?  Should I be pulling the mop first thing every 
morning to check for eggs?

Also, I prepared the peat by boiling a peat pellet and squeezing as much 
moisture as I could from the peat.  I then simply placed the peat on a small 
saucer (I dont have a petrie dish) and set the egg on top of the dampish 
peat.  I then sealed the whole thing in a ziplock bag.  I've never worked 
with peat before, so i just wanted to know if I was doing anything wrong.  
Should I bury the egg in the peat, or is it okay to just let it sit on top?  
Also should I open the bag and spritz the peat with a spray bottle everyday 
to keep it moist?  Any and all advice will be appreciated.  Thank you for 
your patience with my beginner questions.

Cheers!

Joel
AKA member #08748

_________________________________________________________________
Free up your inbox with MSN Hotmail Extra Storage. Multiple plans available. 
http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200362ave/direct/01/


To join the AKA see http://www.aka.org/pages/join.html
Archives are at http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/