Re: NFC: longear breeding

[Mark <mbinkley at columbus_rr.com>]

At 12:50 AM -0800 4/2/02, Arlus Farnsworth wrote:
>I keep on missing the chat room on Sundays.
>Luke mentioned that for breeding Lepomis Megolatis (longear sunfish) I
>should extend the light cycle to 16 hours. Does anyone have any further
>suggestions or hints?
>Thanks!
>Arlus


Also, keep it warm, about 75-80 F, or warm it up as they seem to be in
spawning condition.  But... increased day light and warm water will
increase aggression, mainly on the part of the males.  So keep an eye on
all the fishes for signs of physical injury and separate the injured ones
or risk losing them.  Provide lots of hiding places where the submissive
fishes can get out of sight or even a divider that will allow smaller
fishes to slip through, but not the larger ones.

A male or males with fan out a pit nest.  Then he has to wait until the
female(s) are ready with eggs.  They do not pair off.  The females only
enter the nest long enough to spawn.  The rest of the time, the male will
chase her off or just chase her around the tank.  She may enter and leave
the nest repeatedly for repeated spawning sessions.  More than one female
may spawn in one male's nest (typically one at a time).  The females will
take on a dark color with wide, verticle barring when they are ready to
spawn.  Remove them after they have spawned to save their lives.  How long
to leave the male with the eggs/fry is a judgement call.  If you want to
save as many fry as possible,  separate the male from the eggs/fry as soon
as possible.  But you will have 100's to 1000's of eggs, so don't worry
about that too much.

Mark
Columbus Ohio USA            <))><
mbinkley at columbus_rr.com

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