Help parrot fish!

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beejaymorg

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 24, 2014
Messages
24
Hey guys,

A couple of days ago I noticed my blood parrot fish had laid eggs inside the log the have claimed for themselves,

I've been checking in the progress a few times a day, this morning I noticed they had started to look "fluffy" and obviously rotting, I had to go out, when I've come back they had all been eaten except 3! Since then my larger fish has been chasing the smaller I've around the tank like crazy! The first sign of aggression between the two, what does this mean?

Could the last few eggs still be viable if they have been left?

Thanks! ??
 
Most where white in appearance from research I understand this means they are unfertilised, it's the change in behaviour the larger one has towards the small one that's most puzzling,

The smaller one has stayed in the log the last couple of days except to nip out at feeding times, and when it has the larger one has rushed straight in to stand guard. Now they appear almost to have fallen out :/ where as before they did everything together.
 
Most where white in appearance from research I understand this means they are unfertilised, it's the change in behaviour the larger one has towards the small one that's most puzzling,

The smaller one has stayed in the log the last couple of days except to nip out at feeding times, and when it has the larger one has rushed straight in to stand guard. Now they appear almost to have fallen out :/ where as before they did everything together.

Cichlids are a funny lot. (That's what makes them so interesting. :)) In some cases, one fish will "blame" the other fish for the loss of the spawn. In this case, time heals the pair's pairing when it's time to spawn again. You do need to pay attention however, to how much aggression the one fish is exhibiting. In some cases, it may be best to separate the pair with a piece of clear plexiglass or glass so that the fish can stay within visual sight of each other but not be able to hurt each other until some time has passed and the female appears ready to spawn again.

If this turns out that the fish are sterile and they have this combat after each dead spawn, you may want to separate them permanently as the aggressor may never stop the punishment and possibly kill the mate. One way to know for sure about fertility is to hatch out one spawn yourself to see if there are any viable eggs. All you need is one fry to know they are fertile. If they are, then it should just be a time thing for them to get better at the breeding process.

Hope this helps (y)
 
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