Spawning behavior in Pristella tetras and Rasbora Hets

[src]

This morning I've been noticing spawning behavior in a pair of my Rasboras, and ALL of my Pristellas.

The Rasbora pair is inverting themselves under leaves of my sword plants, pressing their bellies together against the leaf. I can't see any eggs, so I don't know if it is an actual spawning, or just going through the motions.

The fun ones are the Pristellas. I haven't seen any discriptions of spawning for them, but it sure looks like courting to me. Females have larger bodies, while the males are slimmer. I have 3 females and 4 males, and they are pairing off. The male tries to swim directly beneath the female, and aggressively defends his right to be there by chasing off any other fish that approach. Haven't seen any actual spawning, but they may be egg scatterers, which wouldn't be obvious unless you see the ejection.

It was a pretty cool show this morning.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Good deal, Src.

Sounds like you've got your water parameters exactly to their liking!

 

[src]

Yeah, which is strange. I've been doing massive water changes the last couple of days to combat a serious bacterial bloom - looks like they are swimming in skim milk right now. A couple more Rasboras were going nuts on the plants yesterday. If nothing else, they seem to be having fun!

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

It may be the water changes. With some species, massive water changes can simulate the rainy season in nature- a time when many species of fish are triggered into spawning.

 

[src]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. The water changes are to fight a massive greenwater problem that has developed, so I'm sure they are just expressing their joy at being able to see one another again!

 

[BrianNY]

Classic spawning behavoir in both cases. Perhaps the cloudy water prevent you from seeing the tiny eggs. You're correct. Pristellas are egg scatterers while rasboras adhere their eggs to the underside of plants. Providing a spawning tank and the proper spawning medium should net you some fry.