Fish spawning Julidochromis ornatus at home is doable as long as you have the patience and follow proper guidelines. Read more here!
Have you liked the Golden Julie so much that you wanted more? Fish spawning Julidochromis ornatus at home is indeed possible. Once you get the hang of it, you may sell extra fish to your neighbors or online. Let’s start by first learning how they behave before and during spawning. After that, we can move on to the preparations. This helps you understand more about the Golden Julie.
Julidochromis ornatus Behaviour
When not in the spawning period, the Golden Julie is a fairly peaceful and easy-going fish. They only show aggression around their cave area that they treat as home. They go well in a communal tank as long as their tank mates have the same equal size as they are. The Julidochromis ornatus has an aggressive female. There cannot be more than one female in a tank because this species of fish is monogamous. When in the spawning period, they will turn aggressive toward other tank mates.
Preparations Before Breeding
After knowing how they behave when spawning, we can properly make preparations for fish spawning Julidochromis ornatus in a different water tank. Some sources say it will take time because the pair of Golden Julie needs to form a bond before sexing.
1. Forming a Pair
The process of forming a pair to breed is the longest first step of the process. Establishing a healthy pair can be quite tricky. The male can hurt or even kill the female if they are not compatible. This situation often occurs when a pair of mature Golden Julie is put together.
If you do not have a pair of compatible Golden Julie, the best method is to buy a bulk (around six) of young Golden Julie and put them in a tank. The rest is up to them; we can only hope for the best. After some time, you may start to see a pair forming a long-term partnership.
2. Preparing the Breeding Tank
Once you have your compatible pair of Golden Julie, you may start preparing a large breeding tank with a pH of around 8 to 9, and the water temperature should be 77 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit or 25 to 26 degrees Celsius. Don’t forget to put some stones there because the pair will secretly lay their eggs inside a cave. The eggs are hard to spot; however, you can tell by the male guarding the area and the female tending the eggs. It will hatch after 2 to 3 days.
3. When to Remove the Parents
The fry will remain with their parents until they are around 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters. You need to remove the fry at that point, as the adults may harass them. When the fry grows, the pair may start laying eggs again. The older fry will also tend to the younger ones until they reach the size mentioned before.
That is the brief guideline on fish spawning Julidochromis ornatus. Fish keepers need to be patient as this might take quite a while to succeed. The key to successful breeding is spotting the pair, precise water conditions, and knowing when to remove the spawn before their parents turn against them.
Source:
https://www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/news-article?id=2187