I'd like to try and breed my flag fish. I understand they should have a heavily planted tank and shallow water of around 8". So do they prefer sand or gravel? I currently have them in a 20g high with black eco-complete and they tried spawning in the moss at the bottom. I really didn't think they would try anything after being in the tank for only a week. I would like to give them something more proper. Any ideas?
Substrate for American-flag Fish
Started by
Guest_HeadshotZod_*
, Jun 01 2010 07:48 PM
5 replies to this topic
#3
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 02 June 2010 - 08:00 PM
I'd like to try and breed my flag fish. I understand they should have a heavily planted tank and shallow water of around 8". So do they prefer sand or gravel? I currently have them in a 20g high with black eco-complete and they tried spawning in the moss at the bottom. I really didn't think they would try anything after being in the tank for only a week. I would like to give them something more proper. Any ideas?
There is a lot of mixed information about water depth and the behaviour of male flag fish... so I will say that whatever I say is only my experience... and what I say is that they do not care about the substrate at all... mine bred in water that was very deep... well, very deep for a two inch fish... over two feet in a 100 gallon stock tank. The male staked out territory over a wad of java moss that was growing in one end of the tank... so maybe he chose a substrate of plants? That is where I would focus, on the plants, that seems to me to be more important than substrate when it comes to flag fish.
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#4
Guest_Lotsapetsgarfhts_*
Guest_Lotsapetsgarfhts_*
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Posted 08 June 2010 - 06:52 AM
This is a fish that I have been studying for many years. It has been repeated over and over that they spawn in pits in the sand or gravel and that males will guard the nest and fry like cichlids. I set up a pond years ago with containers of gravel and provided water hyacinths for cover. I did not see a single male guarding a container of gravel. What I found were eggs laid all over the root systems of the water hyacinths with the majority of them up high in the roots. I did see was males guarding their plant and females coming to visit in the morning. I do believe they are territorial, but I do not believe they are guarding eggs or fry since as soon as they hatch the fry disperse. I don't really think what kind of substrate you use, and I recently bred them indoors in bare bottomed aquariums with no substrate. They laid the majority of their eggs in floating mops, but only 1 male was in each aquarium with one mop so I did not observe any guarding of nesting sites. By the way I collected eggs yesterday from the roots of water haycinths.
Another myth surrounding this fish is the 3 inch myth, I have never seen one quite that large and I have collected them Florida on a number of occasions at a number of locations. I have also never been able to grow one to that size no matter how hard I tried.
Another myth surrounding this fish is the 3 inch myth, I have never seen one quite that large and I have collected them Florida on a number of occasions at a number of locations. I have also never been able to grow one to that size no matter how hard I tried.
#6
Guest_Lotsapetsgarfhts_*
Guest_Lotsapetsgarfhts_*
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Posted 11 June 2010 - 08:34 AM
What I really ment to say, is it really doesn't matter, they are not that picky. I would go with whatever you like, darker colored natural gravel tends to make the color of the fish stand out better. I have collected them in Florida over all kinds of bottoms.
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