I moved three P. vigilax from my tank at home to the display tank I've put up at my dad's animal hopsital. 2 males, 1 female. When I moved them, the males were in spawning condition, i.e., they were sort of a slate blue color, with an iridescent pad on top of their heads. That was about 3 weeks ago. After about a week and a half, the female died. However, the males have staked out little caves under some large lava rocks. They continue to excavate, and only come out to eat.

Do you think that the female laid eggs and then died, and the males are currently guarding eggs or fry, or are they possibly just guarding potential spawning locations, but nothing is going to come of it because there aren't any females in there? I've been looking to see if any fry would pop their heads out, but I haven't seen anything yet.

Ben,

It's entirely possible that the female laid eggs. I think, though, that if she died a week and a half ago, you would've seen fry by now. Becker (1983) states that eggs hatch in 4.5 to 6 days at temperatures of 79 to 83*F. He doesn't state whether the male guards the fry or not. Hope this helps.

Brian

Ref:
Becker, George C., 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, Wisconsin. pp. 591-594.

Ben,

It's entirely possible that the female laid eggs. I think, though, that if she died a week and a half ago, you would've seen fry by now. Becker (1983) states that eggs hatch in 4.5 to 6 days at temperatures of 79 to 83*F. He doesn't state whether the male guards the fry or not. Hope this helps.

Brian

Ref:
Becker, George C., 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press. Madison, Wisconsin. pp. 591-594.

Yeah, I thought that might be the case... however, the little caves they've excavated are pretty extensive, and that whole half of the tank is covered in hornwort. Plus, I'm only up there messing with the tank once or twice a week, so taking all that into consideration, it's possible I wouldn't see them.

Let's hope that they're there and you're just not seeing them. Bullhead Minnows are really cool fish!

Brian

Brian J. Torreano - Owner
BTDarters
American Native Fish for
your aquarium...and more!
Web: http://www.btdarters.com
Email: bt@btdarters.com
Phone: (262) 268-7489

Let's hope that they're there and you're just not seeing them. Bullhead Minnows are really cool fish!

Brian

Brian J. Torreano - Owner
BTDarters
American Native Fish for
your aquarium...and more!
Web: http://www.btdarters.com
Email: bt@btdarters.com
Phone: (262) 268-7489

I agree... I was doing some tank maintenance earlier today, and one of the males had lost all of his spawning coloration. I came back 2 hours later and he was back to the almost purple color and sparring with the other male.

I agree... I was doing some tank maintenance earlier today, and one of the males had lost all of his spawning coloration. I came back 2 hours later and he was back to the almost purple color and sparring with the other male.

Awesome!

Brian

Brian J. Torreano - Owner
BTDarters
American Native Fish for
your aquarium...and more!
Web: http://www.btdarters.com
Email: bt@btdarters.com
Phone: (262) 268-7489