Congo Killies - PageSuite

The larvae two days after
hatching. The body is still
unpigmented and the
yolk sac is very large.
Seven days after hatching,
the yolk sac is consumed
and the small catfish start to
develop their pigmentation.
Now they need to be fed.
March 12: Increasing activity between the adults, with
first signs of the trembling courtship display. All the other
occupants were removed, the substrate was replaced
with fine sand, and one-fifth of the water was exchanged.
March 15: The female, who was usually hiding in a corner,
approached the male and the two fish often lay next
to each other, now actively courting.
March 17: The female began to mouth the sand in one
spot, obviously cleaning it, while digging a pit. The male
started to actively patrol the tank. The courtship became
increasingly more intense when the animals met. This
continued for another day, until the night of March 18,
when the cleaning and courtship activities reached their
peak. The male swam into the current from the filter
return near the surface and slapped audibly with his fins.
Meanwhile, the female dug the pit all the way down to
the glass bottom.
March 19: Around 11 in the morning, the fish spawned.
Afterwards, the female guarded about 200 eggs in the
pit. The male retreated into another corner to relax. The
female lay directly on the eggs and fanned them with her
large fins to supply fresh water and oxygen. Some 50 eggs
were not fertilized and turned white.
March 20: To be on the safe side, I removed the developing
eggs to hatch them separately. I left subsequent
clutches in the care of the parents, who cared for them
quite reliably. I filled the 15-gallon (54-L) rearing tank
with water from the breeding aquarium. A large airstone
supplied oxygen, but I used no filter.
March 22: The larvae began to hatch in the morning and
When fed, the fry swim enthusiastically
through the tank and gorge themselves
on baby brine shrimps.
AMAZONAS
I. CHANG
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