PETROCHROMIS
                                                                                 LARGER  MALE
                                                                              SMALLER  FEMALE
                                                                             BREEDING  IN  PAIRS

                                                                                         Frank Schulterbrandt  6/08/2011

 

       This might sound crazy to you but here are my experiments with breeding petros with just a pair. I am still testing, but this concept goes back to a gentleman that breeds petros in small tanks and a small amount of petros in the tank. I have set up two 55 gallon 4 foot tanks.
In each tank is a pair of Petro Ortho. Ikola Ikola. Each tank has a large male and a  much smaller female. In each tank there are 8 PVC tubes that only the female can fit into. This is the key to the female staying alive and limiting much of the aggression of the larger male.
    
      So after four weeks of constantly checking to see if the female has in-fact succumbed to the aggression of the much larger male, all is well.
Over the four weeks, I have seen constant petro aggression but the female always seems to have an escape route…..

     Now I will concentrate on conditioning and prep them for breeding….  I will see if the size differential is too much for them to breed.
I don’t think this would have had a chance to work if in-fact the female was the larger of the two, but that could be another experiment using this technique.      

     After almost five weeks , no need to try to condition these Ikola Ikola, as my regular feeding routine is sufficient. I am starting to see some shaking by the male. My guess it’s only a matter of time before the female is killed or she will be holding. We shall see.

 

07/03/2011

     One pair of the test subject has now been holding for one week. She still seeks shelter in the PVC tubes….

The other tanks the male is shaking but that is about it …… 

 

To be continued