|
|
The Digital Aquarium Galleria
Italian translation at vergari.com
Cichlid Fry Development
Text by Lois and Max Gallade
Photographs by Max Gallade and Al Sabetta (Discus Fry)
M.ramirezi eggs just before hatching. Deposited on Amazon sword plant leave.
In the following photoseries I'd like to demonstrate the fry development of Dwarf Cichlids and Discus from egg to adult fish. This article will grow with every new picture added. Cichlids spawn almost anywhere. E.g.most Apistogrammas are cave spawners. to lay their eggs inside of rolled up leaves in their natural habitat .Open spawners likeDiscus prefer tree roots and trunks. Others lay their eggs in hollows dug into a sandy riverbed or on flat surfaces such as rocks.
Apistogramma cf.eunotus female guarding fresh hatched larvae inside her breeding cave.
These two photo show some nice cherry red Apistogramma panduro eggs. These eggs were deposited inside of a terra cotta cave. Those eggs are probably a week old. They are few days away from hatching. The "whitish" egg in the center of the first photo developed a fungus. Unfortunately, it won't hatch. Female cichlids usually remove "bad" eggs from the batch to avoid fungusing on the rest of their eggs. You can see the remaining shells of the removed eggs in both photos.
M.ramirezi female cleaning her eggs.
M.ramirezi are open spawners. They like to deposit their eggs on flat surfaces such as rocks, pieces of slate, leaves and even heater suction cups if nothing else is available.
Fresh hatched Apistogramma resticulosa larvae.
This larvae hatched only a few hrs ago. The eyes are undeveloped and the body contours are still transparent .The yolk sack is still has its original egg size.
Larvae (wriggler) of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi hatched one day ago .
You can clearly see the attached yolk sack. Most Cichlid larvae will feed of their yolk sack for about a week. Eyes and internal organs already beginning to develope.
Three day Mikrogeophagus ramirezi old larvae.
Notice that the eyes are fully developed now. The yolk sack is almost gone.These wigglers will soon start feeding on Infusoria and other small food items found in the tank.
