Pelvicachromis taeniatus - Nyete Questions

[frank_zappa]

i have had my pair for several weeks now and i am enjoying them very much. they have grown much more colorful and the male does not constantly chase the female around anymore. my rainbow shark chases the male some, but it is pretty entertaining to watch the "cat and mouse" show they put on.

the pair have been displaying some behaviors that i assume are related to courtship but if anyone with experience with them has input i would like to hear it. the male will approach the female, somewhat aggressively, and she will go vertical and begin to quiver very fast. it is very cool to watch and i will try to catch it on my camera.

the male and female are both out all the time and her belly is not getting larger, so i know they are not spawning anytime soon, but do they sound like they are getting there? the female is very docile although i do see her opening her mouth up towards other fish . is that her saying back off?

any things i should look for? i am really hoping that they will spawn.

[smaug]

Im new to keeping them as well.Mine do the same thing,I call it her come get me dance.It was explained to me that is exactly what it is,a way to show off her red belly which indicates her willingness to mate.Have fun with your pair,I like mine more then all the rest of my fish combined.

[frank_zappa]

this morning when i looked into my tank i realized that they have been busy since just yesterday and fixed themselves a little cave underneath the log i have laying on the bottom. just yesterday there was a little tunnel that went under the log, but now, one end of the tunnel has been filled up with sand. i assuming that it was them but i did not see them building it.

[DCguy]

P. taeniatus typically has a very long courtship period as they prepare to spawn. You will see lots of typical pair bonding and pre-spawning behavior prior to them actually spawning. As you have noted, the female will typically get quite swollen prior to spawning.

They are not like Apistos where things usually happen very quickly. Instead they go through a lot of bonding prior to spawning.

DC

[frank_zappa]

well, then i have a feeling that they are on the right track....