Pelvicachromis pulcher ‘Super Red’ Fry

A few months ago, I picked up a nice looking trio of Pelvicachromis pulcher ‘Super Red’ adults hoping that they would be ready to spawn quickly. I was very pleased when I noticed that they had done so about a week ago! I set them up on my 40G farm tank, but for awhile they didn’t really seem all that interested in each other.

Then I realized, that being a farm tank, it didn’t have a single piece of wood or rock in it. I rectified that by making a small cave out of some porous mossy rock, and shortly thereafter, two of the fish paired off and took up residence in that cave. It wasn’t long until the female sequestered herself, and then shortly thereafter a swarm of fry emerged with the parents.

The parents escorted the fry throughout the tank, allowing them to feed on detritus on the substrate, and small organisms on the plant leaves. In addition, I used some frozen foods to supplement both the fry and parents diets, as the frozen cubes thaw and have a fine mist of brine shrimp pieces for the fry to graze on. I could visibly see the bellies of the fry bulging with food, so that always a good sign that they’re getting enough to eat.

Hopefully, the fry will continue to grow up fast, and I’ll have a small colony in the 40G. I’ve tried keeping these fish in the past, but for one reason or another, I’ve always lost the females before they would breed. I guess a male and a female fish don’t always pair up.

The fry don’t have any of the color on them that the parents exhibit, so I’m looking forward to seeing that develop as they get bigger. Once they’re big enough for blackworms, they should grow like crazy. (I hope). Comments welcome!