Yay!

After weeks and weeks of my keyholes displaying and shimmying at each other, they've started spawning!!

They decided yesterday that they very much like it under the inlet of the filter (not the smartest place to choose but it's not a very powerful suction), and were doing all the displaying and chasing off the other fish, they even started digging a pit. They still hadn't spawned by this afternoon so I gave the tank a really good feed of frozen bloodworm and daphnia mix to see if it would help. Just gone to have a look at the tank and discovered that they've already got a good clutch on the piece of bogwood next to the inlet XD

I know keyholes are dead easy to breed, but they've been in this crappy temporary tank for longer than I ever meant for them to be, and I'm just so pleased that they're obviously happy enough to breed XD

The eggs will probably be gone by morning, but if they or the other fish haven't eaten them by then I'll try and get some pictures XD

Also, the Krobia look like they've started to pair off, with one showing much darker bars across his body than usual, and is being very territorial about a rock under a piece of bogwood at the other end of the tank, so you never know, the keyholes might set the Krobia off! XD

If I remember rightly my keyholes had one practice go then the next spawn they raised the fry, I had one little one going for a couple of months before he vanished

Great news! Such an underrated fish. I had a lovely pair of keyholes once but they only spawned once and I never raised any of the fry.

Do you think the move to a new tank with new water (ie since the move) could have been the trigger?

Sam

As I expected the eggs are gone this morning, but they still seem to be trying to protect the piece of bogwood.

I agree, they are very beautiful little fish with lovely personalities! As soon as the female spots you coming into the room she rushes to the front of the tank and wiggles like mad in the hopes of food.

I think it could have something to do with the move, yeah The pH here is around 7 (I need to get some test tubes to test it myself) which is hell of an improvement from back home. The water in Wales was crazy unpredictable. It could be 7.4 one minute, and then 8 the next time I'd do a water change.

Hopefully they'll decide to spawn again in the future But for now it'd be nice if the tank settled down. They were driving the pearl gourami mad and she was starting to become a right cow.