I think my CPD's are breeding!

[fishscale]

I really was not expecting anything to happen at all, but it looks like some of my CPDs are pairing up and doing a little funny dance with each other. There are 2 pairs of fish sort of chasing each others tails in a circle and then wiggling around in the plants. I'm not certain that's breeding behavior, but it could be

[fishscale]

On another note, the CPD's appear to be way more of a threat to shrimplets than my apistos. The apistos are kind of slow and can't maneuver into the small places that the shrimplets hide in. The CPD's look like good hunters in the plants.

[wakesk8r]

as far as I know that is definitely the cpd nookie dance.
mine leave the shrimplets alone. they do pick through the mosses and tight areas but i think it is just because they can. they dont really harm anything in my tank, now my dario dario are a whole different story! little cute shrimp slayers is what they should be called!

[bpimm]

Definitely the nookie dance, the fry are really tiny.

You are right, the cpd's are very good hunters. the wiped out my rcs population pretty quick. I know it was them, they were the only fish in the tank.

[Gatekeeper]

That is the "flash dance" for sure. The problem is, once the female releases the eggs during this process, its likely that they will eat them before the hit the bottom of the tank.

[fishscale]

I'm almost certain they'll be eaten. There are ember tetras, pygmy cories, and a pair of apistos. Oh well, I'll try again when I have more tanks.

[markopolo]

what are the specs in your tank?? ive been wanting to breed cpds myself just havent found the "magic" yet though

[fishscale]

No magic, I just have about 17 of them in a 20L. I did a water change the day before?

[markopolo]

hmmm i guess i dont have enough moss for the eggs to be safe and hatch, they are probably eating the eggs

[fishscale]

I read that it's hard to hatch eggs/rear fry without separating the parents.

[SearunSimpson]

set up a 10gl (cycle it through and what not) bare bottom. Go to the dollar store and get a sheet of plastic knitting mesh/grid and cut it to size and put it on the bottom (make a square out of it so theres space underneat it- just fold the sides down) and put a whack of java moss in there with a bunch of cpd's. Now and again shake the moss so the eggs fall under the grid where the parents can't get at them.
I have a friend that is breeding these guys this way and he has a redic amount of fry.

[fishscale]

I have a cycled 10g, I'm kind of on the fence about whether or not I should attempt to raise fry. These guys are doing it again. Every week, I feed bloodworms and then do a WC, and it looks like right a couple of them do the dance. I just don't really have the time or space. But still, I'm thinking about it

[fishscale]

Hmmm...I could be mistaken. I think I just saw two males doing the dance...does that ever happen?

[AlexRaven]

They are just displaying to each other. The females do the dance also sometimes with other females.Maybe its also about territory.
I have 5 CPDs 1 m-4f into my 300lit tank 50days now and they just don"t stop breeding. I do a simple trick: I put a big bogwood with a lot of Java moss in the center of the tank and leave it there for 1 week , then I remove it into a 54lit. breeding tank and after some days fry appears. Then put it back into the 1st tank e.t.c. I feed the fry infusoria the 1st week and baby powder and have had no losses at all.

[fishscale]

That's not a bad idea. They've been using the rock base of my manzanita tree as a spawn site.