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i believe it was a boiled lettuce... but im not too sure.

sounds like a plan! i think that's what i'll do. the only breeding success i've had so far has been with a pair of zebra african cichlids... and that was by accident! so, it would be neat to have some luck with these beautiful fish.

by the way, to make infusoria, do you simply leave some leaves, banana peels, or lettuce in some water and let it sit for a few days, then put some of that water in the fry tank? just making sure

breeding mops are very easy and inexpensive to make. i believe www.killies.com has information on how to make one. they will lay eggs just about anywhere they can though. i sometimes leave some peat fiber in their tank and take it out about 1 week after. i would then squeeze the fiber and get out most of the water and place it in a bag, about 2-3 weeks later, i would place the peat in water and usually by the next day some fry would appear.

so in your 29 gallon, they would most likely lay eggs there but would eat the fry or eggs nonetheless... in a 29 gallon with so many options of where to lay eggs, they will not necessarily lay them in the mop. i have tried 10 and 20 gallon tanks, i never had any eggs in the mop... but 2.5 gallon worked best for me for a pair or trio. if you want to save tank space. i would place the pair in a 2.5 gallon tank with some plants or/and a mop. feed them well and leave them there for about a week and move the parents back to your 29 gallon and just wait. some fry should be bound to hatch. (just have plenty of plants and mops so they can not find all the eggs and eat them all.)

hi again!

i was just wondering if you knew any chain stores that sell breeding mops. i've never seen one! could you use a fine-leafed plant like cabomba instead?

i have the pair i bought in a 29G community tank. do you think they'll lay eggs in there, or should i move them into a smaller tank on their own? if i do move them into a smaller tank, does it need to have a filter and a heater? (i was thinking around 2 1/2G)? would letting them lay eggs in the community tank, and then moving the eggs into a smaller tank work? (i just want to avoid have 2 or 3 more tanks set up if possible!)

also, the male of the pair sticks up near the top of the tank mostly, but the female explore the middle/bottom half. is this normal, or is the male sick/stressed? his colours and bright and his fins are full, and he's eating... but he always hangs out with the white clouds in a clump of plants.

thanks!

hoolig, you don't need a toothpick to pick out the eggs... you can use your fingers. the eggs are pretty hard. there are 2methods that i have learned. the first being the mop method. you would place the mop in the tank and take it out once every few days, search for eggs and put them in a small container and put the mop bak and repeat this process until you have enough. (or you can take the mop and put it in a small tank and just let the eggs hatch from there.

another method, i just learned... is keeping a small tank with a mop and some plants and just putting the parents in there for a week and removing them and then just wait for the fry to hatch, if any.

$4 Canadian is very cheap =) I believe they go for $18 US at the LFS and auction around $8-15 US a pair.

Niggit,
I bought a pr of Golds they cost me $A24 from a LFS, I put them in a tank with lots plants and a mop, there was eggs on the mop after 2 days, I put the mop in a smaller tank useing water from the parents tank,I had plenty of plants in the small tank, they hatched and they fed on the infusoria which is present in well planted tanks, after a week I fed them on freshly hatch BS, and also frozen baby BS. I did try picking the eggs off the mop with a tooth pick and put them in a shallow dish with Java Moss with no luck.
Good luck let me know how you go.