want your Burundi to breed? try this.

[martindale]

I have learned soooooo much from many of the cool !@# members here on Cyphos.com and I feel obligated to give back in some way. I have had really good sucess with my Burundi colony for several years and I will gladly share some tips.

If you are trying to get your Burundi to breed you can try my 'proven' setup. I apply an inexpensive purplish window film from Lowe's that costs about $12 to the glass tops to provide dim lighting. I use play sand from Lowe's in order to minimize egg loss due to large and or sharp substrate being picked up with eggs and causing problems during tumbling. I setup a flower pot on either end of the tank facing one another spaced an even distance between the front and back glass and 3" from the side glass in order to provide some extra 'getaway' places. The size of the flower pot is relative to the size of the largest Burundi. My alpha is around 13" therefore I use a 14" dark brown plastic flower pot from Lowe's that costs $6. Be sure to place a heavy amount of substrate in the pots. The 1st reason is to hold down the pots and the 2nd is to allow the fish to do some 'redocarating' and make it their own. With this setup I average between 30-50 eggs per spawn and each of the 3 females breed every 3 months. It took them a few months to get used to the setup but I have a very high birth rate with it. IMO its because the flower pot provides an enclosed area for the spawning. This has a couple of benefits. One is the water is calm and the male sucessfully places his sperm without disturbance from heavy water movement. The water in this tank turns over 10x per hour so there is a lot of movement around the bottom where spawning takes place. Secondly the female and loose eggs are easily guarded. Although the eggs are loose for a split second if this occurs in an open area other fish both female and male alike will swoop in and snatch an egg everytime an opportunity presents itself. Third benefit is that when the male is busy fending off other curious members the female continues to lay her eggs and if he spends too much time away then you end up with infertile eggs and will have a VERY low birth rate. One additional tip is to fatten up the fish on krill. I go two weeks without a water change and I feed a mixture of Dianichi XLPro and NLS + Thera A only 3x during the two prep weeks. On Mon of week three I do a 50% water change and simultaniously refill the water, add my homemade ph booster, and throw in a massive amount of krill. Wed, Fri, and Sun I do the same thing with one IMPORTANT adjustment. I just do a enough of a water change that I can clean up the extra waste due to the heavy amount of krill and the heavy 'poop' that follows. I repeat you want to simply remove any free floating debris. Week 4 I play by ear but I usually dont bother the colony on this week. I regularly have 2 females holding on week 4 and have had as many as 3. Im certain that Im not educating the seasoned members but maybe some new members can benefit from my experiences.

I am most certainly a PROUD MEMBER here on Cyphos and would like to say good luck to everyone and thank you VERY much for all the continued support.

[Wade D]

good tips, only I don't like krill. It gives mine the float

[martindale]

you said 'the float', is that a swim bladder problem or bloat? How often did you feed them krill when they developed the problem?

I regularly feed Dianichi XLPro and NLS + Thera A and krill is used only to prep for breeding.

[Wade D]

I only have to feed them once and they get the bobbing for several days. Mine are WC so maybe that might be different for different variants. frozen, freeze dried,,it doesnt matter. I only feed NLS and HBH. I have heard of triggering a spawn with a water change and krill from a breeder though.

[martindale]

IMO these actions replicate what happens when it rains in the wild.

Thx for the tip Wade D. Im gonna keep a close eye on my guys.

[NatetheGreat]

Originally Posted by martindale

IMO these actions replicate what happens when it rains in the wild.

Thx for the tip Wade D. Im gonna keep a close eye on my guys.

great info buddy hopefully it will help with my moba group keeping my fingers crossed


do you use the frozen krill or the dry ?

[martindale]

IMO the dried krill doesnt have the nutritional value that the frozen has and it floats on the surface of the water. I know everyone says that the drying process doesnt remove necessary nutrients but Im not buying it. I tried a frozen krill that was advertised as having a low water content and I didnt like it because it floated on top of the water as well. The average frozen krill has some water content which causes it to sink immediately and IMO this keeps them from developing swim bladder problems. IMO freezing the krill kills any parasites or bacteria but keeps all the good nutrients. I hope this is helpfull.

[Heather]

Cool, we appreciate the tips, congrats on your success!
Thanks for sharing...

[Dylz]

just found this and some good info on here. i have some big burundi and its time.
thanks man ill be posting progress

[martindale]

Oh ya no problem Im happy to share my experiences. Please keep us updated and GOOD LUCK!