Tail biter ?

[coralbandit]

Hey guys my Santarems are raising their second successful spawn . The first was only one month previous so I know these two are still learning .
The first time I had to separate the pair about 7-10 days in after attachment as the male was nipping the females tail quite seriously in my opinion .
I left her with the fry and they did great .I have 40 that are about the size of a quarter now that are just 5 weeks old in their own tank eating like little big fish !
They are up to 4 cubes of FDBW cut in half a day now along with frozen daphnia ,grow crumbles [a slow sinking small pellet] and golden pearls ..They are doing GREAT !
The pair has maybe 80 fry bouncing back and fourth off them now and are also doing well, but... He is starting to nip her tail again ..She provokes him a little but he has no damage ..
The tail biting is showing on her ..I am figuring I am going to have to separate them again but this time he will stay and she have a small vacation on the other side of the divider ..
My real question [silly I know ] is will this tail biting behavior stop sometime in the future ? Is this part of the learning ?
Have any of you seen this in particular before and how did you handle it ?
Thanks ,

Tom

[Sturiosoma]

Here's my nutsy cuckoo thought if he's only nipping at her when they have fry I think he's being selfish and wants to raise them all himself, so yes I would pull her when you get a chance

Jeanne

[coralbandit]

Thanks Jeanne !
Yea when they got re introduced after last time he was so good I was proud ..
Her tail had started to heal but he is at her again . It just started last night so it is a couple days into being attached and I am sure the fry are irritating enough ?
He gets the fry this time for sure . Last time I separated them if he had been a dog he would have barked all night or dug under the divider ! He was besides himself on the other side even not being able to see through !
He knew they were just on the other side and seriously seemed forlorned ..It was sad !

[Sturiosoma]

I forgot to mention congrats on your spawn, and if you could get the male to talk maybe he could speak to American society LOL ,and have you tried feeding fd rotifers for the fry just a little more variety, and also you seem to be doing really good with consistency but what do you think about separating the pair and conditioning them up good between spawns, in other words give them a little more time

Jeanne

[coralbandit]

In hind sight I probably should not have returned them together so quick ? He seemed pathetic on his side of the tank and I am soft !
I did not expect them to breed again so quickly but I guess I should have guessed ?
I think a break would do them both good so they can share the tank with divider soon ..
I might separate them tomorrow, I don't want her tail getting bitten too bad .
As for food I have all sorts of stuff for fry !
I might even have a few types of food many don't know of ..I just got a new one today delivered with my 2 lbs of brines shrimp eggs ..
I am funny about foods ..Most want their fish on prepared foods quickly while others strive for maximum growth with 'anything' ..
Frozen for fry I have BBS, Rots ,Cyclops and Daphnia . The rots would be a good first choice being smaller then BBS..
I also have 100 micron prepared foods along with decapsulated BBS eggs …
I mix a wicked cocktail !

[coralbandit]

Ok I did not want to jinx myself or the fish but they are still good and together today ..
They still share care of the fry pretty well .
They are both 'flighty' although that may be a standard discus move more then learning ..
I mean I don't see a slow way to slide out from under 60 fry so the 'off to the races ' move is pretty sweet to watch..
The fry bounce from one to the other like ping pong balls .It would appear they are eating what I offer ..
The parents are enjoying being the sheriff in the tank of rowdy Sterbai ! Maybe they are decent dithers besides good cleaners ?
Pretty funny to watch one of the parents take off after one !