Strange Puffers - During Storm

[Steven_askham]

Well I have heard off people making storms in there house to stimulate spawning and I was thinking about doing it with my puffer's but it looks like I mite not need to. There was a storm over my location yesterday for half the day and half the night so I was stuck in side my house, therefore decided to do extra water changes on all the tanks. So I did just that and refilled with cooler water. Any way the tank is located in my bedroom so I watch them as I am falling asleep, but it was too dark so i cudnt see them so I kept on checking to make sure that they were ok and whenever I turned the light on ther they were next to each other when they are normally at other end of tanks. So I left the light on and they scattered to there caves etc.... turned it off and I could see shadows meeting each other.
They are both Sea Frog Puffer's (Male and Female) and about this big .... /----------------------------------------\

What could this be ?

&

What should I do ?

[Bred]

DPs will spawn in broad daylight. Cooler temperature water will induce spawning. This may have been what you saw. The storm outside is most likely unrelated.

The male follows the female around, bumping against her, kind of cuddling up to her. This is the courting. The female then finds a suitable spot in the tank (for me, a corner filled with Java moss) and they get jiggy for a few minutes. Then the male goes kind of insane with the guarding of the eggs, always buzzing around the tank and even chasing the female off from the egg site. The male will have a markedly reduced appetite during this time.

[RTR]

Many fish do respond to the lower atmospheric pressure commonly experienced in storms, but we cannot simulate that, so we settle for the influx of slightly cooler water to simulate the rain associated with the storm at least.

[Pamela]

Heh heh heh...I'm imagining the exchange...
Female DP..."Oooh...I'm so scared of the nasty storm, and it's getting so cold...do you mind if I sleep in your leaf with you?"
Male DP..."Sure...no funny business, mind."
Pami.

[Steven_askham]

LOL. as we speak the male and female are with 6 inches of each other just looking at one another where as they are normally at opposite ends of the tank. Is this the start of courtship?

[Pamela]

Ooohhh...keep us posted.
Pami.

[Steven_askham]

Is it a good thing if the female is constantly looking at the male and if she puff's up at him and he runs off ?

[RTR]

Can you say "I have a headache"?

[Pufferpunk]

He he, I love puffeporn!

[Pamela]

She's playing hard to get
They do get a bit aggressive during courtship, don't they? I'm sure I remember reading that somewhere.
This is very exciting...I wonder how he'll win her over.
Pami,

[Steven_askham]

I just thought I would add that she is fatter than what she normally is.
But shhhh "Dont tell her I said that" LOL
Hopefullt this is them in there dating stage lol

[Pufferpack]

Have you got any good spots for them to spawn? I found my pair liked a smooth rock surface (slanted about 15 - 30 degrees) with some protection around the edges, near the air stone so that there was some good gentle water movement around the eggs.

Is it a good thing if the female is constantly looking at the male and if she puff's up at him and he runs off ?

If the male hasn't found a suitable spawning spot the female may be getting a little frustrated with his non-response to her attempts at lovin. Then again he is a male, so subtlety is most likely wasted on him, she might just have to be blatent about things...lol

[Bred]

They do get a bit aggressive during courtship, don't they? I'm sure I remember reading that somewhere.

Interestingly... My male (only one out of 5 DPs) chased all the females away. If they didn't run away, he would bite -- except for the female with whom he spawned most often. She did not put up with his machismo, and would stare him down and force him to cower. This same female - alpha female, if you will - was consistently the most vicious of all DPs I have kept.

Overall, it was the post-spawning aggression which really wreaked havoc upon my tank and was the principle deciding factor in attempting something new. I haven't kept DPs since... But find myself interested in Irrubescos.

[Bred]

If the male hasn't found a suitable spawning spot the female may be getting a little frustrated with his non-response to her attempts at lovin. Then again he is a male, so subtlety is most likely wasted on him, she might just have to be blatent about things...lol

Actually, it is the female who is in charge of finding the comfy bed; and the male will get quite annoyed if she is hesitant. Java moss is fool-proof; my mates never mated anywhere but in java moss.

The male seeks out the female. In cases where there are many females, I think he settles on his mate by default, disregarding those who ignore him. She who ignores him least is hit-on the hardest. Just like what happens in the local pub, hey?

[Pufferpack]

Actually, it is the female who is in charge of finding the comfy bed; and the male will get quite annoyed if she is hesitant. Java moss is fool-proof; my mates never mated anywhere but in java moss.

T.cutcutia has a markedly different spawning ritual than C. travancoricus. There is no aggression between puffers during the courtship & spawning, the male chooses the spawning grounds and will defend the eggs against all comers, incuding the female. T.cutcutia seems to prefer a rock or solid/smooth object to lay the eggs on, as opposed to plants like java moss which are favored by C. travancoricus.

Not sure if it survived the migration, but if you do a search with keywords Chubbs & Skinner" you may find my accounts of my T.cutcutia's first couple of spawns.

edit: I guess the story didn't survive the migration to the new site, but here is a small clip :

Jan 27/04

I believe I have discovered what has induced my Emerald Puffers - Tetraodon cutcutia to spawn lately. As most of you have read, my little couple Chubbs and Skinner have begun to spawn regularly since being relocated to their new 25 gal hex tank. Since moving them at the begining of Jan. they have spawned 3 times now. The latest spawn is taking place as I am typing this post . I believe the trigger for the spawning is the addition of fresh water.
The first spawn occured the day I moved them into the 25 gal, which had just had a major clean in anticipation of the puffers being moved. The second time was 2 weeks later, just after I did a clean and water change. This latest one began about 5 mins after I topped up the water level today. The water had gotten down about 4 inches from the top, so I added fresh water (water was room temp - 68 F, tank is constant 79 F). Within 5 mins Chubbs was shaking and shimming around the tank trying to attract Skinners attention.
As I look on in wonder at the mating ritual unfolding (peeper that I am) I was shocked to see a stream of eggs flow out of Chubbs body to cover the majority of the rock's surface, there has to be more than 1000 eggs, this spawn is easily 3x the size of the previous 2. They have chosen a different spot to spawn this time (previous 2 were on top of the filter casing), the eggs have been deposited on top of a rock that is just outside the bubble stream from the air stone. Hopefully these eggs will hatch rather than being eaten like the first 2 clutches. Only time will tell. More updates to follow

It was pretty amazing watching Chubbs drop the eggs. She must have known how large the clutch was going to be, because she started at the outside and made a circle 3x the size of the last ones, then moving in a spiral pattern proceeded to fill it all in (a few eggs rolled off the stone to the gravel). The dancing continued for a while after that, with both puffers touching and caressing while swimming in circles over the eggs, then Skinner chased Chubs away and won't let her within 6 inches of the eggs now