Red Lizard Whiptail Notes

[CJs Aquatics]

10 gallon 

-finnex stingray light (had lying around) 

- no lid 

-water line is 1.5-2 in below rim (I’ve been lazy)

- haven’t water changed it in ages but am planning on topping off as I get more diligent about note taking 

Filter

- UGF

- sponge cut and stuffed into output of uplift tubes to reduce chance of losing babies as I witnessed a fish in one before 

Substrate

- looks like worm castings on bottom approx .5in 

-.5 inches of kitty litter (clay non clumping fragrance free)

-.5 in seachem fluorite red 

-approx 1- 1.5 in of black diamond sand 

Plants 

-bamboo

- mangroves 

-various anubias 

-hornwort 

-duckweed 

-azolla

-red root floaters

-many various algae’s 

- I see a piece of Java moss

- the leaf of a Java fern 

- a small crypt parva 

- if I notice more I will list 

Hardscapes

- a piece of spider wood 

- 2 1 in pvc pipes one 6 in long one closer to 12

- various sized ceramic pleco caves locally made 

- an open ended shrimp cave 3D printed 

- various botanicals 

- lots of algae, mulm, decaying organics

Heater

- small regular non adjustable preset to 78 degrees 

- black background 

Known Inhabitants 

-random shrimp culls unknown amount 

- pea puffers (started with 6) probably less 

- red lizard whiptails being the star of the show 

-honestly not sure how many I think 5-6 adults and at least 1 baby, I will attempt to keep up with and clarify as things progress 

- ramshorn snails 

what else? Plants are potted in clay pots 

………………..

parameters at 2:00am 5/22/23

strips were hard to accurately measure as the colors weren’t on charts so I estimated and was surprised at the results bc the tap water I have is on the hard side (update later)

5 nitrate or less 

0 nitrite 

100 GH

0 KH

6.4 pH

0 chlorine 

……………………

-2 Red lizards probably attempting to breed are in the long open ended cave currently and have been for a few hours or so

- possible trigger, only thing u can think of is the heavy brine shrimp feeding earlier as I slacked off for a long time and recently started back this week so perhaps this conditioned them to prep to spawn or adjusted there water in some way

- the ceiling fan is currently on overhead which is different 

- water temp is 80.2 which is slightly elevated given the temp outside is 56 and the temp the heater is preset to is 78 I believe

This mess is the tank 

possible spawning behavior, they have spawned in the past, first time the eggs disappeared second time also, 3rd time I blocked the intakes of the UGF tubes and it yielded many fry but the fry survivability was almost none (I know one is around perhaps 2 but probably had 22-24 total and they didn’t make it) 4th time I pulled the eggs and unsuccessfully kept them from growing fungus, this time I plan to take some notes for my records and try to up my odds 

- I plan on cleaning up the tank a bit and getting more accurate measurements of the tank params as well as counts of the inhabitants etc. 

- need to grab pictures as well 

- if they breed again I have to decide the best course of successfully growing and raising fry whether it be let the parents parent or pull the eggs, try methylene blue perhaps since I have it on hand 

other notes currently:

- noticed before the addition of the botanicals or the sponges on intakes seemed to have an effect on the eggs actually hatching, perhaps before they were eaten or sucked into filter, or hatched and didn’t have a food source like the leaves, something to watch 

-anyone reading I apologize for the messy tank/ rambling 

- attach photos as applicable 

 

[CJs Aquatics]

2 of the whiptails still in the long pvc pipe 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by CJs Aquatics

[CJs Aquatics]

baby survivor from previous breeding hanging out on an anubias leaf and showing nice color 

[CJs Aquatics]

12:05pm  5/22/23 eggs noticed male is in with the eggs, they aren’t in clutch form like mystery snails or other they are all throughout the cave 

[anewbie]

I'm a little concern if the dad is kicking them out of his cave; i've not bred my red lizard (the last batch i purchased was more brown than the first batch); but i'm presuming they are somewhat similar to pleco where daddy guards the eggs till they hatch and kicks them out if they go bad. I did  a lot of reading up on these guys when i got the 2nd batch to discover why they were less red - seems they cross breed them with easier to breed species to produce more eggs and less red.... of course that isn't saying a lot since the red ones are presumed to be a hybrid to begin with.

--

anyway mostly following this because i want to see how it goes for you. I'm so sick of my bn breeding - i'm hopeful for something that will be less prolific. 

[CJs Aquatics]

I was concerned also, however close inspection 

seems to reveal the kicked out eggs appear unfertilized as they are grey not yellow, and he is on a pile of eggs in the cave as well, new dad perhaps, I can 100% confirm they are way less prolific for me then BN 

im trying to dial in things regarding them 

[CJs Aquatics]

@Lennie

[Odd Duck]

If you want more fry you should try to locate and remove the pea puffers.

[CJs Aquatics]

@Odd Duck definately a great observation, I did that a while ago I forgot to list it