Went out of town for the weekend, & when I returned home I found that one of my pairs of Macropodus ocellatus had spawned. The fry were not yet free swimming, & both parents were looking after the fry & gathering up any that fell from the nest. When the fry became free swimming the female assumed the role of sole caregiver, driving the male away whenever he tried to get close to the fry. The babies have been swimming around in some floating water sprite for three days now, & the female is still looking after them. I've never seen any accounts of this breeding behavior - the parents were acting almost like cichlids, taking turns looking after the fry & signaling to each other when one relieved the other guarding the young. I picked up the parents at the March BAS auction. There were three other bags besides the one I won, & I'm curious if any of the other winners of the fish had the same experience. BTW they're frickin' gorgeous!
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