Today, to my surprise -- because I hadn't been counting the days -- shortly after noon, Mama Mbuna spawned for the seventh time.

This was a unique experience for me for several reasons.

First, being as the dominant male -- Bully Boy, or possibly Usurper -- had moved his nest to a new location to the right of the central rock in the
tank, I was able to get a much better view of the spawning site. While the
back half of the cave was in the shadows, the front half received enough
light so that I could see what was going on.

If there is one thing that I can say about these spawning sessions, it is
that they are anything but peaceful. It is in fact quite a frenetic and
chaotic event for both Mama Mbuna and her chosen mate, as well as for the
rest of the males in the tank.

During spawning, both fish do not simply remain under the rock until all of
the eggs are laid and fertilized. Mama Mbuna will usually lay one to three
eggs at a time, which are fertilized by the male, and then picked up by her. However, while all of this is going on, the male will dart out of the cave
and aggressively chase all of the other males around. This same scenario of spawn-and-chase is repeated over and over again, until all of the eggs have been laid, which is usually about in an hour's time.

At any rate, that was one of the unique things about today's spawn. For the very first time, I was actually able to clearly watch the entire event, including the eggs being laid, fertilized, and then picked up by Mama
Mabuna.

Considering Mama Mbuna's size -- about three inches -- I was surprised by
the size of the light brown-colored eggs. I counted about 18-19 eggs, and
there may possibly have been a few that I was unable to see.

Considering the size of those eggs, I am amazed that Mama Mbuna can fit so
many in her throat pouch. This may in fact have been the largest spawn to
date.

I am just hoping that she got enough to eat before the spawn began, so that
she will be able to survive without food for the next three weeks.

Until my next log entry . . .



Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files. We Use Hermes II


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