What size do gold comps start breeding at

[neilm]

Hi all,

I have a small female (I think) gold comp ~3-3.5cm who has what appears to be an eggtube protruding from her stomach.  She also appears to be quite fat around the stomach.  Surely she is too young/small to be breeding.

She is in a community tang tank that has lots of hidey holes and shells but she hasn't taken up residence in any of them.  In fact, her and the male (~7cm)  are the most outgoing of all the fish in the tank and are rarely hiding.

At what size do females usually start breeding?

Thanks
Neil

[DeagonTheo]

Its got more to do with age and condition than size, but they will start to breed at around 3.5 to 4cm and just over 12 months, depending on their condition.
Theo

[neilm]

Thanks for the info Theo.  Not sure how old she is as I've only had the pair for 3 months or so but if she was in breeding mode is it safe to assume that I wouldn't be seeing very much of her?  So now I'm a little bit worried about the fat stomach and protusion from her that I assumed to be an egg tube.  Should I be worried??

[smiley]

its pete i bought the peacocks off you

nothing to worry about dude shes in getting ready mode  mine are doing the same   and she was certainly a healthy looking fish   just give em a week or so and youll be pretty happy. It appears that the gitls get keen pretty early and the boys join in only at the end   lol   good luck  peter

[DeagonTheo]

You'll know when they are ready, they'll go and pick out a house, do some cleaning and stuff and then get down to business.

Some males can get quite aggressive when mating and knock the female around a bit, but they usually manage to get through it all and then she will disappear for between 2 and 3 weeks or a tad more and hopefully at the end of it, you should have some fry.

Theo

[neilm]

Thanks guys.  I'll keep you posted.

Cheers