Rainbow Sharks Breeding Behaviour

Hello Everyone

Just thought i should share this video. I have seen them do this many times before.

I googled the breeding behaviour of Rainbow Sharks and the information and videos i have come across all seem similar to what mine are doing.

I will try get a better video of them next time i see it happen.

Anyone else have opinions on what could be going on or have had experiences like this before in Rainbow Sharks?

 

Interesting video.

 

IMO that looks a bit more like aggressive behaviour in the video, but I could be wrong.

Are your rainbow sharks producing eggs at all? And does the one - the 'female' - appear to be a lot more rotund than usual, or at least more so than the other ('male')? These are two of the most surefire ways of knowing if you've got something good going on with cyprinids. Some species get tubercles (kind of like pimples) around breeding time, but I'm unsure if this is the case in rainbow sharks.

Keep us updated!

 

@SalmonAfrica I highly doubt it is aggression because i have seen them do this a few times before and they just rub against each other constantly like they are doing in this video and they sometimes then circle closely around each other. No pecking whatsoever.

I haven't been able to see any eggs because they are in a 4ft tank with many other fish so chances are the eggs will be eaten. The one does seem a bit fatter than the other 2, but i mean that could also mean that one just eats more haha. I haven't seen tubercles on them, but that's interesting to know that some species get that.

I don't really have the intention of breeding them, as they are in a 4ft community tank and my partner isn't going to be happy if i setup another tank specifically for them haha.

 

All the research I've done indicates that spawning in these fishes is done so through hormone use. There are hints that it happens occasionally in aquaria, but nothing solid, and no details either. I can't find anything about their behaviour or signs of readiness to spawn in the sources I have, as these are mostly literature from aquaculture, and the fish eggs/sperm are removed by hand rather than allowing the fish to spawn normally.

Even if you don't have an intention to breed them, it'd be pretty cool to keep and eye on them and take notes. Let us know what happens here. At the very least, any additional details might help someone one day looking to breed this species.