I would love to try cardinals some day

@@MakeMoreFish And shortly thereafter Paracheirodon Simulans, please :)

Can I ask what other fish do you keep with them if any ?

@@tinadoyle3803 corydoras, otoconclus, l66, wabenmusters, some tetra species, pencil fish, guppies. All kinds of peaceful fish. It differce per tank

I think opportunistic is a good way to describe pairing rather than monogamous

What temperature do you keep those guys in and wold sand be a good substrate straight for them?

I kept mine between 77-80 and sand would be ideal for them

Wow that is a lousy dice roll.. I hope you do have a female in the group but I think after a few months you would probably know by now.

It's a sand rather than a gravel. Not the finest but fairly small diameter. It may or may not be safe, I'm not sure. I haven't noticed any issues

hmm hatchet or pencil fish maybe? I'm just reluctant to recommend buying a fish to solve a temporary problem. Any other smallish fish that you actually want to keep for a while is probably best. Or just wait and hope that they get comfortable.

I didn't find that to be necessary. I think they're really good parents.

They can eat, they just won't sift sand. Hard to say how much of a negative impact that has on them.

The Wet Spot in portland ships fish very well. In 36 gallons I guess I would do 4-8. I'm not a very good judge of stocking levels.

I've seen it both ways. The parents will clear out that side of the tank and keep everything else pinned on the opposite end. I don't think there's any scenario where it isn't better, if possible, to just remove other fish from the tank if you have them.

Ummm yes, I think so. Germans like (and need, really) the water to be really warm but Bolivians don't. I think you can take them pretty high my concern would more be about interspecific aggression.

Both sexes have some yellow color

That's a normal color but doesn't say one way or another if they fertile. If they stay orange over the next days then they are likely fertile and healthy. If they turn pale/white, then the opposite.

Long term I don't think that's likely. Animals really have one goal in life and that's to reproduce. If given what they see as a reasonable opportunity, they'll do it. In the short term they might not feel like it right now or be missing certain antecedent conditions. They need a reasonably good diet and to be fed enough to have extra nutrients to spare on eggs. They're fairly tolerant of a wide range of water parameters but I know you deal with somewhat hard water so it might be worth attempting to lower pH and hardness and see if it helps. They also will be less likely to spawn if they are struggling with any infections including and especially internal parasites. There's a checklist of things you can work through to try to eliminate reasons not to spawn, and I think it's always worth considering that you don't have the mix of sexes that it seems. Still, even if you have 100% females you would still be likely to see them depositing eggs somewhere because they need to pass them, even without a male to fertilize. Just get creative. If you think you can pick out a male and female, separate them off into another tank and see if some privacy helps them get in the mood. There's no single clear path.

Sure, I bet you could. Another likely scenario is that the biggest baddest male will spawn with more than one female.

a coarse black sand. No problems to speak of, but I probably wouldn't recommend it for sand sifters.

I wouldn't say they need them but if you get the sense that the rams are uncomfortable and nervous, it's worth trying dithers to see if they relax. It was a big help for me.

Maybe some day. They're pretty camera shy

I'm not sure yet. If I had to guess probably 4-6 months

Mine were a similar color, sounds fine to me.

I didn't find that to be necessary in this case but I do think it's a good idea to have some ambient light that prevents a tank from going completely dark at night

Mine too.But they never survive cos sand gets on them.

That was Sera Micron

@@MakeMoreFish according your experience, do you recommend sera micron for fries?

Frozen foods and quality pellets would both be great options. Probably frozen daphnia since it's a bit bigger. A few bloodworms here and there. Babies will want something much smaller so I always recommend getting into live baby brine shrimp.

I think so too. I'm glad it helped

Of course!