I set up a 15 gallon tank for mating. I actually suspect the wild caught european females are probably already mated, but just to be sure and get practiced I wanted to do this.
We have lots of tanks with various covers. I wasn't really thinking about it, but apparently the grid on the lid was large enough for the male to sneak through. The grid in question (now switched out) is not big enough to put a pencil through, so I was kind of surprised.
When I left last night he was still making his way to the top of the cage, but was clearly aware of her. When I came in this morning he was missing. It was hard to decide if he was eaten or escaped. Escaped seemed unlikely (hard to believe he fit through that), but I couldn't find any parts at all in the cage.
This afternoon I found him by the window. I had expected that if he had escaped he'd be lingering near the cages of the other females.
I don't know if they mated and he got away as best he could, or if he just wasn't interested in the end.
But, there's another couple in the love nest now, I hope he doesn't need to escape because I'm fairly certain there's no way through the finer mesh.
We have lots of tanks with various covers. I wasn't really thinking about it, but apparently the grid on the lid was large enough for the male to sneak through. The grid in question (now switched out) is not big enough to put a pencil through, so I was kind of surprised.
When I left last night he was still making his way to the top of the cage, but was clearly aware of her. When I came in this morning he was missing. It was hard to decide if he was eaten or escaped. Escaped seemed unlikely (hard to believe he fit through that), but I couldn't find any parts at all in the cage.
This afternoon I found him by the window. I had expected that if he had escaped he'd be lingering near the cages of the other females.
I don't know if they mated and he got away as best he could, or if he just wasn't interested in the end.
But, there's another couple in the love nest now, I hope he doesn't need to escape because I'm fairly certain there's no way through the finer mesh.
