P. chinensis spermatophore?

[firedreams]

My male P. chinensis has been agitated for weeks. He climbs out of the water for brief periods (which he normally doesn't do), sits in unusual places, and eats less frequently the usual.

I have tested the water and have not found anything unusual. The only change was the lowering of the temp. by a few degrees.

Today I saw him with a strange white ball/fuzz attached to his tail, and pronounced little hairs from his swollen cloaca. See attached pictures.

Is this a spermatophore? Is his general restlessness due to being in breeding season?

Also, is it normal for him to release the spermatophore in the absence of a mate?

Is this prolonged breeding period stressful for him?

 

[Azhael]

Well it does look like it could be an spermatophore, though perhaps an already deteriorated one.
It´s weird that the animal is going out of the water. A male in breeding condition should definitely not be interested in going on land at all, so just to be sure, i would double check that everything is ok housing wise.
Breeding males are inded a bit more restless, although usually it´s the sight of a possible female that sparks the burst of activity. It´s not dangerous for him anyway, it´s perfectly normal and healthy as it is the normal hormonal variation thoughout the year.
It is relatively normal that spermatophores appear in absence of possible mates. I´ve seen males do a complete display with spermatophore droping included to other males or even snails!!! xDD When they are in the mood they really don´t need much of an excuse to think they are being sucessful (sometime even just touching their tails with the feeding tweezers ends up with a male laying an spermatophore..they are a bit daft).

 

[firedreams]

Thanks, Azhael!

Our P. Chinensis remains agitated and continues to regularly climb out of the water and on to his pump. He has also continued to swim around his tank at several times a day, which is definitely out of the ordinary for him.

We just tested his water again today, and the readings remain the same as they have been for the past year:

General Hardness: 120
Carbonate Hardness: 60
PH: 7.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

His cloaca is very swollen and he did fan his tail at me today, so I am inclined to think this may just be breeding behaviour. This being said, I remain concerned about him spending so much time on his pump. Is there anything else that we should be testing his water for?

I have attached some pictures of him exhibiting the behaviour described above, as well as a cloaca pic or two.

 

[aaustin15]

Did you ever find out what was wrong with him? Same exact thing is happening with my p.labiatus. His water parameters are fine but he keeps going on his pump and acting restless. Then today he went into breeding condition :O