Apisto. Caca. glass surfing and not eating?

[Jamesrclarkson]

Hi all,

First time apisto owner and first post here.

I picked up what I'm pretty sure is a male/female pair of apistogramma cacatuoides 4/5 days ago. Both are between 1" and 1.5" in length.

I haven't managed to get any pictures as they're both very camera shy but the male(?) has some red finnage and is seen to chase and display to the other while I have never seen the female(?) chase. I am fairly certain this isn't a case of two males as they are also seen peacefully together throughout the day.

My concern is that I often see one of them, usually the suspected female, glass surfing. could this be due to stress of being forced into the open water space as although I have made lots of caves and tunnels in my tank the male does appear to have claimed essentially all of it.

Also I am currently only feeding flake food and I keep seeing them eat but spit it out again? I'm thinking of trying frozen bloodworms but I won't be able to get any for at least three days now.

Sorry for the long post, I hope someone can ease my worries.

Also tank is a 120 l of base dimensions 80x35 cm, housing 15 ember tetras, 5 otocinclus and the apisto pair.
It has two large Java ferns, some moss, an anubias and lots of driftwood, as well as one artificial cave and some rocks.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mike Wise]

I see my fish 'glass surfacing' sometimes. I really don't know why, but it doesn't seem to be stress related. Maybe they see their reflection and display to the 'new' fish in the tank. If your male has claimed most of the tank, then the lay-out is too open and has no visual territorial boundaries.

Dry foods aren't the best for apistos. Mine do the same as yours - mouth it and then spit it out. Live or frozen foods are best.

 

[Jamesrclarkson]

Hi, thanks for the info! And merry christmas!

I will probably add some more plants/leaf litter and a couple more bits of driftwood if I can find some good pieces so that should help with blocking sight lines.

As for food, have you any recommendations on frozen foods as I've always thought of bloodworms as a treat food as opposed to a main diet?

 

[Tlindsey]

Hi, thanks for the info! And merry christmas!

I will probably add some more plants/leaf litter and a couple more bits of driftwood if I can find some good pieces so that should help with blocking sight lines.

As for food, have you any recommendations on frozen foods as I've always thought of bloodworms as a treat food as opposed to a main diet?

Welcome aboard

 

[Mike Wise]

Foods that apistos eat in nature are mostly aquatic crustaceans and insect larvae, so brine shrimp and bloodworms are a good choice. I also feed a lot of live baby brine shrimp.

 

[Jamesrclarkson]

Hi,
I have fed frozen bloodworms and they are seeming to enjoy it and I also have frozen daphnia to try out as well.

Since my last post I have decided I have definitely got two males as the smaller one is now developing a lyretail and extended dorsal spines. Luckily my LFS have said I can swap him for another one which hopefully will be female this time!

I've also added some leaf litter and 9 cory pygmeaus to the tank and they are all doing fine so far!

Thanks for your help