Sudden change of behavior (Agassizii DR)

[LuCis]

Hello everyone,

I just want to make things sure if this is normal for the Apisto Agassizii DR.
Since I first get the fish for 4 days I've been observing them the first sign to show aggression was the female then around 5 days I observed a sudden change on behavior. The male now is showing more aggression than the female.
Is this a sign that the female is close to laying her eggs??

 

[MacZ]

So do I take it right, you have the fish for less than a week?

Usually if the female is aggressive she just spawned, when the male is the aggressor usually the female is not ready to spawn. It is not unusual for these domestic fish to spawn within the first days, lose the spawn and then the usual behaviour sets in.

What's the tank size (dimensions, not volume!) and is it structured well with wood and rocks?

 

[LuCis]

So do I take it right, you have the fish for less than a week?

Usually if the female is aggressive she just spawned, when the male is the aggressor usually the female is not ready to spawn. It is not unusual for these domestic fish to spawn within the first days, lose the spawn and then the usual behaviour sets in.

What's the tank size (dimensions, not volume!) and is it structured well with wood and rocks?

My tank size is 18*12*12 inches i have 2 caves bare bottom and some rocks.

I also noticed since the male aggression started the female barely get out of the cave. I think shes hiding from him?

 

[MacZ]

My tank size is 18*12*12 inches i have 2 caves bare bottom and some rocks.

I also noticed since the male aggression started the female barely get out of the cave. I think shes hiding from him?

Of course she's hiding. The tank is much too small for a pair as a permanent residence and bare bottom and only some rocks and caves does not sound like structure that makes it possible for the fish to evade each other.

Under these conditions I give the female a few weeks to a month tops before she dies of stress.

If this is a breeding setup: Separate the fish, re-do the tank and only add the male for spawning and remove him afterwards.
If this is your only tank and you want this to be a display... return the fish to the store, re-do the tank and only add a single male. Although to be frank for the usual space requirement of a male Apistogramma the tank is a bit small.

 

[LuCis]

Of course she's hiding. The tank is much too small for a pair as a permanent residence and bare bottom and only some rocks and caves does not sound like structure that makes it possible for the fish to evade each other.

Under these conditions I give the female a few weeks to a month tops before she dies of stress.

If this is a breeding setup: Separate the fish, re-do the tank and only add the male for spawning and remove him afterwards.
If this is your only tank and you want this to be a display... return the fish to the store, re-do the tank and only add a single male. Although to be frank for the usual space requirement of a male Apistogramma the tank is a bit small.

Update! Female barely getting out of her cave and male stay near the cave. Behavior starts to change again the female is now the aggressive one and the color of the female start to fade a little instead of grey before, now it's fading and it looks like turning to light yellowish.

 

[LuCis]

 

[Apistoguy52]

Whoa….holy hybrid. I would have low expectations for the fry given the state of the male.

 

[LuCis]

Whoa….holy hybrid. I would have low expectations for the fry given the state of the male.

Why?

 

[Apistoguy52]

Why?

If we look at the scales circled in yellow, we see they are deformed. This deformation would suggest to me, that this male is a result of breeding two different “species” of agassizii together. In my experience, most of these hybrids show low/no fecundity.