Apistogramma cf. resticulosa/urteagai

[Ekona]

Well, after coloring up and choosing a breeding site on one end of the aquarium, the pair finally spawned, and the female is tending to a clutch of eggs. I can't see the actual eggs, but I can just make out her fanning and cleaning behaviors in small space inside a hollow piece of bogwood.
The top part of the pic shows the pair, with the female full of eggs. Below that, the pic shows the female with her flattened belly post spawning. I was lucky to get that pic as she rarely comes out and only in quick dashes at feeding time. Hoping for the best

 

[Ekona]

The female has come out of hiding somewhat, that is , she no longer appears to be fanning an cleaning a clutch of eggs and is now moving about the spawning site a little more freely. At first I thought the clutch had failed, but given her odd coloration, I'm wondering if the eggs have hatched and there are larvae in the non-free swimming stage. I don't see any wrigglers around, but I'm hoping there are some in there. Otherwise, its' back to square one

This is the coloration and patterning she generally has now.

 

[Ekona]

Still no free-swimming fry. However, the female appears to have claimed the breeding site in and around a piece of hollow bogwood as her territory and has blossomed into a pretty, and vibrant little jewel. The male often comes around the site to display but he does not (or cannot) drive her out of "his" territory (the whole tank). The fact that she has come into breeding condition, appears to give her the energy to withstand the males aggressiveness by vigorously shaking her body and tail at him. Her behavior may be due to her still guarding wrigglers (if so, they should be free swimming any day now). If she's not guarding larvae, then I suspect she is in that two or three week period between spawns (not immediately receptive to spawning) and it won't be long before they spawn again in the same site as before. If this is the case, then, there appears to be some pair-bonding forming with this particular female.

On the other side of the tank, there are three other females hiding out among a thick layer of sphagnum moss and leaves, which provide many little caves and sheltering places for them to take cover in. They pop out at feeding time and then retreat back in when the male comes over to see what's going on - either courting them or chasing them around. One of the other females looked bright yellow and hollow bellied the other day - perhaps the male spawned with her - in which case a harem is possibly being established, with a dominant, mature female setting up a relatively larger territory around a prime breeding site, and less dominant females, possibly setting up smaller breeding territories or sites amongst the "leaf litter".

It will be interesting to see what happens in the weeks ahead. Will there be free swimming fry from the first spawn? Will they survive or will the other females take them over as their own or will the Tyttocharax spp. I have as dither fish eat them? Will the other females successfully raise broods in the thicker leaf litter? Will any fry have a better chance of surviving in all the little micro caves and spaces the leaf litter provides? Will I have to eventually remove all other fish except the alpha pair in order to have fry grow out, or even have to remove the male too? All are possibilities that I may have to consider if I want to successfully reproduce this species.

To me, this is what makes apisto keeping fun. Keeping them is like solving a living puzzel in which various factors must be moved around and changed in order to successfully keep and breed them. There is a lot of variety in what can lead to success, and plenty of room for experimentation to see what works.

 

[Gwendal]

Nice pair!








1 saludo

 

[Ekona]

After several spawning several times, the female finally came out with a small batch of fry the other day. As I thought, the fry appear to be feeding the the plentiful microorganisms in this tank, as their bellies are full and I have not been feeding them any bbs, etc.

The video below was taken with dim lighting on the tank so it is not the best quality, but I post it anyway

 

[DaRe]

Nice looking beauties! thanks for sharing.

 

[limchongyu]

Always nice to see dwarf cichlids guarding their fry. Is that moss in the tank?

 

[Ekona]

Nice looking beauties! thanks for sharing.

Thanks, DaRe!

 

[Ekona]

Always nice to see dwarf cichlids guarding their fry. Is that moss in the tank?

Yes it is sphagnum moss purchased dry and then rewet to add to the tank.

 

[ButtNekkid]

Yes it is sphagnum moss purchased dry and then rewet to add to the tank.

Hi,

I know it´s been a long time but do you remember how you managed to get that big population of rotifers?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I know it´s been a long time but do you remember how you managed to get that big population of rotifers?

You need to feed them on a green water algae like Chlorella. They need a source of vitamin B12, so you can add a pinch of yeast to the culture.

You can buy the <"rotifer starter cultures"> (Brachionus calyciflorus), but they always arrive on their own eventually (I assume via wind blown cysts). You can tell when you have a bloom of sessile rotifers in your green water culture because it looks like the algae has mysteriously flocculated, but when you look closely it is where the rotifers have eaten the algae

I don't keep green water or rotifer cultures going all the time, it is too much like hard work. If I need a new culture, of either, a few drops of pond water will supply an innoculum.

You can feed the rotifers with spirulina powder if you don't have any green water.

cheers Darrel