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I have eggs! a. cacatuoides, first spawn

lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
Oh my gosh y'all I have fry!!! I thought for sure they'd eaten their eggs. Couldnt see anything inside the little seed pod where they spawned. Didn't see any moving specks swimming near her when I watched. She was out and about periodically around the tank too. I took out the seed pod this morning cuz it was a really old one and looking nasty. I didnt want her spawning in it again. Did a 50% water change and vacuumed the open areas. Water settled and I'm sitting there watching her check out the new cave i added in and all the sudden there are little babies swimming all around her. I'm not ashamed to say I squealed like a little kid and jumped up and down. Lol I dont know how she protected them while i hovered the tank and I'm trying not to wonder how many I may have sucked up and dumped in the flower pots. It's hard to count but there's at least 15 or 20 left. I am so excited! I dont have brine shrimp yet, but miraculously, my microworm culture showed up in the mail today, a week earlier than expected. Im off to the store for a Turkey baster or pipette and tupperware to divvy up the culture. Just had to pop in here to share the big news!
 

Miss ATV

Member
Messages
58
Oh my gosh y'all I have fry!!! I thought for sure they'd eaten their eggs. Couldnt see anything inside the little seed pod where they spawned. Didn't see any moving specks swimming near her when I watched. She was out and about periodically around the tank too. I took out the seed pod this morning cuz it was a really old one and looking nasty. I didnt want her spawning in it again. Did a 50% water change and vacuumed the open areas. Water settled and I'm sitting there watching her check out the new cave i added in and all the sudden there are little babies swimming all around her. I'm not ashamed to say I squealed like a little kid and jumped up and down. Lol I dont know how she protected them while i hovered the tank and I'm trying not to wonder how many I may have sucked up and dumped in the flower pots. It's hard to count but there's at least 15 or 20 left. I am so excited! I dont have brine shrimp yet, but miraculously, my microworm culture showed up in the mail today, a week earlier than expected. Im off to the store for a Turkey baster or pipette and tupperware to divvy up the culture. Just had to pop in here to share the big news!


How exciting! Well done, keep us updated please I have eggs now and in case I end up with fry I am following closely your progress with yours as I'm even more of a begginer than you

Snap a photo if you can!
 

lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
How exciting! Well done, keep us updated please I have eggs now and in case I end up with fry I am following closely your progress with yours as I'm even more of a begginer than you

Snap a photo if you can!

I think I'm going to have to get out my dslr and a macro lens. They are so tiny!! I've gotten decent enough video on my phone but don't know how to post that on here.
 

Miss ATV

Member
Messages
58
I think I'm going to have to get out my dslr and a macro lens. They are so tiny!! I've gotten decent enough video on my phone but don't know how to post that on here.


Aw bless! They'll have tiny mohawks soon

I keep reading what good parents the apistos are will be interesting to see them grow
 

lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
The fry seem to be doing well. Athena is being a very good mom. I am feeding dried cyclops and frozen bbs with a Turkey baster. I feed in small amounts a few times a day.

No good pictures yet but you can at least see some of the babies in these. Just ignore the ratty looking plants! The tank i was quarantining the parents in is normally where I throw random extra drift wood, plants and clippings, so it's a hot mess.

I am impatiently waiting for mycmicroworm culture to mature enough to harvest and for my brine shrimp hatchery to come in the mail.
 

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Miss ATV

Member
Messages
58
The fry seem to be doing well. Athena is being a very good mom. I am feeding dried cyclops and frozen bbs with a Turkey baster. I feed in small amounts a few times a day.

No good pictures yet but you can at least see some of the babies in these. Just ignore the ratty looking plants! The tank i was quarantining the parents in is normally where I throw random extra drift wood, plants and clippings, so it's a hot mess.

I am impatiently waiting for mycmicroworm culture to mature enough to harvest and for my brine shrimp hatchery to come in the mail.



They look so good with their bellies all full :) Did they take the food straight away or did the mother show them it's food? Also do they still use the original cave to return or now they swim around in the tank all day?
 

lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
They look so good with their bellies all full :) Did they take the food straight away or did the mother show them it's food? Also do they still use the original cave to return or now they swim around in the tank all day?

The more they grow the more they wander away from momma. They dont seem to stick to any particular cave at this point, although the mom has one she prefers. The fry tend to stay in a loose group for the most part and she is always near by watching them. They particularly seem to spend a lot of time in the areas near the base of plants and around a cave that is tucked underneath a blanket of marimo moss. I imagine those areas provide both shelter and food sources close at hand.

Initially, the mom herded them around the tank and kept very close. If one wandered, she would scoop it in her mouth and bring it back to the group. I moved the dad because my anxiety just couldnt take the what ifs for this first attempt. She seems more relaxed now, although she is still always on alert. Next time around I will leave him longer and see how it plays out. For now he seems content in a 20g blackish water corydoras tank I have.

It's interesting to watch how much more subdued and shy he is in this tank vs being in the species only tank, just him and the female. He was quite the bold fellow in his own kingdom. ;)

Normally I'm of the attitude "natural will do what nature does" when it comes to my tanks. I research my species and do my best to make a healthy environment that is as close to nature as possible in a glass box, while still having some fun with the way it looks too. I am so anxious and protective of these apistos for some reason though! I dont know if it's because they were so much more expensive than the fish I usually keep or if it's because my husband is involved and attached to them or what. Maybe because we planned so long for this breeding project and now that its finally happening I really really dont want to mess it up.

It took over 6 months to get set up and source a breeding pair locally. And of course, with anything fish related, theres always things I end up having to learn as I go, no matter how much "book learning" I do ahead of time. Hands on real world experience is a whole other ball game. Super happy and excited though no matter the learning curves and bumps along the way. I am really enjoying these fish. I am autistic and ADHD so I tend to really hyper focus on things, sometimes a bit too much. Lol

I just need to breath and find the balance. This initial burst of getting our fish and having them spawn so soon has been a rush! Time to slow down and just enjoy watching them grow. <3
 
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lexi

Member
Messages
40
Location
Oregon, USA
Here is the male, chillin' in his bachelor pad.

Just dont judge me for my rescued glotetras! ;) A friend got in over her head and gave me all her fish.
 

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Miss ATV

Member
Messages
58
The more they grow the more they wander away from momma. They dont seem to stick to any particular cave at this point, although the mom has one she prefers. The fry tend to stay in a loose group for the most part and she is always near by watching them. They particularly seem to spend a lot of time in the areas near the base of plants and around a cave that is tucked underneath a blanket of marimo moss. I imagine those areas provide both shelter and food sources close at hand.

Initially, the mom herded them around the tank and kept very close. If one wandered, she would scoop it in her mouth and bring it back to the group. I moved the dad because my anxiety just couldnt take the what ifs for this first attempt. She seems more relaxed now, although she is still always on alert. Next time around I will leave him longer and see how it plays out. For now he seems content in a 20g blackish water corydoras tank I have.

It's interesting to watch how much more subdued and shy he is in this tank vs being in the species only tank, just him and the female. He was quite the bold fellow in his own kingdom. ;)

Normally I'm of the attitude "natural will do what nature does" when it comes to my tanks. I research my species and do my best to make a healthy environment that is as close to nature as possible in a glass box, while still having some fun with the way it looks too. I am so anxious and protective of these apistos for some reason though! I dont know if it's because they were so much more expensive than the fish I usually keep or if it's because my husband is involved and attached to them or what. Maybe because we planned so long for this breeding project and now that its finally happening I really really dont want to mess it up.

It took over 6 months to get set up and source a breeding pair locally. And of course, with anything fish related, theres always things I end up having to learn as I go, no matter how much "book learning" I do ahead of time. Hands on real world experience is a whole other ball game. Super happy and excited though no matter the learning curves and bumps along the way. I am really enjoying these fish. I am autistic and ADHD so I tend to really hyper focus on things, sometimes a bit too much. Lol

I just need to breath and find the balance. This initial burst of getting our fish and having them spawn so soon has been a rush! Time to slow down and just enjoy watching them grow. <3





That's awesome Lexi! I love that you have observed so much their behaviour and sharing with us all this. Enjoy them, they're so amazing raising their little family in a completely artificial environment and getting on with it as best as they can. Your focused point of view gives you such an deep insight and I truly appreciate the details as I stand and watch the tank for hours, they are so fascinating being all curious and engaged with me every day. They have been such great fish since I got them and I don't want to fail them by making any mistakes, but as I don't have experience I am so nervous in every move they do since I don't know what's normal and what's not!

I think taking the dad out was a good decision as being your first hatch you would have felt guilty if something happened and you'd lost the frys because of his behaviour. It will be very interesting to see if his subdued demeanor will carry on in the cory tank or within a week he will be the boss of it :D


I totally get you being overly protective with the Apistos, I don't know what's about them I can't exactly put my finger on it but they seem to be such clever little buggers, expensive and demanding but at the same time ready to give back so that you'd constantly try to give your absolute best to maintain the momentum.
 

Garri Ausmus

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
38
Hi Lexi and congrats on your spawn. removing the male is best for his protection. I have found that the water temp decides the male to female ratio with cacs. at 72 degrees you get an even mix. At 80 you get mostly males. mine spawned 28 days apart. First spawn i removed the male at 1 week then the female at two weeks. their second spawn 28 days later i left the parents with. at two weeks it seemed the male had a group and the female had her group. I wondered if they split them by sex. The male did something wrong and he was murdered by the female. I moved al the fry to a 55 gallon tank to grow them out and sold them all off to club members here in Denver. I have been breeding Cichlids since 1982. In the picture of the two ten gallon tanks full of Cacs you will notice no heaters in either tank. With all the tanks in my fish room it stays at 72 to 73 degrees.
 

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Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,201
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
At 72°F/22°C I would expect most fry to be females - as Römer & Bißenhertz reported in their study on temperature effects on sex determination in apistos. Of course many things can affect the final results, like pH (minor) and fry loss. I find that female fry get out-competed by males more often than the other way around. I try to keep my fish room at 77°F/25°C. That way I tend to end up, yes after some losses, to slightly more females than males.
 

Miss ATV

Member
Messages
58
Lexi how are your fry doing? How big are they now, how are they behaving?

post some photos if you have ;)
 

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