do parents eat eggs/fry?

[Neil Groves]

I set up a community tank in January and as things are going really well for me with my plants thriving and healthy fish, I would like to set up a tank to breed Apistogramma, now my question is can I leave the parents in the tank after the eggs are layed, will the parents eat the fry, do I need at set up two tanks, one for then to breed and another to move the eggs/fry into? I am really keen to try this and need some advice on how to proceed please.

Also how do I go about selecting parents? I guess one male to two/three females? can I put two males of different species in the same tank? will the two males attempt to breed with apisto females if they are a different species?

Neil.

 

[Mike Wise]

Yes, parents eat eggs/fry at times. It depends on many different factors. All your questions have been answered here in the past. I suggest you use the search function.

 

[Neil Groves]

I found all the answeres, thanks Mike....

but what size tank will I need to put a male and two females in for breeding purposes?

can I get away with a standard 10g or do I need a 20g or larger?

Neil.

 

[MickeM]

My experience is that if only keeping the 2 parents, they rarely eat their own eggs/fry the 1st week.. Later on.. the size of the tank + new spawning behaviours from the male may cause problems+ the female defense aggression.. at least in smaller tanks!!

This is why Mike W. normally says.. " A community tank is not a breeding tank!!
You may always have to be prepared to do some changes..

As long as the eggs are alive the female will not eat them up!! She will pick away/eat (?) dead eggs.. and the male will probably never come even close to the eggs in a normal "egg"-situation.. day 1-3..!! Females become significantly more aggressive than usual..
When guarding fry, male will guard their "large" area/territory .. Female will guard the area close to the fry!!
Sometimes a male wants to spawn several females in his "larger" territory if possible.. so the fatherly behaviour may differ from species to species,
but also/even from parents to parents.. but their normal act is to protect (and serve.. )

It will never work without any disputes between several Apisto-species or specimen in one tank,, even if 6 feet/2meters long..(The tank-hight doesn`t seem to be as important as the area+ interiour)
I have seen a 1200 liter planted tank(6-8 feet long, almost 3-4 feet high+3-4feet deep/broad) with 5-6 Apisto-species in it.. then "for the time being"- dominant species kept the in-active ones on a distance from the best caves/area..
they weak ones were then allowed to swim by the floating plants
.. the "stronger" ones had to fight for their space close to the bottom..
I guess in this case, it will be better to keep many specimen..15-30 Apistos.. rather than just 2 or 3 pairs....
Almost like in a Malawi-tank..the aggression will then be "shared" between all fishes!!.. instead of being focused on a few!!

Structured/planned(?) set-up of roots, caves , plants, sight-barriers play a huge part in the result of aggression-tolerance/hierarchy..
But ..No matter how many specimen or species..!!! Some disputes will always occur..!

 

[Neil Groves]

Thank you for that Mike.....I need to think about what I want to do, I wasn't planning on a fish room but who knows lol

Neil.

 

[MickeM]

I found all the answeres, thanks Mike....

but what size tank will I need to put a male and two females in for breeding purposes?

can I get away with a standard 10g or do I need a 20g or larger?

Neil.

I would say approx.a planted "decorated" 5 feet to be sure of any fry-results.. but in such a tank I advise you to keep even more Apistos ( 6-8 pcs(?) / 1 male +4-5 females )+ dithers ..or just one pair..+dithers !!

But then again.. I have kept many youngsters (2cm) who are familiar to eachother in a 2 feet tank without severe problems , and even spawning too..
( Grown "pairs" from several Breeders/PetShops may fight more.. at least in the beginning, when mixing them!!?? It may end up bad!!!??
Larger fishes demand greater area sometimes..+ are more able to bite/attack badly!!)

Keep lots of hiding-places.. either way!!!

 

[MickeM]

I also must mention this...
A friend of mine got a quite young A. baenschi-pair from me a couple of years ago..(2-3cm/ 0,8-1 in.).. they had spawned 2-3 times in my tank..
..so they then knew the spawning/guarding/aggression behaviours of one another (?) !!
He put them in a small plastic container of 2 liters/0,5 gallon full of Vesicularia-fern-moss... before letting them entering a proper tank!!!
They spawned at the side of the glass the 2nd day.. and swam with fry 8-9 days later!!
The male "hid"/stood behind the fern-moss at the surface .. at the opposite corner to where the female were guarding 10-15 fry!!

So.. why make it more difficult than that..???

/Micke

 

[Neil Groves]

That's what I want to hear Micke.....nice AMD easy lol

Thank you

Neil.

 

[gerald]

I've heard that before ... heh heh

I need to think about what I want to do, I wasn't planning on a fish room but who knows lol Neil.