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I'm still not sure these are the holotype form of A. guttata. The fish I had were collected in the Orinoco delta of Venezuela and looked like this: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/For-comparison-Apistogramma-guttata-male-not-preserved-live-coloration-in-the_fig6_271446155. Your fish are...
All I can say is that it probably is a pair, but it does not look like A. guttata in these photos. The holotype form of the species - which I had and reproduced back in the late 1980s - has multiple rows of spots along the flanks (2 above and 3 below the lateral band). You fish look more like A...
I've seen wildcaught fish with red ventral fins that were only 3.5 cm/1.5". Obviously a sign that it was a female and had spawned in the past. Others? I just waited for the caudal to develop upper and lower extensions indicative of males. My philosophy is when in doubt buy 6.
When I feed frozen foods (I hope you don't plan on feeding exclusively flakes; most apistos ignore them) I use a kitchen baster and put some on 1 side and shoot some on the other side close to the bottom.
That is true, but in the wild dominant females tend to choose sites with ideal temperatures for 50/50 broods. I have the original paper somewhere. I don't think it was in either of his books.
You don't really need either. It just makes apisto keeping a slight bit easier. I use leaf litter rarely, using other structures for them in which to hide. I also have never used fine sand. My way may be a bit more labor intensive, but the fish live long happy lives and regularly breed. This is...
Old habits die hard it seems. I gravel clean more or less like I did when I used undergravel filters way (way) back when. I still use the same fine gravel/coarse sand that I did back then (I'm cheap). Still I don't recommend this for new hobbyists. Just test periodically for 'dead spot' where...
No, not quite right. Römer wrote in an article that dominant females selected territories where conditions produced equal numbers of both sexes. Subdominant females produced more females in cooler areas and more males in warmer areas. The end result would be equal numbers of both sex, but only...
Since it is a community tank and not for breeding (not sure how successful you will from keeping the White Clouds from breeding) you should be fine with the different species and the tank temperature. You write that you plan to add a sand cap. I don't know how successful you will be from keeping...
IMHO it is possible if you have a lot of experience with dwarf cichlids. I have done it (accidentally) and also lost many fish. I have similar size tanks but now only use them to keep and breed pencilfish and other tetras and as hospital tanks.
AOK, please don't get over-concerned with water hardness right now. Your Opals would almost certainly be domestic and adapted to water different from where the species lives in the wild. Yes dGH >10 is hard so I wouldn't expect breeding success, but with proper care they will live in it. FYI I...
I remember in the 1970s and 80s (am I really that old??) that one rarely saw domestic dwarf cichlids in shops. Most were wild and sold as "Misc. Dwarf Cichlids". It was amazing what you could find. Most sold for <$5.00, some as low as $2.00 each. Now dwarf cichlids are much more expensive of...
If you want to be really confused, the holotype of A. bitaeniata according to Pellegrin, 1936 was collected in the Rio Madeira in Brazil with no known location. They were from a commercial import from Rabaut in 1934. In 1980 Kullander noted that Rabaut was not collecting fish in the Madeira but...
I just checked the caudal peduncle of the female: enlarged the area, removed any color and and increased contrast to better examine the area. The female also shows similar scale deformity that is seen on the male. My guess is that it is a hybrid. FYI, the name A. sp. Inca II is another name once...