A. baenschi behavior question

[dwightparker]

I have 2 in a 29 gallon tank. Would a male or female chase one of the other sex, or am I to assume they are the same sex? I have substantial line of sight blockage, and a couple of caves made if that info helps. One is substantially larger than the other so I thought I had a larger male and smaller female.....otherwise not sure how to sex them.

 

[Clancey Fritsch]

Pictures?

 

[Mike Wise]

A. baenschi is a nijsseni-group species. Species in this group can be rather choosy about breeding partners. If you have 2 of the opposite sex and keep attacking each other then they may not be compatible.

 

[dwightparker]

Ok thanks.....I believe I had 2 females together..... I moved the smaller of the 2 to it's own tank, then added a male ( pretty sure because of the distinct orange edge of the caudal fin)......they are not chasing each other which is a good sign....will TRY to get some photos but they are hiding now after all the catch, move, and release from the last 2 days.....

 

[Triviashi_Maru]

A. baenschi is a nijsseni-group species. Species in this group can be rather choosy about breeding partners. If you have 2 of the opposite sex and keep attacking each other then they may not be compatible.

Mike, how choosy are they with each other? Does interbreeding occur within the group? I ask because retailers are sometimes not great about identification, especially with young fish. So if I'm picking up home bred nijesseni group fish I want to know if it's possible they could have been panduro x baenschi, for example.

 

[Mike Wise]

Crossbreeding within a species-group is possible, but if each fish has multiple partners with which to breed they almost always pick a member of their own species. It there are no choices, well ... 'any port in a storm'. Römer, et al's 2004 original description or A. baenschi has a picture of a baenschiXnijsseni forced cross: ugly and deformed!

 

[mantisfan101]

It can take a while for them to come together. What I found worked was separating the male and female for a couple weeks-months and then reintroducing them.