Agassiz 'White seam' breeding behaviour questions

[Gregvet]

Hi everyone. I am hoping to get some advice regarding my Agassiz cichlids and figured here would be the best place.

I have a 36x15x21 (lxdxh in inches) community aquarium with 4 corys, one pit bull plec, 6 forktail blue eyes and two male guppies. My original plan had been to add as final fish two keyhole cichlids, but I got drooling over the White seam agassiz apisto's my LFS had in stock and ended up coming home with them instead. I know that's a fatal error, but I did do some research on dwarf cichlids first and had considered cockatoos but in the end decided against. When it came to it though I was smitten. Cest la vie!

I have had fish before some years ago but never cichlids, and this tank has been running for 6 months.

My water is a mix of RO and treated tap, pH 7 medium hardness. Weekly 15% water changes and test results all good.

Three days after bringing the pair home she went all yellow, and then later that day I saw eggs and she had become a *****, chasing everyone away from the leaf she had chosen. I was surprised but pleased. However since then she has been beating up the male and he now spends most of his time cowering in the opposite corner, with her coming round every couple of minutes to beat him up again.

The eggs were gone the second day (no surprise I guess). She is still in her yellow breeding colours tho.

My questions relate to her behaviour. Will she start to leave him alone? Is there a risk she could kill him? Wll things settle again now the eggs are gone? How often can/will she lay eggs (assuming she can get him in the mood again, no easy task given how mean she is being).

Any suggestions as to ways to settle things down appreciated. I can find very little info on Agassiz online or in my cichlid books. Is the white seam variety a manmade or natural variation? I have assumed manmade (and therefore prob frowned upon here) but I have to say he is a very handsome fish.

Thanks for reading (and your help if you can!)

 

[sasikan]

many questions i cannot answer (the experts are a much better source then me) but i do know that most apistogamma need many hiding places rocks driftwood plants ... make sure they have many hiding places and your male should be alright

 

[Gregvet]

Thanks for the reply. It is heavily planted with a couple of pieces of bogwood, so hopefully enough hiding places.

His fins are starting to look a bit ragged from all the bites he is getting from her now. I know they will grow back but I guess she has to leave him alone first! I just don't want homicide in my living room thank you very much!!

 

[CopabX]

You may want to add some antibiotics or move him to another clean tank so the fins don't start to rot. You can also try leaving the male or female in a clear box/tube in the tank so they get acclimatized and have time to calm down in each other's "presence". I used this on my bettas so they don't totally kill each other when while mating.

 

[Mike Wise]

My questions relate to her behaviour. Will she start to leave him alone?

Only if she has no eggs/fry to protect. He attracts too much attention to her spawning site.

Is there a risk she could kill him?

Yes, if he can't escape her brood territory - which she might consider the entire tank.

Will things settle again now the eggs are gone?

Not necessarily if the eggs hatched and she now is protecting larvae/wrigglers. If she is still yellow, there is a good chance she is!

How often can/will she lay eggs (assuming she can get him in the mood again, no easy task given how mean she is being).

It really depends on the fish, nutrition and water conditions. It can be as soon as 1 - 2 weeks after losing the eggs.[/QUOTE]

Any suggestions as to ways to settle things down appreciated.

If your female is continually beating on the male because he comes within 1ft/30cm of her breeding cave, then the male needs another female to keep him away. Yes, it sounds counter intuitive, but it usually works. If the female is attacking the male when he is even farther away, then the decor of the aquarium is not suitable. Territorial boundaries are inadequate.

I can find very little info on Agassiz online or in my cichlid books. Is the white seam variety a manmade or natural variation? I have assumed manmade (and therefore prob frowned upon here) but I have to say he is a very handsome fish.

To be honest, I have no idea what species you have. I know of A. agassizii and A. sp. Weißsaum/White-seam (a pertensis-like species), but I've never heard of a White seam agassizii. There are always new commercial names for apistos appearing in the trade. It probably is one of these. It doesn't matter whether or not it is a natural population of a valid species or a man-made strain - or even a cross between 2 species. If you like it, keep it. If you breed it, just make sure that anyone who buys it knows its origins. Never sell a hybrid as a valid species.

 

[Gregvet]

Thanks mike for your response. Very helpful.

I had assumed from what I had read that if she was still yellow then there might still be eggs present. The spot they were laid on was quite visible tho and I can no longer see any of the 40 or so eggs that were there. How long before eggs normally hatch? The eggs were there for about 24h only from what I could see.

From her behaviour I would be surprised if there were wrigglers in a new area, she is not guarding any specific area unlike when the eggs were present. She just seems to hate the male now for some reason!

While the tank is heavily planted there is only one big bit of bogwood. I could fairly easily add more to give more hiding places for the male. I am surprised it needs so much tho, the tank is not exactly sparse.

Ironically they are the most exciting fish I have had so far! Can see why cichlids have such a fan base!

Greg

 

[Gregvet]

Just to update, she has now reverted back to her original colour, and is pretty much leaving him alone.

So I guess it's just a case of waiting till next time and hoping she takes it easier on him when it happens.

Thanks again for your help