Ap. Agassizi Fire Red Breeding Behavior

[nicos apistos]

Hi-
I have a pair of Ap. Fire Red and was wondering if the male or female cannibalise the fry. I'm feeding them enough food and the fry get well fed also, they just die unexpectadly ph 6.3, heavily planted, nitrates/ammonia 0, no explanation other than that as far as i know. Is gravel make a big difference from sand for the fry?

-Nathan Sandoval

 

[OHR]

sand is way better than gravel for both fry and adults always. You will probably notice much more intresting behaviors from your fish with sand, like digging and shifting sand. They will enjoy it much more also.

In my experience most apistos are exellent parents, I have never had any eat up the fry. Never kept the fire red though.

How long does your fry last before they disappear after hatching?
Are there any co-inhabitants and how large is the tank?
Whats your temperature?
What and how much and often are the fry fed?

cheers Ola

 

[indyplanted]

I would say usually the right food is the key until they get a hold on life. micro worms and paramecium work best for me. BBS are probably the best but I don't do very well with them. -Bradley

 

[Hassles]

I have bred fire-reds, lost the first spawn, removed small cannister filter (Eheim Classic 2211) and replaced this with sponge filter and the next spawn all survived. Gravel substrate, a little less than PH neutral, plants, rocks and driftwood. Fry feed exclusively on microworms until large enough to tackle blackworms and frozen shrimp and then an array of commercially produced dry foods. An attractive fish. I ended up acquiring another fish, a male, to breed with my off-spring and the male fire-red had a white seam on its caudal - quite interesting.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

removed small cannister filter (Eheim Classic 2211) and replaced this with sponge filter

I haven't kept these exact fish, but I do have Eheim Classics on some of my tanks, and they are fine for Apistogramma fry with a small modification.

The mod. is to put a coarse sponge over the water intake. I just sew up an appropriately sized sponge square with nylon thread (you can see the wavy seam in the photo).

I mainly have an Eheim Classic and a DIY sponge filter on each tank, usually with a Maxijet powerhead. I've come around to this combination because both Maxijets and Eheim Classic are very robust and long lasting.

This the scaffold for a small sponge for the powerhead.

.

If I only have a powerhead & sponge for filtration (in a small tank). I usually use one of these large PPI10 sponge blocks from here: <http://www.ketteringkoi.com/acatalog/Filter_Foam_Blocks.html>.

cheers Darrel