Apisto babies and now eggs aswell!!! advice please!!

[Seb]

Ok well I have a2ft x 1ft x 0.75ft tank (height not max cos its not fully full)

With a male and female apistogramma cacatuoides orange flash. Well a about a week back I found a shoal of approx 13 fry with the female (yay!). Its been going good so far, both parents being quite good, the female is particularly good (not too trusting of my always hungry for blood worms male though!).

Today I was a bit shocked, not only could I not see the female, but also no fry. But now the fry are all in a shell and not coming out?! (they never were like this). The the female keeps dashing from the shell to a plant pot. My suspicions were raised so I took a look, around 100 eggs greeted me!!!

Now she keeps going from one to the other, is there any advice from more experinced dwarf cichlid keepers? I am really not sure what to do! Move the babies and let her take care of the eggs or what?!

 

[Seb]

ok thought I'd show a few pics:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/sebraaff/DSCF0196.jpg

this is the female and male with the fry, few days ago.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/sebraaff/DSCF0212.jpg

this is the apisto breeding tank

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/sebraaff/DSCF0207.jpg

this is the shell (the biggest one at the bottom) where the fry are in, and the pot is where the eggs are

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y34/sebraaff/DSCF0149.jpg

the female with some of the fry

 

[Peter Lovett1]

hi seb

Me again, I have a pair of triple Orange Cacatuoides which have done the same in the past but the eggs do not hatch. It's hard to say if the new egg are fertile or not. I would just to be on the safe side remove the the existing fry tht you have. It is a relatively small brood and the female may think it is not worth the effort. If the new spawn is not fertile she should spawn again in about 3 weeks anyway and should Have a larger brood.

Hope this helps.

Peter Lovett

 

[Seb]

Well I think the eggs are still fertile, but she wont let the fry out of that shell!! Should I take remove the bebies for a bit and reintroduce them when the new eggs have hatched and the new fry are free swimming? Its just I dont want the lil fry stuck in that cave all the time!!

 

[mooman]

She might be forcing them in the shell because she sees them as a threat to her new spawn. I also agree with peter that the small size of the first spawn may cause them to be eaten. In the wild, when the size of a cichlids school of fry dips below a critical number, the mother will eat the fry in order to "recycle" the enrgy that she has invested in them. At the very least they will be unwelcome once the new batch hatches. I vote remove them to a grow out tank.

 

[Fisherking]

Hi, I dont think you have anything to wory about. I have had many pairs with fry that were many weeks apart. Now I have 4 different spawns from diplotaenia in the same thank with no problems.

 

[Seb]

eep! eating own babies?! Thought that was my males job lol (only when he gets bored)

Well I think the eggs have hatched to wriggler stage (think) as now she goes to big shell (with frist fry), to cave and THEN to second smaller shell, where I have a suspicion that my other fry were raised as wriggler stage. So its alot alot better (not paniking as much!!). Though as far as I can tell she is keeping them apart, although the older ones are still not that big yet.

 

[Seb]

Well decided to put a divider in, so the female can look after babies without the male bothering her. Hopefullly I should start seeing my babies agian.

 

[Seb]

Well theres good and bad news. Female went a bit evil and ate all of her first brood, except 2 I manged to save. However I do have alot of wrigglers.

Well next time I'm definatly removing the male as soon as I detect even the faintest hint of eggs.