Apistogramma Agassizii - male aggression towards female

[davidjp1982]

Hi this is my first post in this forum as I have been lurking and avidly reading posts for a while now but would really appreciate any advice from people more experienced than myself. Also apologies if this has already been covered.

I have had a pair of Apistogramma Agassizii for about 4 days in a 10 gallon community tank (danio / platy). For the first couple of days they seemed absolutely fine getting to know the new environment, although timid they eventually came out of their shells. They seem oblivious to the other fish in the tank even the danios that are obviously quite erratic. There is plenty of plant cover for them to feel secure in, there is also a large flower pot on its side and a rock with a natural small crevice underneath which the female seems to like to shelter in.

Just this morning (their fourth morning in the tank) I noticed the male acting quite aggressive towards the female, following her around everywhere and nipping at her tale / body. I also noticed the female has a small amount of damage to the tip of her tail which I can only assume has been caused by the male as the other fish pay the apistos no attention whatsoever.

Also I have noticed that the apistos will only eat frozen blood worm, they refuse flake – either spitting it straight out or blowing it out of their gills. I bought some King British pellets yesterday which they also seem to chew and spit out. However all the fish did this so I wasn't too surprised and put it down to another change in food stuff. I am trying not to overfeed on bloodworm and currently feed half a block defrosted in some tank water every other day as I was concerned the apistos are not eating.

The aggression displayed by the male even encroaches on the female feeding when he will try to steal the blood worm out of the females mouth and they will wrestle over it. So I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on the whole situation. Is this just a settling in period for the fish? Have I just got an incompatible pairing? Will they eventually adapt to flake food? Any other tips you can offer me would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks and sorry for the long post!

 

[Mike Wise]

First welcome to the apisto forum. Since you've been reading posts here, you probably know that apistos, like most cichlids, show more complex behavior compared to those in many other fish families. Your male A. agassizii if behaving quite normally. Now that he has settled in, he is looking for a breeding partner. Any female ready to breed is compatible to him. Any female not ready to breed is inconpatible. In the wild such females are driven out of the male's territory and he waits for a suitable (ready to breed female) to come along. Your problem is that the male considers the entire tank as his territory. Your female is not ready to breed yet so the male is trying to drive her out of his territory (the entire tank). Usually no damage occurs if she can escape his territory - but your tank doesn't permit her to leave. To be honest a 10 gallon tank is a bit small for a pair, but if properly decorated it is possible for both to live/spawn in it. The trick is to design the tank so that the female can have several hiding places within a defensible territory that is separate from the male's. This means making visible territorial boundaries. It will also mean that parts will be so densely structured that the fish won't be visible much of the time. If you decide to do this, then remove the male for a few hours/day while the female gets first chance to check out the tank and find a suitable territory to defend.

As you have discovered, dry foods aren't really eaten eagerly by most apistos. It takes time to get them to eat it right away. This is why I recommend a diet mostly of live/frozen foods. Continue your schedule of occassional frozen food with dry. They may not eat the dry foods immediately, but will sift out left-overs from the sand. Eventually, many get the idea that dry food is edible. Good luck.

 

[davidjp1982]

Hi Mike thanks for the response - I will keep a close eye on their progress.