Apistogramma barlowi

[killiguy]

Im looking forward to tomorrow when i will be receiving 6 small A.barlowi,what I understand to be the mouthbrooding Apisto.

They will be going in a tank with bottom area 2x3ft.Initally to water will be moderately soft pH about 7.0 but this can be altered as I have rainwater tanks,peat,IAL etc.

Any tricks?? Are they monogamous?do you strip this fish like a Rift lake cichlid or leave it to nature?They seem to have large heads and mouths will they be a threat to my cardinals which will be their dither fish??

 

[Mike Wise]

A. barlowi is a larvophilic delayed mouthbrooder. The eggs are laid on the ceiling of a cave and tended by the female, like most other apistos. Mouthbrooding only occurs - and not every time - after the eggs have hatched. Most find that mouthbrooding is more commonly seen when the substrate is fine sand and in the presence of fry predators. On standard aquarium gravel and in tanks without fry predators, the species behaves more like the typical apisto. I'd suggest that your best chance for success is to use very soft water with a pH<6.0. I also suggest keeping the mother with the fry. Apisto fry tend to be highly dependent on signals from their mother. Without her, they tend to just stay on the bottom and move around feeding very little. Behaviorally this species is one of the rougher apistos where both sexes can take a beating if they are incompatible.

 

[killiguy]

Thanks Mike just the info I was after.Id like to observe the mouth breeding behaviour do other fish of the same species +- dither fish(cardinals)pose a significant enough threat to trigger mouth brooding??

 

[Ttw]

I had a wild pair of A. barlowi that spawned regularly. The female held the fry in her mouth for less than a week. She never did successfully raise any fry. By artificially hatching the eggs I raised lots of fry. Now one of the F1 from her is a very good mother and has raised fry without problems.

 

[Mike Wise]

... do other fish of the same species +- dither fish(cardinals)pose a significant enough threat to trigger mouth brooding??

In most cases, yes. You need to understand that mouthbrooding is a very recent event in apisto evolution. It is not completely fixed in any species. Sometimes they mouthbrood sometimes they don't. I've read of mouthbrooding in A. barlowi, A. sp. Kelleri, and A. gibbiceps. It might occur in other species as well.

 

[killiguy]

A few days in their new tank and they seem sociable,not aggressive yet but are just 3cm.Do they get to 10cm??
Here's a few early pics;they look funny for an Apisto with a large head .Not a lot of colour yet,will they improve ??

Do they look the real deal???

Male I assume

Female

 

[ste12000]

Nice fish and still not overly common. My A.barlowi raised every brood by mouthbrooding and never resorted to standard fry care. My fish were all kept over fine sand.

I hate to start of a sex debate but that last fish looks like a male to me..