Apistogramma Eggs! Yippee!

[cmoreash]

As I was feeding my apistogrammas this morning, only 2 readily came out for food. the third emerged after a few minutes, and was very yellow and orange. I was curious, so I watched it after it ate. It proceeded to a hole in the bunch of java moss i haven't seen before, and i looked closer. It was guarding a batch of eggs! So that must be why it's been so nasty lately.

I have 3 pristella tetras, 2 other apistogrammas, 3 neons, and a cory cat in there. What should I remove? the tank is 10 gallons. Thanks for any help!

 

[Eva32181]

Congratulations!

What kind of apistos are they? I would remove whichever fish looks like it would eat eggs or babies. Which would be any fish, I guess. The mom should be able to guard the eggs and wigglers, but once they become free swimming she will have a rough time - at least, that has been my experience. A pair of cacatuoides spawned in my 55, and I think the female has only one baby left. I caught a few and put them in a little hanging breeder box so they won't get eaten. The poor mom looks really stressed out - she terrorizes any fish who comes near her corner, even the big male rams who must be four times her size.

Good luck with them!

 

[cmoreash]

update: female still guarding eggs, all other fish are gone except the 2 other apistos (too hard to catch). I still believe they are apistogramma sp. "rio acre".

 

[Neil]

cmoreash,
Way to go!! 8) The less fish that are in there with them the better. If you can get the other 2 apistos out, it would be ideal. But, even if you can only get 1 out, it will make a big difference to saving a greater percentage of fry. Good luck and keep us posted.
Neil

 

[cmoreash]

the eggs were gone, so i was depressed, but the female was still yellow. The other female keeps fighting her, trying to get in her corner of the tank. I looked carefully into the java moss/wood cave, and the eggs had been moved farther back! IS that common for apistogrammas to move the eggs? Thanks guys!

oh yes, i am going to try to get the other apistos out, a bit hard though, they are crafty little fellows.

 

[cmoreash]

mama is all alone now, i got the others out. I was a bit wrong about her moving the eggs. She wasn't moving EGGS. I looked closer, and they were wigglers! She picks them up a lot with her mouth and puts them back with the rest of the group. How do I do this fry food thing with boiled egg yolk, could someone tell me please? Thanks!

 

[aspen]

the answer is, 'tetramin baby fish food E'. much simpler than making your own, and very cheap. but, you need to either get some bbs going, or some 'mike reeds no bbs' food. also i believe that max http://clix.to/Apisto has a dry fry food. egg will not suffice for long. use it real spare, it dirties up the tank in a hurry.

rick

 

[cmoreash]

actually i bought some frozen baby brine shrimp today, live is out of the question. I think this will work.

How long does it take for the fry to become free swimming?

 

[Eva32181]

So when the eggs hatched into wigglers, the mom moved them. My Rams do the same thing. Is that standard dwarf practice?

Catching apistos -----> this worked for me - I caught about half the dwarfs in my tank when I was trying to get one lousy neon. Never got the neon. Anyway, just take a plastic bottle (like Dasani sized) and cut off the top, then invert the cut off top and stick it back in the bottle. Now you have a fish trap! Just bait it with something yummy and believe me, the curious little buggers that dwarfs are, they will come.

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Okay I have been reading posts at the krib waaay too much.

 

[Neil]

cmoreash,
Well, what's the update?! Frozen baby brine is probably acceptable. They should have a lot to forage for in you planted tank too.

 

[cmoreash]

Momma apistogramma is still taking care...
I believe the fry are about ready to start swimming. Momma has gotten thin, she doesn't eat much.

 

[Eva32181]

Why are live baby brine out of the question for ya? It's really easy to start a culture - even I could do it. One liter of water, 1 tsp of marine salt, a soda bottle, an air stone, and of course an annoying air pump is all you need.

Good luck with your babies!

 

[cmoreash]

can't get to the LFS for another week to get some eggs. lucky i picked up the frozen. My fry are free swimming now (sort of). They are on the substrate, and get up and swim when momma apistogramma moves. they look like they nibble on her sometimes. she is such a good mom!

 

[Neil]

cmoreash,
That's great! They are not "sort of" free-swimming, they are all the way free-swimming. And they need to be fed today. Depending on the brand of frozen BBS, it should work OK. But I would "powder" a little flake food and squirt it near the fry a couple times a day as well for a few days. If you give them a couple types of food, you are more likely to get by this critical period. Take care not to pollute the tank though. They don't need a ton. They will spend alot of time with Mom foraging through the tank for stuff.
As Eva suggested, Live BBS is not difficult once you do it and it will make the feeding much more efficient and less risky. They(BBS) will stay alive in the tank for hours and allow the fry to "graze" on them for quite a while without causing too much bio waste build up. Good luck and keep us posted on there progress.
Neil