Apistogramma sp. "Maulbruter"

[Yan]

I have a problem with breeding Apistogramma sp. "Maulbruter". It is interesting for me to see how they look after for fry. They have already spawned three times and female’s treating eggs surprised me greatly. From all those pots in the aquarium it chose a half pot, lying on the sand. At the beginning everything was as usual - spawning, eggs on the ceiling of the pot. And then, a surprise.
The female has immured itself inside the pot, filling up entrants with the sand.

From time to time it opens a small pass to leave for eating and comes back at once and fills the entrance with sand again from within.

Why does she do it? It looks like an incubator. It’s very interesting. I haven’t seen it at any species of Apistogramma. But on the other hand there wouldn’t be enough oxygen in water within the pot. Three days later the eggs were eaten and the female swam out.
Having decided to increase oxygen concentration in water I’ve put three aerators and outer filter to make water circulation.
The second spawning was according to the same scenary.
The female filled itself with sand within the pot. Just as during the first time the eggs were eaten on the third day.
On the third spawning I replaced 20-30% of water 2-3 times a day in addition to increased aeration. In spite of all this the result was the same, i.e. the eggs were eaten.
What’s the reason? I don’t want to take eggs away as I want to observe the fish behavior.

Tank – 80 l, conductivity – 80-100 mkS, pH – 5.6 – 6.3, T – 25-27 C.

Is there anybody who has met such a phenomenon?

Yan
__________________
www.israquarium.co.il

 

[blueblue]

It's very very interesting Yan!!
I think the female maulbruter tries to hide herself and the fries inside the cave ... hmm.. you may consider placing a few pieces of dried leave in front of the caves to act as a cover... anyhow, do you observe the female carrying the fries in her mouth?

 

[Graham]

Very interesting!

I would think the female would be tending to the eggs....fanning and whatnot. I don't know that it's an O2 issue. Maybe she feels threatened? She obviously wants some privacy, going to the lengths she is to seal up the pot. Maybe even more of a hands-off approach during incubation would alter the outcome? Have you seen the eggs? Are you sure they're fertile?

 

[ed seeley]

I'd suggest trying to give her a pot with a much smaller entrance as she's obviously concerned about the predation issue and is walling herself up. A number of my female apistos have done this and raised babies successfully so I don't think oxygen is an issue.

Get some clay plant saucers and make a hole in the side just big enough for her to get through. The male can fan his milt in through the entrance as the low ceiling will lead to good fertilisation. The other thing I do is make the hole in the bottom of a plant pot slightly bigger (cut it so it forma a slot the width of the hole) and put them in the 'wrong way round' so the wide end is buried and the new entrance is level with the sand.

I hope that's clear, I'm not sure it is! Will try and post photos tomorrow to explain better.

 

[Refael Hdr.]

Very interesting behavior Yan, It's the first time I see such a thing.
I would try using another clay pot with a smaller gap or even taking out the substrate if it's possible...

 

[Yan]

do you observe the female carrying the fries in her mouth?

No, I haven’t seen any fries in her mouth and I haven’t seen any fries at all.

Maybe she feels threatened? She obviously wants some privacy, going to the lengths she is to seal up the pot. Maybe even more of a hands-off approach during incubation would alter the outcome?

During the second spawning I left a female alone (without a male) in the aquarium.
There is no additional light in the aquarium.

Have you seen the eggs? Are you sure they're fertile?

I saw 30-40 eggs up to the third day.

Get some clay plant saucers and make a hole in the side just big enough for her to get through. The male can fan his milt in through the entrance as the low ceiling will lead to good fertilisation. The other thing I do is make the hole in the bottom of a plant pot slightly bigger (cut it so it forma a slot the width of the hole) and put them in the 'wrong way round' so the wide end is buried and the new entrance is level with the sand.

I put 8 different pots in the aquarium – with a narrow entrance, with a wide one, with that on the side, with a wide base etc. There is also a small driftwood. The female chooses only half a pot put on the sand. She made an attempt to dig a cave under the driftwood but I think she failed to fill herself up completely.


I have one more pare of them and there was no sand in their aquarium. But there were a lot of pots in it as in the first case. There has been no spawning for the 1.5 month. Yesterday I put sand into the aquarium. And I observed that a female choose half a pot on the sand and started doing a hill of sand at the entrance.


male:

female:

Yan
__________________
www.israquarium.co.il

 

[valice]

My A.agassizii did the same thing of piling the cave entrance with sand too. I think it is to make the entrance smaller to prevent intruders or the male from entering the cave and making away with the eggs.

 

[koty]

I would try something different such as a half a coconut shell. May be the different inner wall angles will change her habits
Koty

 

[lab]

I find that eggs are mostly eaten if the fish feel disturbed in some way. Disturbance could also explain why the female locks herself completely in.

Your eggs are definitely fertile. If they were not, they would fungus within the first 24 hours.

When any of my fish spawn, I never make water changes until the fry are freeswimming. At that stage the female is not that likely to eat the youngsters.

If you are very unlucky, the female just can't help herselp but to eat the larvae when they hatch.

I would try with some patience and create as little disturbance as possible; no photos and no water changes during egg development.

Good luck,
Lars

 

[beleg]

My female agasizzi (she is alone in the tank) did something similar with the coconut cave. She has eaten 4-5 batches of eggs-fry before but its first time i see this behavior..

 

[Marc]

Hi Yan,

Why does she do it? It looks like an incubator. It’s very interesting. I haven’t seen it at any species of Apistogramma.

I've seen this behaviour from any Apistogramma species i keep. And these are Apistogramma cacatuoides, diplotaenia, elizabethae, eremnopyge, guttata and trifasciata. In my humble opinion, this is absolutly normal behavior.

But on the other hand there wouldn’t be enough oxygen in water within the pot. Three days later the eggs were eaten and the female swam out.

Not by the reason that there is a lack of oxygen. All my breeding females frequently flutter (or waggle) fresh water into the cave[1]. After doing so, they often close the entrance again.

For me, all this is the reason to keep all my fishes in tanks with sand [2] as ground material and caves without a solid bottom.

[1] Pottery caves or coconut shells, but even leaves are used
[2] Silica sand or (IMO even better) washed river sand.

Regards
Marc

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree. If lack of oxygen was the problem, the female would lack oxygen, too. This behavior is more typical with females that are trying to keep the male (and other fish) out of a breeding cave that has an opening that is too large.

 

[Yan]

Thanks for answers.

 

[ProF_FR]

Hi,

My apistos are always in a sandy tank .... females always close the nest with sand or an alder fruit.

One of my baenschi female made me think she was dead in the cave as once she didn't get out for 6 days and it was close with sand. Then she went out with fry and every evening she brang them back home and close it again until the morning

ProF