Apistogramma steindachneri

[Betta_Blossoms]

they have bred twice that I know of, but they keep eating the eggs, they are in a 20 long, and were only with a small zebra pleco at the time of breeding, the habitat is one side is rocky, the other planted, the breeding it taking place on the planted side, while the male practicly lives in the rocks now..

I have sence added a very small catfish *around one inch..a yellow bullhead, added after second batch was gone.* and a male threadfin rainbow also added after, there will be 5 more threadfins added in the next months, and I hope they will breed too..but I got to thinking and thought maybe she ate them because there was nothing to protect them from? except the male and pleco..

I have raised them from when they were too small to tell the species, I got them from walmart on a mistake shipment, there were more, but the oscars ate them, these two were the only ones left, and just happened to be male and female! They were purchased about a week before last christmas and were kept with a whole load of fish in that time, but bred for the first time i saw after all the other fish were removed one day..the second after a large WC and days of live food...

I love my pair sooooo much and would love to have babys from them..is there anyhting I can do aside form removing the eggs to help get the eggs to hatch? I can remove the eggs if needed, because they dont breed on the glass, the first time was under a leaf, the second on a rock...if you want pics, i can provide PLENTY of them lol I even have some of the first few days I had them

 

[apistoireland]

Are you sure that the Apistos are actually eating their own spawn? I suspect the zebra plec might eat the eggs. Remove the pleco and see what happens. Young apsitos sometimes need to spawn a few times before they get it right

 

[Betta_Blossoms]

well, I'm not sure if the pleco would do anyhting..but I suppose that while I'm redesigning th 29 gallon, I could add driftwood into it for him..

I saw her picking at the first batch, but I assumed she was cleaning them..

and the second time, I could see there were a bit more eggs, but they were well hidden behind a fake plant..

should I convert the whole tank to planted?

*I will get a pic of what it looks like now later*

but I will try and remove the pleco after i'm done with the 29 gallon so I dont have to catch him twice..and try another WC and live food ..

 

[Mike Wise]

I tend to agree with apistoireland. I think that the pleco was getting a midnight snack. Zebra Plecos want a fair amount of meat (or eggs) in their diet. Now that you have added a yellow Bullhead and some small rainbows, you have made the problem worse. Bullheads are voraceous predators. Once it gets some size (like 2"), the rainbows will disappear. Once it gets to 6" (by the end of the year, if properly cared for) the apistos will disappear, too. It's truly amazing what can fit in a small bullhead's mouth! I have caught bullheads on jigs (fishing lures) almost as big as the fish.

My suggestion is to provide your apistos with a separate tank with several caves to choose from. The only other fish in the tank should be a couple of small surface-dwelling fish. Try to keep the pH below 7.

 

[Betta_Blossoms]

the bullhead is only temporary untill I find a better place for him..I caught some larger darters and a small bass made it in somehow, and its a little over and inch, and I dident want him t oeat the catfish..the bas has to go back to the lake I would think, or I should get off my lazy bum and set up the 55 gallon for him..but I thought rainbows wouldent be able to eat the fry, because they have small throats, thats why I chose him to go back in with them.. I suppose I should run down to walmart and get some substrait for the 55, and to finish the 29... *sigh*..I have some work to do lol

 

[tx_mike]

Stein babys

Hello - I have 2 breeding groups of A. steindachnari, both w/ 1 male and 3 females. The research I originally did when setting up tanks for these (both 20L) was that water hardness wasn't really an issue. My experience now tells me otherwise. After several failed attempts at spawning I lowered the GH to under 2 degrees and have not had any problems since. I have noticed on several of my Apistos, A. steindachnari, A. eunotus, A. cruzi, all species that the "books" say will breed in harder water that the eggs never become fertilized and momma eats them. After lowering the GH I have had no problems w/ successful spawns.