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Apistogrammas eating/disappearing eggs

FabianUlSua

New Member
Messages
27
Hello everyone, all of my apistogrammas lay eggs every 3-4 weeks and they usually do tend and take care of the eggs, that's until day 3-4... so after 3 days the eggs disappear, I think the females are eating them for some reason, I don't know what the reason could be since my cacatuoides always get 50+ fry every month but all of my other apistogramma keep failing to raise the eggs into fry, what could be causing this behavior?
I have 3 tanks with apistogramma agassizii, macmasteri and trifasciata.
Water parameters are 6.8 ph, 30-50ppm (I stopped measuring kh and gh a long time ago), ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate around 5, all of this mixing tap water with RO water.
Here are some pictures of the setups.
 

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Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Well, none of the tanks are ideal breeding tanks decor-wise, a bit open and no surface cover. In my experience these cause apistos to be insecure and hide a lot. Could this be the cause? Also, is that a Rose-line shark (Sahyadria denisonii) in one of the photos? Not a good dither, too large and too active.
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
Also, is that a Rose-line shark (Sahyadria denisonii) in one of the photos? Not a good dither, too large and too active.
I think it is a chubby Pencilfish? Possibly Nannostomus beckfordi?
ideal breeding tanks decor-wise, a bit open and no surface cover. In my experience these cause apistos to be insecure and hide a lot.
I'm a "more is more" (and a floating plant obsessive) as well. Could you chuck a lot more structural leaf litter in?

cheers Darrel
 

FabianUlSua

New Member
Messages
27
Hi all,

I think it is a chubby Pencilfish? Possibly Nannostomus beckfordi?

I'm a "more is more" (and a floating plant obsessive) as well. Could you chuck a lot more structural leaf litter in?

cheers Darrel
Currently drying up a ton of Guava leaves and yeah it is a chubby pencil fish, it's the only dither fish I use.
For some reason duckweek don't seem to do well on those tanks, probably because the water is to soft?
I'm going yo put a lot of leaf litter today or tomorrow, thanks for the advice
 

FabianUlSua

New Member
Messages
27
Little update on the tanks now, also the trifasciata female just ate the eggs again on day 4.
I'm still looking for more leafs to add btw.
Do the tanks look more suitable now?
 

FabianUlSua

New Member
Messages
27
Little update on the tanks now, also the trifasciata female just ate the eggs again on day 4.
I'm still looking for more leafs to add btw.
Do the tanks look more suitable now?
 

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hongyj

Member
Messages
30
I only wish that the duckweed in my blackwater tanks would disappear. It even crowds out my Salvinia.
Mike just take the time to scoop it all out I know it's a pain in the ass but just do it. It took me half a day to get all the duckweed out of 4 of my 10 gallons
 

hongyj

Member
Messages
30
MacZ is a bit harsh sometimes, in past forums, he's been harsh to me and other people. He has very high standards and seems to enjoy the wild version of apistogrammas more, which I never did until I met him. If you know MacZ and this forum, he's always talking about inbreeding of these fish and humic substances in the water lol.

But yea, looks beautiful. I could see your fish breeding there, it'll just take some time to get established. The fire reds are notoriously hard to breed because the males are stupid. In my opinion get yourself some apistogramma cactuiodes, breeding them for me was the lightest work I've ever done in my life and they have better behavior than the fire reds. Don't get me wrong my fire reds are doing amazing and they're not even insecure in their own tank because I set it up similar to how it would be like in the wild, but the cacatuiodes give you a nice experience.

I got a trio after doing a year's worth of research back in february and watching how they interact with their environment is really interesting. My friends who are dog people are just able to watch my triple reds for a good 30 minutes without getting carried away. It'll give you the experience you need to raise the fire reds. The fire reds come out slightly longer but way thinner, in my opinion. And feeding these guys is pretty difficult for a beginner.

I originally loved agassizii after watching a youtube video and wanted the fire reds so badly, which is what got me into it. But even juts a year back, these weren't readily available in stores and online, so to practice raising fry and just everything, I got cacatuiodes. A lot easier to get to spawn, a lot easier to raise the fry, a lot easier to sell, etc.. It's better, but I understand where you're coming from. Start with the basics before.
 

FabianUlSua

New Member
Messages
27
MacZ is a bit harsh sometimes, in past forums, he's been harsh to me and other people. He has very high standards and seems to enjoy the wild version of apistogrammas more, which I never did until I met him. If you know MacZ and this forum, he's always talking about inbreeding of these fish and humic substances in the water lol.

But yea, looks beautiful. I could see your fish breeding there, it'll just take some time to get established. The fire reds are notoriously hard to breed because the males are stupid. In my opinion get yourself some apistogramma cactuiodes, breeding them for me was the lightest work I've ever done in my life and they have better behavior than the fire reds. Don't get me wrong my fire reds are doing amazing and they're not even insecure in their own tank because I set it up similar to how it would be like in the wild, but the cacatuiodes give you a nice experience.

I got a trio after doing a year's worth of research back in february and watching how they interact with their environment is really interesting. My friends who are dog people are just able to watch my triple reds for a good 30 minutes without getting carried away. It'll give you the experience you need to raise the fire reds. The fire reds come out slightly longer but way thinner, in my opinion. And feeding these guys is pretty difficult for a beginner.

I originally loved agassizii after watching a youtube video and wanted the fire reds so badly, which is what got me into it. But even juts a year back, these weren't readily available in stores and online, so to practice raising fry and just everything, I got cacatuiodes. A lot easier to get to spawn, a lot easier to raise the fry, a lot easier to sell, etc.. It's better, but I understand where you're coming from. Start with the basics before.
Just here to be thankful, I really appreciate all the help ❤️!
Now I can say I'm a proud dad of 4 different types of apistos and I'm in love with this hobby more than ever!!!
 

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