Are my apistos breeding?

[John_G]

Hello all, recently, I picked up a pair of apistos! Actually, I picked up two pairs I got the first pair more than a month ago. Unlike my agassizii (female didn't make it), the sex of these guys is much harder to determine.

The first two fish were super aggressive toward each other (to the point the subdominant fish stopped eating and only hid behind the filter), and since being separated both have laid eggs in their respective tanks.

Just last week, I picked up another pair hoping to get a male. Once again, both fish look very similar, and their behavior toward one another is similar to the first pair. Like the first pair, the slightly larger fish is more dominant, but not as much so.

Now, today, I come home to another clutch of eggs being guarded an apisto. This time, is different though because the other apisto is in the cave as well! They are both literally laying on top of one another in the cave (hole) that one them dug last night. Neither fish will eat, rather they just stay in the cave. They aren't show any aggression towards the ember tetras in their tank. I've seen the tetras with-in a few inches of the cave (hole) with no response from the cichlids.

So, my question is, can very young apistos (maybe 1.5 in length, no physical difference) successfully breed? Does the fact that both are in the cave together at least indicate I have a male.

I'm currently setting up a 40 gallon tank where I hope to house all four fish.

 

[Mike Wise]

Can young apistos showing little, if any, sexual difference successfully breed? Yes, sexual maturity can occur before sexual differences appear. I good example of this is the existence of 'sneaker males'. Now your fish staying together in the same cave with eggs is unusual. This might occur in more monogamous species. You don't say which species you have. OTOH it could be 2 females who have spawned together. If the eggs are fertile and produce fry, then you know your answer.

 

[John_G]

Hi Mike, and thanks for the reply!

I thought I wrote the species name in my original post... my bad! They are Apistogramma hongsloi.

Unfortunately, when I woke up all the eggs that I could see were gone. Their cave was dug out between a rock and piece of wood, and the hair grass (first picture) that used to be planted there obscures the view a bit. This more a high-tech planted tank, so not ideal for breeding apistos I assume.

Today, one of the fish (photographed) is swimming about as it normally does. The other, whom I assume is the light-gray one remains hidden in the hole-cave (unable to get photograph). This is odd because I thought this one would be the male based on the fact the mature males I've seen seem to have a whitish base color, and its slightly larger/ more aggressive. I guess I will keep waiting, but deep down I have this bad feeling that I defied the odds and got four female fish;\

I also attached a photo of the one of the known females. The next two pictures are of the darker-yellow, less aggressive of the paired fish.

The 40-gallon will be devoted completely to the apistos with only low light plants to provide filtration. I realize now that trying to keep a specialized fish like apistos in a high-tech tank can be a bit of a PITA. This upside is, this event has motivated me to get the other tank set-up faster

View attachment 6256

 

[John_G]

Another picture of one of the pair from my 17 gallon tank. Didn't upload correctly.

 

[Riippasaarni]

If A. hongsloi turns yellow as agassizi they just might be male and female.