Breeding Apistogramma

[77railer]

Good Day,
Couple of quick questions for the experts. Provided that I am breeding Apisto in a 10g tank what other tanks are necessary for raising the fry as in grow out tanks etc. I am thinking for one pair I would need the following.

10 gal breeder
10 gal fry tank
20 grow out tank

The issue I have is how long can the fish stay in the 20 before aggression/breeding is an issue. I have no clue what Im going to do when they start breeding as far as housing so I need suggestions. Thinking that a fishroom is in order,lol.

My LFS store has agreed to buy Apisto's from me. What would be a fair price to expect per fish at 1 inch, pair, proven pair. I know species vary on price Im just looking for a ball park figure.

Thanks....77railer

 

[chris1932]

Please send me a pm.

 

[Bev N]

First I don't claim to be an expert but I'll give you my opinion and personal experiences.

I keep virtually all of my pairs in 15-20 gallon tanks. I move the fry from there directly into a 20 gallon to start. When they get moved from there depends on the size of the brood. If it's a small clutch of 35 of so they can stay in there till they are sexable and ready to sell (we do lots of water changes). A 10 gallon is going to be outgrown rather quickly if you have a cluth of 150 or so fry which can easily happen with cacs.

I have never had a problem with aggression with the males. The tanks are so crowded that it's not really possible to claim any one territory. I have apistos spawning in grow out tanks all the time. The fry don't usually survive although on occasion a few will make it.

Now as for selling. You can figure on getting one third of what the store retails them for. So if they sell a pair of cacs for $25.00 you can expect them to pay you about $8.00 a pair.

Now..this goes back to tank size. When your selling to your local LFS they don't just want those fish sexable. They want them of good size and color. I've been trying to sell apsitos to a place I sell to that has been so turned off to apistos because of the tiny uncolored apistos they got from somewhere else. Those fish sat there forever and I don't think ever did grow. They were the worst looking opals I've ever seen. In order to raise those fry to the size that the stores want your definately going to need more than a 20 gallon or at least a few 20 gallons tanks to split the spawn. Then there is the issue of skewed sexes and if one spawn is mostly male you may need to hold onto those till you get the next spawn and hope for a higher number of females. Ahhh..the joys of skewed sex ratios in apistos.

You may as well start on that fish room now.

Good Luck.

 

[77railer]

Thanks for the info. I have a carport that we enclosed I may use. There is also a shop in the backyard with an insulated room on it. Thought about using that...only issue is how hot it might get in the summer, dont want to have to put an airconditioner in there. Any suggestions????

 

[Bev N]

Our fishroom is in the basement so our problem is keeping it warm enough. I guess it getting too hot would depend on where you live and how much you can ventilate the shed. You might have to invest in a window unit for those extra hot days.