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Breeding in a Community Tank

BostonBrad

New Member
Messages
3
Hi everyone. New member here so please forgive any transgressions of etiquette.

I recently bought a pair of Apistogramma Cacatuoides. They are very happy in my 55g community tank with tetras, danios, loaches, and a few random fishies.

Today I noticed the female was bright yellow and was guarding a brood of eggs! I'm very excited. But I'm worried that the fry will get gobbled up by the other fish and won't have a chance to grow.

I don't have any other tanks except for a 5g. I considered using a tank divider since her eggs are down at one end but I'm concerned about asking the parents and fry to live in what's essentially a 14g tank for months.

What can I do to give my fry the best chance of reaching 1" (when I can sell them to my local friendly and knowledgeable LFS)

Water is hard and slightly alkaline (don't have numbers.) Temp is around 76.5 and non-adjustable. Other parameters are very stable. This is a well established tank. There is a driftwood feature on the right side with stem and banana plants. The cacs set up on the left side with the stone caves (not surprising) also with some bulb plants and micrograss.

What do you guys think?

Thanks!
cac eggs.jpg
0207171416.jpg
 

gerald

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,491
Location
Wake Forest NC, USA
Use the divider, but keep JUST the mother on the side with eggs. Leave dad on the other side with the other fish.
Then go get some more tanks to raise fry. A 15 and a 10 gal should fit underneath that one. Or four 10's turned sideways.
 

BostonBrad

New Member
Messages
3
Thank you for the response. More tanks, filters, heaters, etc is not in the budget right now. The breeding is a happy coincidence and not something I intend to pursue. How long should I keep mom and fry separated?
 

Phile

Member
Messages
58
Location
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
Thank you for the response. More tanks, filters, heaters, etc is not in the budget right now. The breeding is a happy coincidence and not something I intend to pursue. How long should I keep mom and fry separated?
You don't necessarily have to buy tanks. Get some large clear plastic storage containers and a couple of cheap sponge filters. You can even make your own sponge filters if you have to. Start running the sponges in the existing tank before the fry hatch and while they are still young. Then when you are ready to move them, the filters will be biologically active. If you can get bunches of plants like Java moss, they will act as biofilters also. Put as much as you can get into the containers. The fry can hide in it and graze on it also. When the fry get bigger, you can get more containers. When they get large enough to sell or give away, you can just empty the containers, clean and bleach them, and stack them up in a closet, ready to use again in the future.
Remember everything that you have in a tank is covered with bacteria, and hence, a biofilter. The more surface area that you have, the more natural filtration that you have. Plants also remove toxins, so the more of those that you have, the less you have to rely on mechanical filtration.
 
Last edited:

Happyfins

Member
Messages
93
Location
Sydney
At the risk of upsetting purists I will give you my suggestion: You siphon off some of the fry and either put them in your 5 gallon with a sponge filter or purchase a hang on fry box with inbuilt air driven water supply from main tank. They can be fed easily with brine shrimp that way and do well as long as you keep the floor clean with twice daily siphoning and putting water from main tank back in. I have read that fry raised away from their parents don/t grow as well. I don't find this at all since you can actually target feed them much better this way. I only ever take out half the fry because I feel sorry for the mum. If you use the hang on box you will need to transfer the fry to your 5g tank eventually anyway as they grow. Once they are too big for your 5g they should be safe in the main tank.
 

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