Breeding/non-breeding colors

[Miz]

I've been looking at a variety of Apistogrammas and I am trying to make a choice on which species to get for my new 75 gallon tank. I've got it narrowed down to A. Nijsseni, A. Panduro, or A. Cacatuoides.

I have never kept cichlids before, so hopefully you can help me with a few of my questions. There is limited information online about specific breeds, and most detailed information talks about the Apistos in general.

One thing I was worried about was most online sources say the colors become more defined while breeding. I'm not planning on breeding, and most pictures online seem to be of breeding pairs. I'm wondering how washed out the 3 mentioned above types of Apistos would change depending on breeding state. These are two pictures I found online of a female A. Xingu and it going from bright yellow to pale silver depending on breeding state.

http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/photos/A_xin_F_01.jpg
http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/photos/A_xin_F_02.jpg

Does anyone here have experience with the 3 types I mentioned at the beginning? If so, your input would be very helpful.

 

[Mike Wise]

Cichlids are famous for changing colors in the flash of an eye. Be that as it may, color change in apisto males is influenced more by territorial dominance than courtship. Males with territories tend to be more colorful than males of the same species that don't have territories. This is the reason to decorate the tank so that multiple territories are formed. More territories = more territorial males = more colorful males in the aquarium. Females, on the other hand, are more colorful in breeding/brood dress. If you don't plan to breed your fish, why even have any females? The males are more colorful and don't need females to show their colors. Then you could mix species. Just remember that similar-looking/closely-related species will show more aggression toward each other than less similar-looking/closely-related species.

 

[Miz]

Personally I think the coloring on many of the females is better looking than many of the males. That depends on the species, but with Apistos it seems to be about 50/50. For example I find the bright yellow of A. Panduro females more attractive than the male coloring.

I'm wondering if the females are significantly worse colors if they're not currently breeding? If that's worse depending on the species, and if so then which one exhibits the smallest change?

 

[gerald]

Most female Apistos of all species lose their intense yellow when not guarding eggs or fry. I had a few (macmasteri) that stayed fairly yellow when they got older (2-3 yrs), but all those really bright yellow pics you see are brooding females. If you're new to Apistos I'd get cacatuoides, macmasteri or "steel blue" because they are easy to find, hardy, dont require soft water, and the domestic strains generally tend to retain more color when not breeding than the less intensively domesticated or wild species. But mark my words -- within a year you're going to want a separate tank for breeding!