Cacatuoides Breeding Behaviour

[Maxxice]

I started a new community tank with the kids on 14 Dec. Cycled the tank, achieved stable water parameters and added fish gradually - otos, dither fish and finally the apistos on Christmas Had 4 fish deaths (all rasboras) shortly after introduction but all others have settled in. My plants are a different story Recently installed LED lights to improve their condition. Kept it at the dimmest mode as the fish prefer a darker environment. Still in the process of achieving a happy balance.

Found a clutch of dark pink eggs under a leaf during a water change on NYE!! Yesterday, the female moved from the leaf to a cave. No eggs found under the leaf. She’s been guarding the cave zealously so I’m guessing the eggs had hatched and she moved the wrigglers to the cave. She only comes out to eat; stays in the cave otherwise. The male has been running perimeter. It’s all guess work at this point as I’ve left the tank alone, other than 20% daily water change. Preparing daphnia in the meantime. I hope to see the fry in 2-3 days!!

There’s a particular behaviour that I can’t find reference to. The female pops her head out of the cave and blows a series of strong bubbles that rises all the way to the top (36 cm from bottom to top). I’ve seen her do that 4 times in the last 2 hours. Does anyone know what that means? Everything I found online points to a bubble nest but I don’t think that’s relevant here :S Thoughts?

 

[MacZ]

There’s a particular behaviour that I can’t find reference to. The female pops her head out of the cave and blows a series of strong bubbles that rises all the way to the top (36 cm from bottom to top). I’ve seen her do that 4 times in the last 2 hours. Does anyone know what that means? Everything I found online points to a bubble nest but I don’t think that’s relevant here :S Thoughts?

Some Apistogramma females lay there eggs on the ceiling of their cave. Fry would stay at the bottom of the cave. It's possible there are air bubbles trapped in the cave or something inside is rotting and producing CO2 or other gases.

 

[Maxxice]

Some updates. The fry were free swimming 5 days ago - probably 50 of them or so. Left them with their parents. Only some are left now (mostly eaten by the male) and I put whatever I could catch in another tank. We will see if any survive but that's not my concern now.

The male has been relentlessly chasing the female for the past 2 days, nipping and tail-slapping. Her caudal fin is slightly damaged (there's a tear). I've added more hiding places (leaves, floaters and tall plants, in addition to 2 existing caves with narrow entrances), which she uses sometimes. Other times, she stays in the open, in view of the male, which I'm confused about. Lights at their dimmest. She's eating and rests at night. My LFS advises me to leave them be, unless the physical damage becomes more severe :S

My concern is: she's not going to be receptive to the male's advances till she's physically ready. I'm worried that she will not withstand the stress till then. What extent of fin damage is considered OK and what is not? Is there anything else I can do to diffuse the aggression? Should I move the male to an isolation tank? The male completely ignores the dither fish.

 

[Ben Rhau]

Can you show us a picture of the tank?

 

[Maxxice]

Here's picture of the tank
I've also attached a video of the male's aggression. Should I let it play out or isolate the male? She looks a little beat up

 

[Ben Rhau]

The female has no place to go where she cannot be seen by the male. You should separate the fish. You could try reintroducing them when the female is conditioned, but it would be easier if you also add structure to the tank to break lines of sight.

 

[MacZ]

Yeah, separation is necessary. The female is already at the point she's cornered at the glass. The tank would require a complete restructure before reintroduction.

 

[Maxxice]

Thanks for the input both! I'll put the male in an isolation tank so she can get some rest. Will redo the layout on the weekend, when I have more time to transfer the others to another tank. One can never have too many tanks!!

 

[Maxxice]

Put the male in another tank and the female immediately seemed better! She's happily exploring her surroundings again This makes me think that perhaps it's better to leave them in separate tanks permanently. The male can live with my angels and the female can stay with the tetras. I'd rather arrange a "date" once in a while and let them go their separate ways after. They are so much more at ease like this!

 

[Ben Rhau]

How large is the tank and what are your dithers?

 

[anewbie]

Here's picture of the tank
I've also attached a video of the male's aggression. Should I let it play out or isolate the male? She looks a little beat up

That tank look really really small - under 20 gallons - which is way too small for cockatoo in addition there is no place to hide. Even with better scapeing i suspect it is too small.

 

[Ben Rhau]

You could possibly use it for breeding only, but probably want to remove the dithers in that case.