catei, D18 or pucallpaensis

[Mike Wise]

After reading all of the comments I have a couple of comments/questions.

It is my understanding that BBS do not have any yolk remaining after hatching. Is this correct? Has anyone seen a yolk sack on a newly hatched shrimp?

I prefer to use organisms that do not live in freshwater mainly because they are less likely to carry diseases/parasites found in freshwater. This means my preferences are either terrestrial or saltwater.

 

[Ben Rhau]

It is my understanding that BBS do not have any yolk remaining after hatching. Is this correct? Has anyone seen a yolk sack on a newly hatched shrimp?

The nauplii emerge from their cysts with the yolk sac attached, and they deplete the yolk within 24 - 48 hours post hatch. It's thought that this is the reason the caloric value decreases during this time period: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&context=srhonorsprog

Whether the sac itself can be seen, I don't know.

 

[Ben Rhau]

what are asellus and can they survive in the tank for a while?

Search the forum for Asellus aquaticus. @dw1305 is a big fan.

One of the big negative of brine shrimp is they tend to have a short life span once put in freshwater and if they are not all eaten can pollute the water.

This is true of almost all foods. If you target feed and feed in moderation, live foods will be eaten more completely than prepared foods.

 

[MacZ]

The nauplii emerge from their cysts with the yolk sac attached, and they deplete the yolk within 24 - 48 hours post hatch. It's thought that this is the reason the caloric value decreases during this time period: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&context=srhonorsprog

Whether the sac itself can be seen, I don't know.

I agree. And it can be seen, though not with the naked eye.

 

[anewbie]

The ones in the 5 are no longer skittish and the male has really coloured up nicely - here is an updated picture - he posed for me:

In the 29 they are still very skittish - both pairs will eat fluval bug bite now.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Search the forum for Asellus aquaticus. @dw1305 is a big fan.

I am, they are very low maintenance "tank janitors" and capable of surviving even in tanks with Cichlids. They are a "biological model organism", so there is loads if scientific research on them.

I originally heard about them as egg janitors for Corydoras.

cheers Darrel

 

[anewbie]

Are Ap. pucalpaensis polygmous or pair forming? Behavior wise they seem somewhat similar to my borelli but a bit shyer - probably because they were wild.

 

[Mike Wise]

Like most regani-lineage species, in an aquarium with no competition or need to defend a territory, males are opportunistically polygamous if there is more than 1 female. Otherwise they will settle for a single female. This is what I consider 'casually polygamous'.

 

[anewbie]

Like most regani-lineage species, in an aquarium with no competition or need to defend a territory, males are opportunistically polygamous if there is more than 1 female. Otherwise they will settle for a single female. This is what I consider 'casually polygamous'.

Thanks Mike; I find it confusing that they are a regani-lineage; yet were placed in their own genus. Also which lineage are pair forming (if there is such a lineage) ?

 

[anewbie]

Ok from your article on Tom's website it sounds like steindachneri-group are the only pair forming apistogramma - or perhaps there are others but that was the only one mentioned.

 

[Mike Wise]

I do not believe any lineage is totally non-polygamous, but the steindacheri-lineage - particularly the steindacneri-group is close. I also avoid trying to say "pair forming". I prefer 'breeding pair'. To me forming a pair in apistos is not necessarily permanent.

 

[anewbie]

I changed the 5 into a 10 so this is their new home. They remain some what shy so I will add some more ember tetra as dithers. In the 29 I have the 2nd pair. The 29 is more of a community tank and that pair has gotten quite bold.

 

[anewbie]

And she has frys:

 

[anewbie]

So I have to say the first batch has gotten large enough they will explore a bit on their own though right now they are with mom:

On the middle left below her you can see a few - the batch was pretty small the most i've i think i saw was 8 to 10 and these days i mostly see 6 to 8 (4? weeks later). They've gotten big enough the ember tetra pretty much leave them alone but she still chases them off. The tank is a bit populated (1 adult male 3 females and 1 juvi male - by product of buying them 'unsexed' 2 of the other females look like they want to breed the male been courting one of them on the side while mom is busy. I'll probably take a stab at removing the embers but not sure how tolerant they will be to getting caught. The aquarium also have shef. pangio (6) and some random number of shrimps.
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For the first two weeks i didn't feed the frys; the past two weeks i've been feeding them brine shrimp but mom eats most of them. I think next week i'll start adding powder food. Long term i'm not sure what will happen. I'm hopeful beyond the embers i can just leave everyone in the tank till i move in 6 months - then i can upgrade it to a 15 and maybe give the 10 to the current juvi male and one of the other females.
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My pattern is to do a 30ish % water change once a week and then add new leaf extract. She's been a good mom and Dad hasn't been awful - he will once in a blue moon actually chase off the embers but usually he just hangs around to get scolded by mom or flirts with one of the single females.

 

[anewbie]

I thought i would post an update. As I've noted i have 5 in a 10 gallon aquarium - I'm pretty sure 3 females and 2 males (but the 2nd male might be a female or not quite mature male). The female (at least one) has bred a couple of times and i have at least 2 frys that are getting some age. the biggest problem is i never see most of the fishes despite the tank being so small. The breeding female almost always breeds in front where i can see her and when she is not breeding much to my surprise all 5 of them mostly get along with very little chasing at least during times i am observing them (of course no clue what happens when i don't observe them). I did manage to remove most of the embers but the 3 remaining ones have gotten a clue and whenever the net is even near the aquarium they run.
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They will all have to co-exist in this tank including the frys until May 1st after which i will move them into a gigantic aquarium and they can breed to their heart content. As far as I can tell they are much more docile than other apistogramma like fishes i have kept but i don't know if this is generic to the species or just the group i have. The one article i found about them suggest they were quite violent which had me very concern.
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The current tank total population:
3 ember tetra
5 a. pucallpaensis (3 f, 1m, 1 likely young male)
some random number of fry > 2
6 pangio shef.
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I'm not sure it is the same female breeding each time since i don't have tags on them but either way they seem to lay eggs around once every 6 weeks. It seems she spends around 4 weeks with the frys and a week 'off' before laying new eggs.
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If there is a way to reduce spawning activity till after i move I would be interested in hearing it. None of the current fishes can be removed easily without tearing the tank down which i prefer to not ...