Community tank breeding.

[Hellfishguy]

I've somehow manages to raise up a good number of Apistogramma ortegai in a community tank containing cardinals, gold laser cories etc. The parents did an exemplary job keeping the other fish at bay. It IS possible, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Mike Wise]

It looks like you had several successful spawns. In a tank with dense structure and larger size, yes it is very possible. Most people do not do this however.

 

[Hellfishguy]

I couldn't resist the opportunity to obtain a pair of ortegai despite the lack of a proper breeding tank, so I made due with what I could during the lockdown. Some of the fry may have been picked off by the cardinals, but I never caught them in the act. They eventually learned not to venture anywhere near the babies. The Corydoras, as usual, learned nothing.

The young fish are all from the same brood. Will the smaller ones catch up to their larger siblings?

 

[yukondog]

What type of floaters do you have on the top, and what type of rizone plant do you have at the bottom.

Will the smaller ones catch up to their larger siblings?

Every batch I have runts, I have about 50 or so fry from Cacs., Hongsloi and viejita, some are about 1 1/4" and others only about 3/8" at four and half mo. old, you could try and remove the larger ones and do a good water change and the smaller ones won't need to compete for food as much.

 

[Hellfishguy]

What type of floaters do you have on the top, and what type of rizone plant do you have at the bottom.
The floaters are common & lace leaf water sprite; the rhizome is Anubias barteri.


Every batch I have runts, I have about 50 or so fry from Cacs., Hongsloi and viejita, some are about 1 1/4" and others only about 3/8" at four and half mo. old, you could try and remove the larger ones and do a good water change and the smaller ones won't need to compete for food as much.

I have a cacatuoides brood with much greater size differences than the ortegai. Some are close to 2" while others are about the size of a month old fry. I stepped up water changes & removed the larger ones, but I'm begnning to think that they're permanently stunted.

 

[yukondog]

I know what you mean, I sitting here looking at my Cac. fry tank on the desk, they were born on 3/19/20 the largest is a male about 1 1/4" and some of the runts are about the size of a very small guppy. Anything over 1/2" will be coming out today and go to another tank for further grow out. I seem to have more runts with this batch than normal, too much inbreeding down the line maybe.

 

[Hellfishguy]

My cacatuoides juvies are F1, so it can't be inbreeding.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

What type of floaters do you have on the top and what type of rizone plant do you have at the bottom.

The top plants are Ceratopteris "cornuta", and the rhizome plant in the photo is Anubias barteri.

They are both really good plants for an Apistogramma tank.

cheers Darrel

 

[yukondog]

I have F1 Hongsloi, F1 Viejitas and Macs. I breed, the same thing I always get runts in every batch of whatever, weather it's angles,kribs, apistos, BN or ect., it's this batch of Cacs. that I seem to get more than normal runts.

 

[Hellfishguy]

Hi all,The top plants are Ceratopteris "cornuta", and the rhizome plant in the photo is Anubias barteri.

They are both really good plants for an Apistogramma tank.

cheers Darrel

Most of the floaters are Ceratopteris siliquosa, AKA lace leaf water sprite. The structure of the leaves doesn't cut off as much light as common water sprite, plus they also look great planted in the substrate.