I am a beginner in apisto rearing so I have many questions. I bought what I thought at the time was a pair of cacatuoides. They never seem to be interested in each other. This weekend, my fish store had some more and I thought I would add two more females so the male would be happy...(we are only talking about fish now... :wink: ) Now, it is pretty clear that the two I had originally were both males because they are doing all sorts of funny stuff to the two new ones. They are puffing up, and shaking and following them around. The bigger male is also chasing the smaller male now. All of these are in a 12 gallon. What should I do?
-
Hello guest! Are you an Apistogramma enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Apisto enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your fish and tanks and have a great time with other Apisto enthusiasts. Sign up today!
Courting behavior for cacatuoides?
- Thread starter njmomie
- Start date
- Messages
- 1,164
- Location
- New Jersey, USA
"Now, it is pretty clear that the two I had originally were both males because they are doing all sorts of funny stuff to the two new ones. They are puffing up, and shaking and following them around. The bigger male is also chasing the smaller male now. All of these are in a 12 gallon. What should I do?"
Dear Momie,
What should you do? Cheer!
The puffing up, shaking and following to which you refer sounds like courtship behavior. As one or both of your new females become receptive to the dominant male's goofing around, she will turn an intense bright yellow. When that happens, you may want to remove the other male, if you want him alive.
At 12 gallons, your tank may only accomodate one breeding pair. Should you furnish two cave structures at opposite sides of the tank, if the situation works out socially, the male may spawn with both females. A. cacatuoides is a harem spawner and form a father-mother-fry family structure.
Please don't forget to keep up with your weekly partial water changes.
Good luck!
Randall Kohn
Dear Momie,
What should you do? Cheer!
The puffing up, shaking and following to which you refer sounds like courtship behavior. As one or both of your new females become receptive to the dominant male's goofing around, she will turn an intense bright yellow. When that happens, you may want to remove the other male, if you want him alive.
At 12 gallons, your tank may only accomodate one breeding pair. Should you furnish two cave structures at opposite sides of the tank, if the situation works out socially, the male may spawn with both females. A. cacatuoides is a harem spawner and form a father-mother-fry family structure.
Please don't forget to keep up with your weekly partial water changes.
Good luck!
Randall Kohn
Courting cacatuoides
Thanks for your advice Randall. When you say the female will turn yellow, is it her entire body or just parts of her body? My females seem to only have a yellowish tinge. One female is slightly larger than the other and she seems to be more receptive to the males. Should I wait to see who pairs up with who before removing the odd male? I have a piece of drift wood on one side of the tank and a resin cave on the other. Do they prefer laying eggs on those or should I use something else? I also have some rummy nose tetras, are they going to pose a problem to the eggs/fry?
Thanks for your advice Randall. When you say the female will turn yellow, is it her entire body or just parts of her body? My females seem to only have a yellowish tinge. One female is slightly larger than the other and she seems to be more receptive to the males. Should I wait to see who pairs up with who before removing the odd male? I have a piece of drift wood on one side of the tank and a resin cave on the other. Do they prefer laying eggs on those or should I use something else? I also have some rummy nose tetras, are they going to pose a problem to the eggs/fry?
- Messages
- 1,164
- Location
- New Jersey, USA
A. cacatuoides
Dear Momie,
What is your name, anyway?
When one or both of your females is ready to spawn, her entire body will turn intense yellow, and she will display dark black markings. Until this happens, it is probably okay to leave the subdominant male in the tank, unless the dominant male gets out of hand.
Apistogramma species are cave or concealed spawners. They prefer to spawn inside caves, so a mere piece of wood won't do it. Better to invest in a second cave placed far away from the existing one.
As for the Rummy Nose tetras, they are fine for the time being as dithers. But after eggs are laid, I'd remove them from the tank. Rummy Noses are very fast swimmers and are capable of picking off cacatuoides fry.
Good luck!
Randall Kohn
Dear Momie,
What is your name, anyway?
When one or both of your females is ready to spawn, her entire body will turn intense yellow, and she will display dark black markings. Until this happens, it is probably okay to leave the subdominant male in the tank, unless the dominant male gets out of hand.
Apistogramma species are cave or concealed spawners. They prefer to spawn inside caves, so a mere piece of wood won't do it. Better to invest in a second cave placed far away from the existing one.
As for the Rummy Nose tetras, they are fine for the time being as dithers. But after eggs are laid, I'd remove them from the tank. Rummy Noses are very fast swimmers and are capable of picking off cacatuoides fry.
Good luck!
Randall Kohn
My cacatuoides pairing up...
Randall,
I have been called lots of names....but I guess you can call me Tanya. The NJmomie is basically because I am a mom living in NJ (very original). Anyway, since the last post, the bigger more colorful male has now dominated both females and they are both turning more yellow by the day. I wouldn't say it is intense but more than just a tinge. As for the other male, he tries so hard to get his two cents in but usually just ends up in the corner by the heater so I think I have to bring him to my local fish store this weekend before he floats. I have also invested in a terra cotta dish which I have inverted and knocked out a portion for an entrance. The piece of wood I mentioned is placed in a way where it leans onto one side of the tank so it makes sort of a cave but we'll see. In the meantime, I'll just keep an eye out for fry and my fingers crossed....very exciting.
Randall,
I have been called lots of names....but I guess you can call me Tanya. The NJmomie is basically because I am a mom living in NJ (very original). Anyway, since the last post, the bigger more colorful male has now dominated both females and they are both turning more yellow by the day. I wouldn't say it is intense but more than just a tinge. As for the other male, he tries so hard to get his two cents in but usually just ends up in the corner by the heater so I think I have to bring him to my local fish store this weekend before he floats. I have also invested in a terra cotta dish which I have inverted and knocked out a portion for an entrance. The piece of wood I mentioned is placed in a way where it leans onto one side of the tank so it makes sort of a cave but we'll see. In the meantime, I'll just keep an eye out for fry and my fingers crossed....very exciting.
Babies and more babies
I spotted babies yesterday...
The females have taken separate caves on opposite sides of the tank. One has the babies and the other is guarding her cave so I would imagine there are eggs in there, too. The male is just swimming around. I kept the rummy tetras in there because I could catch them and so far they have been chased by the mother so I think I'll leave them for now. The two females seem thin....because they are not really eating. They are two busy keeping watch I guess but I am concerned. Are they going to eventually feed?
I spotted babies yesterday...
The females have taken separate caves on opposite sides of the tank. One has the babies and the other is guarding her cave so I would imagine there are eggs in there, too. The male is just swimming around. I kept the rummy tetras in there because I could catch them and so far they have been chased by the mother so I think I'll leave them for now. The two females seem thin....because they are not really eating. They are two busy keeping watch I guess but I am concerned. Are they going to eventually feed?
- Messages
- 1,033
- Location
- toronto, canada
congratulations!! now you are a nj fishy mommy!
the rummies would prefer fry to flake any day. they will wait till the female feeds to pick off the fry. i have seen this with cory's and eggs esp, but have never waited to see it with rummy's.
you will need another tank soon, to raise the fry in. and another for the rummies.
have fun, rick
the rummies would prefer fry to flake any day. they will wait till the female feeds to pick off the fry. i have seen this with cory's and eggs esp, but have never waited to see it with rummy's.
you will need another tank soon, to raise the fry in. and another for the rummies.
have fun, rick
Neil
New Member
- Messages
- 1,583
- Location
- Sacramento, Ca.
"nj fishy mommy" 
Congratualations! 2 spawns for the price of one. Your rummynose will probably cause you some problems, but it is likely that some of the fry will make it if you keep them in there. A couple usually do. If you want a larger percentage from the spawn though, you will probably need to redo the housing arrangement.
Don't worry about their eating. They can go for quite some time. It is possible they are "picking" at food when you aren't in front of the tank. They will eat when they are ready. They are probably pretty busy right now.
Neil
Congratualations! 2 spawns for the price of one. Your rummynose will probably cause you some problems, but it is likely that some of the fry will make it if you keep them in there. A couple usually do. If you want a larger percentage from the spawn though, you will probably need to redo the housing arrangement.
Don't worry about their eating. They can go for quite some time. It is possible they are "picking" at food when you aren't in front of the tank. They will eat when they are ready. They are probably pretty busy right now.
Neil
