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Deformity or Injury?

leongkc

New Member
Messages
6
Hi folks,

I'm new to this forum and would very much resist posting this question but I can't seem to have an answer.
I have this guy A.Inka 50 (Baesnchi) for 3 weeks now and I noticed a split on his caudal fin.

He is growing quite well, but the split in that fin perturbs me. I'm not sure if it was an injury he incurred in the LFS that will take a long time to heal, or it was a birth deformity.

Anybody can help shed some light on this?

apisto.jpg
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
Is the fish wild caught? Those have sometimes marks like these, meaning he dodged a heron or another predator literally by a tail's length.
 

leongkc

New Member
Messages
6
Is the fish wild caught? Those have sometimes marks like these, meaning he dodged a heron or another predator literally by a tail's length.
Hmm.. I have no idea and it slipped my mind to ask.

It takes pellet food well so it is likely to be tank bred? I may be wrong on this.

It is constantly chasing away the female...and the yellow has yellowed up quite abit in color..

Should I get another female to diffuse the aggression or just wait?
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
Hmm.. I have no idea and it slipped my mind to ask.

It takes pellet food well so it is likely to be tank bred? I may be wrong on this.

Depending on how long they have been in captivity many wild caught cichlids are already used to processed foods when sold.

It is constantly chasing away the female...and the yellow has yellowed up quite abit in color..

Should I get another female to diffuse the aggression or just wait?

I think someone here noted that A. baenschi are at the more aggressive end of the aggression spectrum in Apistogramma.
Aggression diffusion doesn't help with these fish, as they are only aggressive intraspecific. Interspecific aggression like in Malawi cichlids can be diffused.

Also depending on the size of your tank another female might be a death sentence for one of the females. The females have also smaller territories and will fight among each other.

I'd consider restructuring the tank as a first measure and if that doesn't help separation.

Can you show a picture of the tank and give the tank dimensions?
 

leongkc

New Member
Messages
6
Can you show a picture of the tank and give the tank dimensions?

The tank is a Fluval Spec 16, where the footprint essentially is 18.5" x 12".
It is heavily planted with driftwood to break up lines of sight.

Honestly things don't look too bad yet, and the female does have alot of smarts.

apisto_tank.jpg


apisto_female_1.jpg
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
Nice basis, but the tank has a long way to go. Some more high growing plants and cover from above will be helpful, also structural leaf litter, so the female can actually hide.

The footprint is all but good for Apistogramma, 60x30cm would be a good footprint to be able to structure the tank so the fish can evade each other.
 

anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,366
Nice basis, but the tank has a long way to go. Some more high growing plants and cover from above will be helpful, also structural leaf litter, so the female can actually hide.

The footprint is all but good for Apistogramma, 60x30cm would be a good footprint to be able to structure the tank so the fish can evade each other.
Do Baesnchi require blackwater or are they one of the species that are perfectly happy with clear water ?
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
In principle you can keep most blackwater species in clearwater, but shouldn't expect successful spawns. To my knowledge A. baenschi are not a blackwater species that can only be kept in blackwater, so very soft, but only mildly acidic (6.0) should be enough.
 

leongkc

New Member
Messages
6
Nice basis, but the tank has a long way to go. Some more high growing plants and cover from above will be helpful, also structural leaf litter, so the female can actually hide.

The footprint is all but good for Apistogramma, 60x30cm would be a good footprint to be able to structure the tank so the fish can evade each other.

Noted and thanks. Actually, there were Amazon swords at the background which I'm trying to grow. So far, I feel all the plants and driftwood blocks many lines of sight and aggression is well contained. I've added leaves 2 days ago.

Frankly, they get along more nowadays and take "strolls" at times and below is a v cute picture I caught of them hanging at the side of the wall looking downwards.

Assuming i do really have a pair (1M1F), when will the male eventually color up? It still looks rather dark still or is that the natural color already?
apisto2.jpg
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
Do they both hang in the corner like that regularly? Because I'm getting the impression they are sick. The colouration of the male in such a bright environment I have only seen in fish with bacterial infections. He also looks like he has popeye. And the female has the characteristical striped stress-colouration.

When was that picture taken? How long were the fish in the tank at that point?

What are the water parameters?
 

leongkc

New Member
Messages
6
Do they both hang in the corner like that regularly? Because I'm getting the impression they are sick. The colouration of the male in such a bright environment I have only seen in fish with bacterial infections. He also looks like he has popeye. And the female has the characteristical striped stress-colouration.

When was that picture taken? How long were the fish in the tank at that point?

What are the water parameters?

Nope. I seldom see them there. They tend to explore both the mid and bottom tiers extensively. They will go to the top when they know I'm about to feed. Basically, the male is like the tank boss. The female developed yellowing and bold striping much later.

The picture was taken today, and the fish have been in the tank for about a month. They are eating well and moving freely around the tank. So it never occurred to me they are sick at all. Interesting point you make. Let me go stare at my male more later.

Water parameters are:
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
<10 Nitrates

The parameters have been stable for a while and is cycled.
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
male eventually color up? It still looks rather dark still or is that the natural color already?
I've never seen a healthy Apistogramma look anything like as dark as that. I'm really interested in how you get on from here.

cheers Darrel
 

anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,366
Hi all,

I've never seen a healthy Apistogramma look anything like as dark as that. I'm really interested in how you get on from here.

cheers Darrel
Sometime my moody hongsoli will go mostly black - there are two males in the tank - and I think he mostly does it when he wants to chill - the other one never changes his colours or at least not radically. I have two males and two females in a 29.
 

leongkc

New Member
Messages
6
Hi all,

I've never seen a healthy Apistogramma look anything like as dark as that. I'm really interested in how you get on from here.

cheers Darrel

This sounds ominous.
He is this dark since the day I brought him home.
 

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