First time breeding A. cacatuoides

[Phil AquariumDays]

Hey everyone new here and new to
A. Cacatuoides.
I've had a m/f pair for around 12weeks now. They are in a planted 40gallon long, with harlequin rasbora, pentazona barbs, otos, Cory's and a single pleco. I made a few cave areas for them and they have been doing great.
Noticed eggs(estimate around 40-50) under a rock around 6 weeks ago, they hatched and some (20ish) even got to free swimming stage.
I tried to remove some with a airline tube to syphon them out to a fry net to raise separately, was thinking I'd be able to care for them easier.
They disappeared before I could start feeding bbs and so did the remaining fry left in the main tank
Now I'm pretty sure I have eggs again in a coconut cave. This time I've opted to use a diy divider in the tank (perspex with lots of small holes drilled in) keeping the m/f with the eggs on one side.
Hoping for better luck this time
Questions
What can I do to improve my chances?
Should I remove the male? If so when?
How long till the fry will be safe without the divider?
Any other advice on this welcomed.
Thanks for taking time to read.

 

[Phil AquariumDays]

 

[MacZ]

What can I do to improve my chances?

To be frank: Move the adults to a separate breeding tank. It's community OR breeding tank. You have to choose. You have too many preadators and disturbances in your tank. In this constellation the female will burn out within six months of unsuccessful spawning.

In a breeding tank you can (and should) leave the female with the fry until she's ready for the next spawn. The male should be moved once the fry leave the cave.

Important question: Is breeding really intended and do you know what to do with the fry? Domestic breeds of A. cacatuoides are superfluous in most countries and hard to get rid of once the local market is saturated.

 

[Phil AquariumDays]

To be frank: Move the adults to a separate breeding tank. It's community OR breeding tank. You have to choose. You have too many preadators and disturbances in your tank. In this constellation the female will burn out within six months of unsuccessful spawning.

In a breeding tank you can (and should) leave the female with the fry until she's ready for the next spawn. The male should be moved once the fry leave the cave.

Important question: Is breeding really intended and do you know what to do with the fry? Domestic breeds of A. cacatuoides are superfluous in most countries and hard to get rid of once the local market is saturated.

To be honest never planned on breeding, I love that it has happened and would like to keep some. I have a second tank, and also some empty 10gallons I could set up.
My plan is to set up a tank just for the pair to breed in the future, but I'm not at that stage yet.
My LFS told me they don't often see them and would be interested in moving them on for me once matured.
I will take your advice, ill remove the male to the other side of the tank once I see the fry and perhaps try to move some of them to a separate tank to raise on their own this time round. Will be setting up my other tank to house the community and think I'll keep the 40gallon just for the apistos to breed in the future. Thanks

 

[Ben Rhau]

It’s good to separate the male so that he doesn’t harass the female to spawn when she’s not ready (which could end up with fatal consequences). But it’s the rasbora, barbs, and pleco that are the main threats to your fry. It will be difficult for any of the fry to survive predation.

 

[hongyj]

I breed all my fish in 10 gallons my cacas as well. I find the most success in an environment where my apistos feel safe. vn though I net them all the time, my apistogrammas don't hide when I move things around in the tank, swim out in the open and interact with thir environmnt without being shy (without dither fish). It depends on how you do things and what you've learned through either experience or research, both of which I have plenty of. Everyone has their own way of doing things. The water is gonna be different on your end, so is how much you're able to feed them and care for them.

Tip: watch out for your male apistogramma. Have you been feeding bloodworms or anything of that sort? because he seems fatter than the female lol. Which is bloat and possibly dropsy symptom, which there really isn't anything to do to be honest.

I've bred my apistogramma within a week of getting them at an age and size (1 inch) where they rarely breed. Doing my research extensively definitely helped. Experience always beats out research but you can align things you see and observe with what you've read which helps you internalize that information and be a better fish breeder. You don't have much to worry about in my opinion, your tank water is nicely tanned and the stocking should be fine. Don't know what the german blue ram is doing in there but...

From what I'm seeing, I think I can help you improve your tank a bit. Getting a breeding setup is not only costly but time consuming and takes a lot of dedication along with expertise. I see that your tank does have some flow, if it's affecting any of the areas that your apistogrammas are spawning in then I would turn it down or off completely. Feed baby brine shrimp, daphnia/moina, mosquito larvae, mysis shrimp, etc.. feeding them should be the best part for you. Keep an eye out on your male, I think the reason your little breeding project is not going well is because the female is eating her own fry out of fear that they will get eaten by the other fish, add more cover and line of sight breaks and find yourself a really good male. Most triple reds have lost a lot of their natural markings, fin shape, and behaviors due to inbreeding so a lot of the time they just sit there being all derpy. Get your fish from a good source like aquatic clarity, JDaquatics, or even me, and you'll find the most success. My fish all have had wild caught apistogrammas bred in to strengthen to gene. The male's purpose is to defend the territory from other fish, that's why dither fish work because the female sees a purpose in keeping the male around so won't attack him in a breeding tank.

Best of luck to you, and let me know how it goes