Heater failure with cac fry

[Yazwaz]

My heater failed last night in a tank with a female cac and approx 25 fry. As I live in the north of England the temp probably dropped in the house to about 55f or 13c last night. All still look ok and temp back up to approx 26c or 78c. So they are still feeding and the female looks fine. With my years of fish keeping knowledge I have reasoned that they will probably be ok and will survive? I'm a great believer in not being too namby pamby about these things and the survival of the fittest etc. a sort of natural cull method although not done deliberately. But my main concern is this will it effect the sex ratio of the fry and if so in what way.hope this all makes sense as I am a new member and not familiar with terminology and protocol of these forums. I thank you.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

With my years of fish keeping knowledge I have reasoned that they will probably be ok and will survive?

Yes they should be fine. If the fry are very young you may find that they all grow up female, as temperature affects gender in Apistogramma spp. I know from my A. cactuoides at about pH7 and 120 microS conductivity you get about 50:50 male:female at 26-27oC, and more males hotter and more females cooler.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mike Wise]

Sex ratio changes really depends on the age of the fry. After ~6 weeks of age their sex is more or less 'set'. I doubt that a single cold day will do much to change sex ratios.

 

[Yazwaz]

Thanks for the replies guys. At least they are all eating well and look to be in fine fettle. I will post up the sex ratios when they become apparent by the way the normal temp they are kept in is 27C. what sort of age can the sex be determined?

 

[Mike Wise]

Anywhere between 3 and 6 months, depending on how they are fed and well maintained the tank.

 

[wethumbs]

A. cac is one of the fastest growing Apisto. It generally takes about 2 to 3 months for them to be sexable. Mines are generally sexable and sellable by 2.5 months.