help mi breed my nijsseni

[stina]

HI ppl!
I have moved my breeding pair of apisto nijsseni to a 40l tank(aprox 11G).
Tank decoration was 2 pieces of bogwood, anubias nana, 2 clay pots(one broken), some java moss, and riccia on top!
They have settled very nicely, seenig by their colors...
tank is barebottom.
Tank was allready mature, filled with liquid rock, oh i mean, wih my tap water...
And now i have succesfully lowerd GH and KH with RO water...
I have realized that my male is allways in front of the tank, and i can't see the female... so i have come to conclusion that she is guarding eggs, and then one day after feeding i have seen total aggresion by the male?!?!
What was that??
He dosen't aprove female anymore??
Can someone help please?
Also, good advices are allways welcome here... :wink:

 

[stina]

anybody?? nobody??
help... :!:

 

[Randall]

Apistogramma nijsseni

Hello Stima,

Do you actually witness your male acting aggressively toward the female? If so, it may be due to their new surroundings.

If your fish were a compatible pair before moving them, the change in behavior may be due to the small size of their new home. The territory of a male Apistogramma nijsseni is about the size of a 40 l tank, perhaps larger. So if she is not ready to breed, the female is a non-receptive intruder in the male's territory. This might explain the aggression.

A larger tank for them may help.

Good luck!

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with Randall. A. nijsseni is relatively aggressive by apisto standards & needs a larger tank. I have successfully bred A. nijsseni in a 15 US Gal. tank (60 x 30 x 30 cm) that housed 2 females and a male. There were many caves and the entire tank was choked by Java Moss. None of the fish could ever see each other (nor could I). The male bred with only 1 of the females; the other was used as a target fis. It worked great except when you wanted to remove the fry. Then I had to tear down the whole tank to get them.

 

[stina]

Thanks guys!
Yes, i have seen aggression...the male is chasing female every time she comes out of the hole behind my corner filter...
Well, currently i don't have any bigger tank, only few smaller ones for cory breeding...
We will see...maybe more java moss will fix my problem...
thanx once again!
regards

 

[tjnelson44]

If adding more cover does not work then you could remove the male to a different tank or put him in a breeding net in the tank he is in right now. Leave him isolated for about a week. This will give the female a chance to establish the tank as her territory. When the male is added back in, the female may not get picked on as bad. Sometimes the tables turn and the female will pick on the newly introduced male.
Trevor

 

[stina]

Thanks again, but this won't be needed.
They have started to breed right this moment...
I was 57min watching in my little fish-room superb flash by male and female with their best colors ever!
Man, what a sight!?
Thanks again, i will post later some pics...my damn batteries are empty... :evil:

regards :wink: