Is this normal

[rachael]

:?:

I'm new to fish keeping and hope you can give me some advice.

I bought some A. cacatuoides last week - a male and 3 females. Since getting them home all they have done is fight. Two of the females have turned bright yellow and fight with each other. The other female hides at the other end of the tank. One of the yellow females is fighting with the male a lot.

Is this normal?? Will they harm each other?? Is my tank big enough - its 4' long.

 

[Neil]

rachael,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

If you are new to fishkeeping, you are in for some fun choosing a cichlid for your first fish (Apistogramma cacatuoides). 3 females and 1 male in a 4' tank are great. Cacatuoides is a harem spawner, which means that the females will usually find a spot in the tank to set-up-house and the male will roam from one females territory to the next to "service" them. They are cave'brooders, which means that they prefer to have a cave of some type to lay their eggs on the roof of.
When the female turns yellow, it means that they are ready for reproduction or have already laid eggs. 2 females that are fighting are competing for space and the male and will probably work their differences out when a hierarchy of dominance is established. No intervention on your part is necessary, unless they fight so aggressively that there is serious injury. One will give up before that happens.
The female and the male that are fighting are probably testing each other merit as a partner and protector for each other progeny. They are getting to know each other in a cichlid kind of way. No intervention on your part is necessary, unless it were the male going after a female that is not ready to spawn (not yellow). Most likely they will find each other suitable and spawn.
It sounds to me that everything is going great in your tank. Sit back and enjoy the amazing show that you are and will probably continue to get. It is what most of us are in it for.
Enjoy and keep us posted about the events.

Neil

 

[rachael]

Neil

Thanks for the reply. I am now a little worried about them.

The cacatuoides were not the first members in the tank - it also contains 6 zebra danios and 6 cherry barbs and 3 small corydoras. If the Cacatuoides have babies will they eat them?? What can I do to try and stop that happening?? Although in some ways that would be best since I don't know what I could do with the babies after they grow up.

I do have a smaller tank in the kitchen (1'6") but it has fish in at the moment (2 platies, 5 glass bloodfins, and 3 corydoras) which I eventually want to add to the big tank but I wanted to leave the big tank to settle down a little longer. Also one of the platies doesn't seem as perky as it has been so I don't want to add it to the main tank if it is ill. If however I get to put the members of the small tank into the big tank before she spawns would it be possible to move her and her eggs to the smaller tank or is it not advisable to move the eggs??

What do you advise??

Rachael

 

[Randall]

Cacatuoides Dilemma

Dear Rachael,

Once your female(s) A. cacatuoides has spawned, it's best to leave her alone with her eggs. Unnecessary disturbances should be avoided.

The cherry barbs and zebra danios may pose a problem to free swimming fry. If they must stay in their current tank, you might get yourself a large clump of java moss, or the equivilent, and spread it out along a portion of the bottom of the tank, so that the fry may benefit from some cover.

It also might be a good idea to set up at least three separate cave structures in your tank, spaced well apart, one for each female to claim and in which they can spawn. This might quell some the aggression that you've witnessed.

Enjoy!

All the best,

Randall Kohn