Lonely Apsitogramma sp. Breitbinden

[dnault42]

I had a male/female pair of Apsitogramma sp. Breitbinden, but unfortunately the female died. We, with the help of our LFS, determined after loosing a few other fish that it was probably a protozoan parasite and have since treated (we ruled out water quality issues). We haven't lost any fish in a couple weeks, so with think this has solved the issue, but now our male breitbinden has become totally reclusive. He hides in one of our clay pots all day and only comes out for feeding. He previously was very curious and would always be on the move or courting the female (they did spawn several times as well). He does not look dark, nor does he seem to have breathing problems. Has anyone experienced this species or any other apistos acting very lonely after loosing a mate? Or do you believe he is possibly sick with something else? Let me know your ideas.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Neil]

dnault42,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Extremely monogamous cichlids will sometimes have difficulty after a mate has died, because they, like any animal have routines, but Breitbinden is not particularly monogamous IME. I doubt that what you are seeing is actual remorse for the loss of his mate, but it could appear that way. A cichlids life is predicated on eating, establishing territories, and all that goes along with the process of breeding. The closed environment of the tank is his territory, so not much is happening there to keep him interested. You feed him, so he doesn't really have to put out any effort there. And he just had the rug pulled out from under him with his big event in life - breeding.
He will probably come around in a few days, if he is not sick. They can be very sensative to water quality and are considered a difficult species to keep because of their need for CLEAN, soft, acid water. If you want to give him a new purpose, put another female in there. Maybe put some other fish in there or, better yet, another Dwarf Cichlid to bring him out of his territory comfort zone. Obviously, the whole reproduction issue is the stronger of the influences, so a girl would be best.

Neil