Should Male Apisto Cac be removed

[Kristina Meade]

I think my pair have spawned, my female is a different colour and her markings are different, she is not bright yellow but very pale yellow. She spends all her time in her cave and is only coming out to grab a mouthful of food at feeding time and occasionally for a very few seconds. The male is not paying any attention to her or the cave. They are the only residents other than a single small oto. Do I need to remove the male? If so when? If the spawn hatches do the fry have to be removed? If so when? The tank is a 20G well planted. Thanks for the help, I am a newby when it comes to egg layers as I have always kept live bearers before.

 

[gerald]

If they're getting along OK together, you can leave the male in. Once the fry become free-swimming (about a week after egg-laying) watch out; some pairs fight, and others coexist just fine. That's strange that the female turned pale -- usually they stay bright yellow while guarding eggs and fry.