steindachneri spawn

[pcrawford1044]

ok i will try and make this as short as possible , i have several young apisto. steindachneris in a very heavily planted 29 gallon tank with lots of driftwood and 3 coconut shells and several endlers livebearers and 2 small bushy nose. 1 of my females has spawned in a coconut cave , not sure how long ago but not long my quetion is how long should i or cani leave fry with mom ? she doesnt even really want the dad around the cave but isnt to bothered by the endlers. any info from you apistooooo experts would be gratefuly apreciated

 

[ste12000]

In a community tank setting i have always syphoned the fry out either imediatly or after the first night..She may protect them for a little while but they soon vanish, the other fish usually get in there.
In a breeding tank holding just a pair you should be able to leave them with the parents until they start to reach sexual maturity (2-5months) , it is then the male that tends to chase away the potential competition, in a river they can escape but in a glass box there is no escape and the male will usually kill them, thinking that they want to intrude on his territory, in reality they cannot escape even if they want to..
With the peaceful species you have as tank mates your Apistogramma pair might do well in raising the fry..

You can only see..Let us know the results. Goodluck.

 

[pcrawford1044]

apistos

thanks i think i have only 1 maybe 2 other males 3 total 6 or so females theyare pretty small yet males bvout 1.5 females 1 inch or so

 

[pcrawford1044]

apistos

they both parents chase others away but nothing to bad , no damage

 

[pcrawford1044]

apisto steindachneri tank

there 29 tank

 

[peterK]

Hi,
Believe me, the tank is not 'heavily planted'... If I wear you I would syphone the fry out to the another tank.

 

[pcrawford1044]

apistos

it does have alot of plants considering its only a 29 gallon tank

 

[ed seeley]

I'm sure Piotr is not trying to be critical, merely give you some advice that there isn't really much cover there compared to what most would consider a heavily planted tank and there might not be enough cover. Once your tank has matured and the plants have grown then it probably will be nice and heavily planted but at the moment it needs some time to get to the stage. The size isn't really an issue, it's the plant mass that is regardless of size.

With the tankmates you have though I would have thought that your apistos would be able to raise a brood even without the cover as long as you get their feeding right.

 

[pcrawford1044]

to all the experts out there is going to keep any eggs from hatching by having bushy nose plecos in the same tanks ? ive seen them go in the coconut caves. i havent seen any eggs yet or could it be just a new mom thing? thanks to everyone for there replies

 

[pcrawford1044]

thank you ed and everyone

 

[Mike Wise]

I have always found A. steindachneri females to be excellent mothers from the start. Most plecos are more active at night. This is often when eggs/larvae are lost. If the plecos can get in the breeding cave, it is a good bet that they will.

 

[pcrawford1044]

thanks mike i,ll take them out right away i should have known better because for the same reason i dont keep any with my shell dwellers

 

[dw1305]

Re: is this a heavily planted tank

Hi all,
I'd have to agree that this is not a heavily planted tank. Have a look at <http://dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php>, this is the habitat I aim for.

In my "community" 70l. Apistogramma tank, where I have a trio (1m/2f) of Apistogramma cacatuoides, and lots of different sized fry (from sexable sub-adult, down to about a month old), 5 Black Neons Tetra (dithers) and 4 Otocinclus. I don't do any regular maintenance to this tank, other than a 10% water change (2 x 6 pint milk cartons of rainwater) every day.

There are 6 clay flower pots, 5 bits of wood, and loads of smaller bits of bark and wood, many overlying and overlapping one another, and all fairly heavily planted with Java fern and various mosses. 2 pieces of bark covered pipe and 4 bamboo canes (also planted with moss), and 6 or 7 Oak leaves in various states of decay. The plants/wood/pots/leaves fill 3/4 of the open volume of the tank - main plants are Amazon swords, a Nymphaea Water-lily, Echinodorus tenellus, Cryptocoryne, and a a surface cover of Salvinia natans and Potamogeton gayi.

I keep a small amount of sand substrate clear for the Apistogramma "earth eating" activities and try to retain a small open swimming area but only so I can net out some fry, when it gets a bit overcrowded. There are plenty of places for the other fish to hide, even when both of the females are protecting young fry at the same time

cheers Darrel (in Bath)

 

[dw1305]

Tank image - Heavily planted tank

Hi all,
Here's the tank with A. cacatuoides and fry.

cheers Darrel

 

[pcrawford1044]

thanks mike will i removed all the plecos now i,ll just wait and see what happens

 

[viejo]

Yes, most night active fish like 'busheynose' will do a number on eggs or wigglers which is probably why most fishes that practice parental care don't seem to care for them a whole lot :biggrin: .