The most difficult apistos to breed

[blueblue]

There are so many different species of apistos,
which species do you think to be most difficult and challenging
to breed? Let's share. Thanks

i myself feel that A. Paucisquamis is the most challenging one,
followed by A. Mendezi and A. Diplo...

 

[KenL]

Ones I have had and never saw any signs of spawning were some pairs of nijsseni (poor stock?), A.iniridae and A.pertensis.

 

[Mike Wise]

The ones that I can't get, of course!

Actually, every species of Apistogramma that has been kept in the hobby in sufficient numbers to be spread to more than one or two hobbyists has been successfully bred. Wild A. nijsseni & A. iniridae, for example, both successfully reproduced for me in my tap water! Fish from the blackwater streams of the upper Rio Negro are probably the hardest to spawn only because so few hobbyists are willing to supply the proper conditions.

 

[Z Man]

The one I truly wanted to breed but never could was A. elizabethae.

 

[apistobob]

I had just the opposite experience from Mike; iniridae have been the toughest for me by far. Also, I have found fishes of the pertensis group to be the most difficult to maintain for the long term - many years. For me I have trouble with them losing vigor after a couple of generations.

Bob

 

[Mike Wise]

pertensis- & iniridae-group species tend to be more monogamous than any other groups of apistos. These fish should be kept in larger groupings so that they can pick out their own partner. Given the correct water conditions & their preferred mate, they produce plenty of fry. Remove the correct water conditions or preferred mate & you usually get nothing!

 

[blueblue]

yes, i have a similar experience with Mike.
Essentially, for breeding iniridae-group species,
they key is pairing of the couple. If the male fish does
not get on with the female fish well, they won't spawn even
when we use many tricks to entice them...

 

[Chris(wildcaught!)]

Although my experience in breeding is not that big, I have had sucess with 5 species (Nijsseni, Rotpunkt, Macmasteri, Cacs, and A sp. "Babyface" (I don´t know proper name of last one, maybe A cf. regani))

I would say that A. Irinidae is the toughest one, because I have been trying for two years but never had any fry.
The first male I had was superagressive and the females did not last so long with him, although one of them turned yellow before going to fish heaven.

Now I have aquired 3 new females and two new males, and really expect something to happen. I just can´t stand the thought of failure of breeding this species.

So the answer IMHO is Irinidae.

Regards / Chris

 

[Mike Wise]

You will have a better chance with 2 males & 3 females. The water has to be very soft and below pH 5.5 for the eggs to hatch.

I have never seen Baby Face personally & the only photos show a eunotus-complex fish, possibly the same as A. cf. eunotus (Orange-tail/Orangeschwanz). The photo does not show many diagnostic features.

 

[blueblue]

Are there any experience to share on breeding A. Paucisquamis ?

 

[Fisherking]

Hi, I did manage to breed pauqisquamis a few years back, could only se about 20fry, but they were gone in a few days.

I think diplotaenia and sp miua is the most difficult to breed. I have had many fry from diplo but none from miua.

Diplos are difficult to breed and the fry grow very slow.

 

[yorky]

This is indeed an interesting discussion topic.

What are the conditions for breeding Diplos and Mendezi?
I've had no luck with Mendezi and Diplo.

Sometimes, I find that even the right setup is important.
I have this experience with my Elizabethae.
Been feeding them BBS daily for almost 3 months and they were kept in a 2 foot tank with lots of Java moss and driftwood and a couple of dither fishes. PH 5 and softwater using the ADA soil, almost ideal conditions..
Nothing happened until I decided to put a small clay pot inverted into the setup with just a small opening into the pot.
Within a week, the female took to it and began to aggressively court the male. And like they say, the rest is history.

 

[tjudy]

DOA fish... never had much success with them.

 

[blueblue]

Hi, I did manage to breed pauqisquamis a few years back, could only se about 20fry, but they were gone in a few days.

I think diplotaenia and sp miua is the most difficult to breed. I have had many fry from diplo but none from miua.

Diplos are difficult to breed and the fry grow very slow.

Yes, dilpo's Fry grow very slow while could be quite strong!
Moreover, slow growing will usually yield better looking F1

 

[blueblue]

Thanks Yorky for the sharing and it is interesting to note that a small clay pot helped.

For dilpo and mendezi, i managed to breed them in tanks with the
following settings:

1. ADA Substrate.
2. Driftwood with Java Moss.
3. Tetra's Black Water.
4. Dried acidic leaves.
5. Many small flasks for them to spawn.
6. 20 liter tanks.

To stimulate spawning, pH down and
peat moss will help.

This is indeed an interesting discussion topic.

What are the conditions for breeding Diplos and Mendezi?
I've had no luck with Mendezi and Diplo.

Sometimes, I find that even the right setup is important.
I have this experience with my Elizabethae.
Been feeding them BBS daily for almost 3 months and they were kept in a 2 foot tank with lots of Java moss and driftwood and a couple of dither fishes. PH 5 and softwater using the ADA soil, almost ideal conditions..
Nothing happened until I decided to put a small clay pot inverted into the setup with just a small opening into the pot.
Within a week, the female took to it and began to aggressively court the male. And like they say, the rest is history.

 

[yorky]

Blueblue,
Thanks for the advice, will maybe provide more hiding places to start with.
By the way, heard that there are some Peruvian Apistos in HK now?
I've been waiting to get some good quality Peru Apistos..
Like the Apisto sp Winkelfleck.

 

[blueblue]

Blueblue,
Thanks for the advice, will maybe provide more hiding places to start with.
By the way, heard that there are some Peruvian Apistos in HK now?
I've been waiting to get some good quality Peru Apistos..
Like the Apisto sp Winkelfleck.

Hi Yorky, you're welcome.
i haven't heard of the arrival of Peruvian apistos (Aquatic Store's news?!),
while i did accidentally find a lot of A. Paucisquamis in some shipments of mixed apistos... .. and i bought quite number of them... will have many breeding pairs soon , hehee

 

[Richgrenfell]

I can't say i've found any apistos terribly hard to do (well, the ones I have done anyway). I had F1 diplos that spawned in rainwater (I ended up with LOTS of them), and I had wild maulbruter that spawned in rainwater as well. I did have a little trouble with aggies (belem), as the female kept killing the male before he could fertilize the eggs. It took me 3 males to get that right! other than that I have done viejita, mac's, staeki, hongsloi, macmiliensis, smaragd, aggie (iquitos) and a few others all of which I was able to do in tap water. I would LOVE to give pertensis a try and I really would like to get some breitbinden as well.

Rich

 

[Chris(wildcaught!)]

I have never seen Baby Face personally & the only photos show a eunotus-complex fish, possibly the same as A. cf. eunotus (Orange-tail/Orangeschwanz). The photo does not show many diagnostic features.

You are probably right Mike, I looked through my books and remember that I once made a note that it was very similar to the pictures of Eunotus (page 400, 401 of Römers book), the blue parts in the face was almost the same.

 

[Mike Wise]

In the Aqualog Extra there are several photos of A. sp. Nanay (not Papagei) that lists another name as "Baby face yellow tail". It could be Nanay.