Trifasciata issues

[medge00]

I recently bought (2) trifasciata pairs. I've had them about a week, they are currently in a 10 gal planted... they seem to be pretty timid, hide nearly all the time, and the biggest male is pretty territorial. They don't seem to be much interested in food. I've tried flake (didn't expect much results, but worth a shot), frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms (not my favorite to feed, again, worth a shot)... I've kept blue rams in a similar set up but never had them not eat. Water is good (ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0). I was thinking about setting up another piece of driftwood/java fern to create another small territory... Any thoughts? maybe they need some dithers to get more comfortable? I love how my tank is planted, but i want to see this beautiful fish some more!

 

[Cichlid Junkie]

I would add a about 3-4 dither fish. If you plan to breed them, you might want to look towards pencile fish. They won't mess with the fry. If you wnat to add a pice of driftwood, get a small piece and angle it up towards the glass or tie it to the top with some clear fishing line. Then you could move it around if you don't like the way it looks.

 

[koty]

try peat filtered water. It might improve their mood

 

[scott]

what is your nitrate level apistogammas are more sensitive than other fish. also what ph and hardness are you keeping them in. trifasciata is found in clear and white water streams in the wild so although they can be kept in slightly hard and neutral ph water if they are kept in soft, acidic water they will be much happier and i believe even produce more fry with each spawn but they don't have as many as other species. all of this information and more is found in Romer's Cichlid Atlas. if you are interseted in apistogrammas it is an excellent resource.

 

[Fatts]

I was having the same problem, mine were hiding in the back all the time. It was so bad that I started to fear they were not eating. I had 2 pair in a 10 gal QT, the fish were just able to be sexed so they were not over-crowded. After the first week I started to feed them BBS (and I switched the lights to a timer so that human doesn't equal sudden lights!) and now the silly things swim right up to me when I walk into the room.

Just something to try.

 

[medge00]

my water ph is about 6.8, not very hard, about 3. i use co2 for the plants and am thinking about very slowly dropping the ph some more... nitrates are registering about 5ppm, ammonia and nitrites are 0. i'll add some dithers to see what happens... maybe i just need to separate the pairs. we'll see what happens

 

[Red Baron]

I recently bought (2) trifasciata pairs. I've had them about a week, they are currently in a 10 gal planted... they seem to be pretty timid, hide nearly all the time, and the biggest male is pretty territorial. They don't seem to be much interested in food. I've tried flake (didn't expect much results, but worth a shot), frozen brine shrimp and frozen blood worms (not my favorite to feed, again, worth a shot)... I've kept blue rams in a similar set up but never had them not eat. Water is good (ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0). I was thinking about setting up another piece of driftwood/java fern to create another small territory... Any thoughts? maybe they need some dithers to get more comfortable? I love how my tank is planted, but i want to see this beautiful fish some more!

Try live brine shrimp , most apisto`s can`t resist that temptation . 10 gal might just be a tad too small for 2 pairs . Once they have settled in the dominant male will sure to harrass the other male . One way to prevent fights in a small tank is to over-crowd them . Try throwing in another 2 pairs .

Cheers chap

 

[medge00]

well, things seem to be a wee better... i have gotten them to eat some frozen brine shrimp. We'll see how adding some dithers goes...