Trigger happy!!!

[Bunnie1978]

Right side of my 29g display stocked with a wild male Apistogramma Cacatuoides and 2 domestic triple red females. Also a couple bristlenose plecos.

Left side. I rescaped this tank last week. You can see one of the females nose sticking out in the back.

One of the females nesting. I couldn't really see in there very well, but it doesn't look like she's spawned yet

I had a really hard time getting great pictures of the male. He has really long fins, but not very colorful. I hope that when he breeds with the domestic females, I'll get the longer fins AND some color!

Here are some 100% wild blood A. Cacatuoides fry!!! I've been keeping apistos for 6 months, and my first brood are wilds!!!

 

[MonteSS]

Very nice. GL with them.

...Bill

 

[aquaticclarity]

Congrats!

I find most wild Apistos easier to work with then the tank strain fish. And the wild fish tend to have better parenting skills as an added bonus.

 

[Bunnie1978]

Thanks! I hope to see a spawn happen soon with my wild male/domestic female.

 

[Tom C]

Bunnie1978:
Apistogramma is especially suited to look for food in fine sand. Studies on feeding methods show that all Apistogramma species exhibit “earth-eating†of sand, typical of geophagines. They take the substrate in their mouth, and after thoroughly chewing it, which is primarily accomplished by using the toothed pharyngeal plate, either spit it back out or pass it out of the mouth cavity again through the gill cover openings. Fine food particles are sifted out by the tiny denticals on the pharyngeal plate.

With your substrate of sharp pebbles, they have no opportunity to perform this natural behavior. Too sad…. :frown:

This is a typical habitat of Apistogramma. I collected Apistogramma sp. "Alto Tapiche" in this small jungle stream in 2009. Ground consists of very, very fine sand, with dead, brown leaves and branches on top…….

I am convinced that your fish would be very happy if the sharp stones were replaced by fine sand .....

 

[Bunnie1978]

Thanks, Tom!!
I guess I should go out and get more of the black diamond sand like I have in my 55. I have 3 females and one male in there, with some guppies.

 

[Hilde]

Right side of my 29g display stocked with a wild male Apistogramma Cacatuoides and 2 domestic triple red females..

What are tunnels made of?

 

[Bunnie1978]

They are clear flexible PVC tubing. I think the 1 inch size, maybe 1 1/2. I cut them with the openning at an angle. Because they are open on both sides, females can nest.

I actually have 3 caves in the tank and both females are now guarding broods. The first are almost free swimmers I think, and the second are just now wigglers.

 

[Bilbo]

I think you have done a great job of setting up this tank as a display tank. It does look great but I agree with Tom that sand works better for in an apisto tank and they seem happier in it too.

Doesnt the clear PVC tubing get slimy? I found that leaving it under water for any length of time make is go kinda yuk.

 

[Bunnie1978]

It is slimy. If I had to guess though, it's probably just algae. It certainly doesn't dissolve or anything like that.

 

[Hnownr]

Nice Tank Bunnie1978!

 

[Tom S]

They are clear flexible PVC tubing. I think the 1 inch size, maybe 1 1/2. I cut them with the openning at an angle. Because they are open on both sides, females can nest.

A little off topic, but is this something that is required for apistogramma? My pair of Cacatuoides spawned twice in a hollow of a piece of driftwood (ate the eggs both times), then I added a pair of 'Cichlid Stones' which I thought would give them more security and could be moved to another tank easily. They use the stones for shelter, but have not spawned in them. Should I be looking for more of a tunnel then a cave?

Sorry, new at this.....

PS. Your tank looks very nice. I hope your make comes out to play soon, mine loves to display at the front of the tank.

 

[Mike Wise]

Most apistos live in habitats that don't have stone caves. Instead, they use crevasses in wood or between leaves in the leaf litter. Most prefer openings that are just wide enough to get into.

 

[OHR]

Some females like to dig themselves in with the fry and closes the entrance in front of her, like the female on the picture number 3 from the top in the first post. This behavior would be easier and safer with fine sand.
My Wangenflecken female did this every time, probably after the hatching cause she always came out 48 hours later with the fry.

Ola

 

[briztoon]

Both of my aquarium bred agassizii alenquer female spawned in driftwood nooks. One female in a crevice on a large piece driftwood. The other female spawned under a small piece of concave driftwood, that was under a larger ketapang leaf, and she then built up little walls of fine river gravel all around the driftwood, leaving just one, small opening. There were three small clay pots stashed in the tank as well, further to the back of the tank. I have a wild caught pair of agassizii alenquer in the tank next to the tank bred trio, and the female always spawns in the same clay pot. Go figure?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Have to agree about the sand, silica sand is definitely the best substrate.

I've got drift wood, Loquat leaves, plastic pipe, bamboo canes, clay pots and clay saucers in nearly all of the tanks, and at various times they have all been used to spawn in by the females.

But the cave I like is the 1/2 coconut cave, cheap to buy the coconuts, they are extremely easy to make into caves, you can cut the entrance hole to the size you need, they sink and you can plant them with Java moss or Java Fern.

This is a very old female A. cacatuoides, I've still got her and she is almost 5 now. You can see a plastic pipe at the front right and a clay pot behind it. I originally smeared the plastic pipe with aquarium silicone and rolled it in sand, bark chips and moss, but they have all come off over time.

cheers Darrel