Apisto Breeding Journal Version 2.0

[JDogg]

ok lest try this again...

See my ill fated FIRST ATTEMPT

Species: Apistogramma nijsseni

Common Name: Panda Dwarf Cichlid, Panda Apisto

Tank Particulars: 10 gallon Planted tank, Eco-Compleat Substrate, DIY CO2, one Easter Island Head Cave , one store made LFS Ceramic Cave and one Home made Terra Cotta Cave ("top" end sealed with piece of slate, "bottom" hole cut slightly bigger).

Plants: Heteranthera zosterifolia, 1 Echinodorus amazonicus, 1 Echinodorus x. 'Ozelot', 2 Echinodorus macrophyllus, Limnophila aquatica, Hygrophila polysperma v. Sunset

Tank Mates: 6 Paracheirodon innesi, 2 Otocinclus mariae and a number of Melanoides tuberculata

What I have learned since last try:
1. Make sure you a male and a female, despite all the hoping and love, as of yet 2 males can not reproduce :?

Tank Params:
PH= 7.4 (down form Tap at 8.0 using RO water)
KH= 8 degrees
GH= 10 degrees
Ammonia/Nitrite=0
Nitrate = 30 ppm
Temp = 74 F

Fish are at the moment acclimating will post pictures later this evening or tomorrow

 

[crazyred]

Good luck!!! i'm having much success with A. cacatuoides and trifascita. One of my cacatuoides female has fry right now that she is vigorously guarding. My trifasciata spawned at one point, and now I have tons of them in there as well.

 

[JDogg]

here are the pictures i promised... here is an interesting thing to, my female has a vertical strip only on her left side :?

 

[rich311k]

Good luck!! Very pretty fish.

 

[JDogg]

Good luck!! Very pretty fish.

thanks!

 

[Mosaic]

I agree. Beautiful! I hope this attempt is more successful. I'll be looking for updates.

 

[JDogg]

Do I dare go for 2 Species at one time?

Two things happened today...

1st the temp in my 75 gallon (usually set at 77-78 ) dropped to 71 :? forgot to plug in heater after pwc yesterday

2nd I added a 2nd female Cockatoo Apisto (I had 2 males and 1 female in the tank already (all three from the same spawning of a local breeder ) new female also came from same local breeder, not sure of there relation to her (might be sister or perhaps their mother as she is not going to breed cockatoo anymore)

Well my dominate male (each male has a territory at opposite ends of the 4 foot tank and they get on fine) is very actively trying to get her attention as you can see in the pictures.

I have little hope that they will be successful in this tank as it is well populated
3 Angles: Pterophyllum scalare
2 Bolivian Rams: Microgeophagus altispinosa
4 (2m/2f) "Orange Flash" Cockatoo Cichlids: Apistogramma cacatuoides
1 male Apistogramma sp. "Steel-Blue"
1 male Apistogramma hongsloi
7 Rummy-nosed Tetra: Hemigrammus rhodostomus
6 Cardinal Tetra: Paracheirodon axelrodi
5 Julii Cory: Corydoras julii

3 Oto: Otocinclus mariae

As well as
Malaysian Trumpet Snails: Melanoides tuberculata
Rams Horn Snail: Planorbis corneus

And well planted so... removing them (even if I had an extra tank) without totally uprooting all the plants is darn near impossible.

Not to mention that the conditions are far from ideal for apisto reproduction :?
PH = ~6.8 (thanks to CO2)
KH= 13-14 degrees
GH = 20-21 degrees

There are some secluded spot under some driftwood overhangs and I feel I should throw in an extra cave to help...

I will let nature take its course I have the Pandas to concentrate on, but I will keep you all posted on both tanks!

 

[Gillie]

Your Cacs may spawn before the Nijsseni. They are one species that I always had a problem with, Anyway best of luck on the spawning.

 

[JDogg]

i will post current prams tonight, but last night i did a pwc of 3 gallons RO and 1 gallon tap water (i do not want my KH to drop to much and stress the fish) i also added about a baseball sized piece of peat to the filter. as well as raise the temp a few degrees...

 

[JDogg]

ok sorry better late then never...

Temp= 84 F
PH = ~7.4
KH= 6 degrees
GH= 9 degrees

something has to be buffering my water :?

observations over the last few days... they seam to be settling in nicely, but completely ignoring each other :?

male spends 99% of his time on left side of tank and the female spends 99% of her time on the right

 

[blazeyreef]

were do your get your cockatoo apisto's? I have been trying to find some around here for ages! how much??????????

 

[JDogg]

were do your get your cockatoo apisto's? I have been trying to find some around here for ages! how much??????????

local breeder, that is the way to go man i payed $20 for 5 of them

 

[blazeyreef]

were do your get your cockatoo apisto's? I have been trying to find some around here for ages! how much??????????

local breeder, that is the way to go man i payed $20 for 5 of them

well I dont think their are ANY local breeders around here (for any fish)

 

[JDogg]

were do your get your cockatoo apisto's? I have been trying to find some around here for ages! how much??????????

local breeder, that is the way to go man i payed $20 for 5 of them

well I dont think their are ANY local breeders around here (for any fish)

i am sure there are, do you have an aquarium society/club in your state? if found out of about the one in my state and that is how i meet a bunch of local breeders. other wise if mine spawn you can have a couple (if we can figure out how to get them from MN to TN... :?

 

[blazeyreef]

I think their is one...I think I will have to check though!

 

[JDogg]

update: 2-11-07

pandas are still not really paying attention to each other, will do another ~25% pwc today.

Cockatoos have not spawned either as far as i can tell, but that tank is so heavley planted even if they did i do not know if i would know :?

 

[Gillie]

Try feeding live worms or brineshrimp fro a few days. That will usaully do the trick. How often do you see the females, do they spend alot of time in the open? The only time that I saw my female Cacatouides was when she poked her head out from under the driftwood to grab a little food.

 

[JDogg]

i have baby Cockatoos!!!

now now do i get them out of the heavily planted community tank?

i was thinking of trying to suck them out with a gravel vac or turkey baster?

thoughts?

 

[bs6749]

I would move the OTHER fish instead of the fry. Would be safer and easier IMO. What all would you have to move if you went that route? If you have too many to move I would consider getting one or two tank dividers to protect them. The apistos are probable really protective though so you may be able to just let them be. If it is heavily planted like you say, many may survive. Congrats and good luck with them.

 

[JDogg]

I would move the OTHER fish instead of the fry. Would be safer and easier IMO. What all would you have to move if you went that route? If you have too many to move I would consider getting one or two tank dividers to protect them. The apistos are probable really protective though so you may be able to just let them be. If it is heavily planted like you say, many may survive. Congrats and good luck with them.

look at my info for the 75 gallon tank