Apisto panduro surprise spawn!

[severum mama]

We've been growing out our Apisto panduro pair since we got them at an auction in March. They have a 20 gallon tank to themselves. I did my usual round of water changes this week and didn't notice anything, but lo and behold I went out to the fishroom yesterday and found a group of free swimmers! We never saw any eggs and didn't notice any behavior other than normal behavior, so it was a real surprise.

I target fed them some First Bites and I'm pretty sure they are eating it. The little cloud of fry went nuts when the food came their way. They're going to be getting 3-4 feedings a day and daily water changes. The parents are doing really well with them so at this point we do not plan to pull the fry.

Here are a few pics and a quick video. Excuse the look of the tank- it's strictly functional and I don't know what the heck that algae is that grows all over the substrate, but I'm glad I didn't clean the substrate too well this week! LOL

Here's the little mama. She is so tiny- only about an inch total length.

And this is the male.

Apistogramma panduro spawn - YouTube

 

[christine2012]

Gosh mom and dad are beautiful! How exciting

 

[HUKIT]

Congratulations to both of you, I'm not a little cichlid guy but she is stunning...to bad they don't grow to a foot!

 

[severum mama]

Congratulations to both of you, I'm not a little cichlid guy but she is stunning...to bad they don't grow to a foot!

LOL... but they can actually be housed together full time!

 

[Alyxx]

Congratulations! Those are some pretty little fish.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Congrats! I love me some Apistos! Thats such great news

 

[HUKIT]

LOL... but they can actually be housed together full time!

Ouch, but I'll have to agree with you there. Good luck with the fry.

 

[severum mama]

Here's a quick video update.
Apisto panduro guarding fry 7/19/12 - YouTube

They are doing great so far! They're eating First Bites or BBS 4 times a day, and I do a 50-60% water change with aged dechlorinated water daily. Here's hoping it continues to pay off.

The panduro tank is next to another 20 gallon tank that houses a trio of Apisto cacatuoides. In the video you can see all the aggressive posturing they are doing on the right side of the tank- that's where the cacatuoides are. They can see each other and, although this was unintentional, it's pretty entertaining to watch them.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Here's a quick video update.
Apisto panduro guarding fry 7/19/12 - YouTube

They are doing great so far! They're eating First Bites or BBS 4 times a day, and I do a 50-60% water change with aged dechlorinated water daily. Here's hoping it continues to pay off.

The panduro tank is next to another 20 gallon tank that houses a trio of Apisto cacatuoides. In the video you can see all the aggressive posturing they are doing on the right side of the tank- that's where the cacatuoides are. They can see each other and, although this was unintentional, it's pretty entertaining to watch them.

Awesome man Apistos (and most Cichlids for that matter) are awesome fish.

I think you should do a video tour of your fish room

 

[severum mama]

LOL, I need to do a major fishroom cleanup before I can do a fishroom video tour!

Here is a quick feeding video from tonight. You can see some of the fry if you look closely. It has been 11 days since we found the free swimming fry.
Apisto panduro parents and fry- feeding time - YouTube

 

[bettaowner]

I wish those cichlids were sold here.

 

[severum mama]

They are a really cool species. These babies have been keeping me quite busy. LOL

 

[animalzrok2]

congrats

 

[George9]

Congrats!!! What is the big school of blue fish in the tank behind the panduro tank in the new video? Looks like Melanotaenia praecox?