Apistogramma Breeding signs

[kiddstinson]

I have a pair apistogramma cacatuoides and i was wondering if what im seeing could be mating signs of signs of a spawning. Ever since i got them about a week ago i have noticed that the male headbutts the females side and then turns around and backs into her. Now i went to the movies, saw "The Internship" (highly recommend it). but when i got back i noticed that the female became very pail or beige colored. i took some time to look and saw that she just site right outside a narrow opening in a group of drift wood. now i thought at first she was sick but than i started to noticed she chased off any fish that came close excluding the male. another thing i noticed was the male circling the tank at a fairly slow pace. and every time the female and male come close the female turns on her side. Now im pretty sure everything else is a sign of mating but the turning on the sign really confused me. please tell me your inputs!

 

[Mike Wise]

Courtship in apistos rarely lasts more than 15 minutes. She probably has already spawned. What your female is showing now is that she accepts the male being around but not too close to her breeding cave. Hopefully in a week you'll see her with a school of fry.

 

[kiddstinson]

Looks like u were right! The female just sits in her cave so there is a sign of some new eggs. But the male is not being very territorial of the cave and when I flipped it over there was no eggs! I was very surprised when this happened

 

[kiddstinson]

Any thoughts?

 

[Mike Wise]

Not really except have some patience and stop disturbing the female's preferred breeding site. Also is this a breeding tank or a community tank. It really can't be both.

 

[kiddstinson]

It is a breeding tank with two dither fish.