WC Apistogramma elizabethae

[Ekona]

Wild A. elizabethae from Mark at Discus Origins. Enjoy!

 

[raymond82]

Once again, very nice pictures of a very nice fish! From what I understand A. elizabethae is quite a difficult species to breed so a real challenge! I would love to try them once too.
I have the feeling your tanks look really nice, I like the Shagnum moss you have in there. Could you post a picture of what the whole tank looks like?

 

[wethumbs]

The one on the right in the second picture looks suspicious. I got 6 females in my breeding group and none of them has a round caudal fin like that. Also female has extended dorsal rays just like the males. How big are they? Maybe they are just too small.

 

[Ekona]

The small one on the right is about an inch.

Here is a close-up - does this look like a female A. elizabethae? It is about an inch total length.

Here is another one - I'm thinking this one's a male? You can compare the sizes of the fish by comparing the size of the sphagnum moss strands. This one's about 1.75 inches.

Here is another of the same fish.

 

[Ekona]

Once again, very nice pictures of a very nice fish! From what I understand A. elizabethae is quite a difficult species to breed so a real challenge! I would love to try them once too.
I have the feeling your tanks look really nice, I like the Shagnum moss you have in there. Could you post a picture of what the whole tank looks like?

Thank you, Raymond. I hope they are not too difficult, but a challenge is sometimes fun in this hobby. I'v spawned T. candidi, I wonder if these are more challenging than those?

The tank is just about one half inch of fine sand with halved clay pots for caves and bog root over arching the clay pots. Clumps of peat fiber and sphagnum moss are spread around. Placing the sphagnum moss around the entrance to the clay pots seems to make for a safe refuge for the inhabitants. I got the idea from Ted in another thread. The moss is great cause it holds up for quite a while and provides place for little fish to hide. So the tank is not really much to look at.

 

[raymond82]

I'v spawned T. candidi, I wonder if these are more challenging than those?

My T. candidi spawn very frequently, although I have to say that the eggs don't always develop into fry but they're less difficult than I thought. What I understand from elizabethae is that it's very hard to raise the fry cause they're very small. But you're absolutely right, the more difficult a fish is to breed to more fun it is to try!

The tank is just about one half inch of fine sand with halved clay pots for caves and bog root over arching the clay pots. Clumps of peat fiber and sphagnum moss are spread around. Placing the sphagnum moss around the entrance to the clay pots seems to make for a safe refuge for the inhabitants. I got the idea from Ted in another thread. The moss is great cause it holds up for quite a while and provides place for little fish to hide. So the tank is not really much to look at.

After seeing your photo's I also put some sphagnum moss in my tank and I really like the way it looks. What I like from your pictures is the colors, I try to make pictures very often but I never get the colors out nicely.

 

[Mike Wise]

Looks like a pair to me.

 

[Ekona]

Another photo of the small one showing patterning on fins more clearly.