Diets to induce spawning of apistogramma

[Numnified]

Hi there guys was just wondering what is the best frozen or live food out there to induce spawning? and also on a different matter my female triple red has laid eggs and they are white and the female always finds the male and does tail wagging but the male cacutuoides always goes to hide after some tail wagging but the eggs always get eaten up so may I know whats wrong?

 

[MickeM]

Hi !!
I use frozen+ live Artemia as regular standard food..
..and sometimes I give them live Californian Blackworms or live Black/White Mosquitolarvae.
The froozen Artemia will often be enough to get them ready for spawning..(Feed the female some extra .., or the male will take it all/the most!!)

You may check on the water parameters. Cacatouides often spawn in "any" tankwater.. but if you have calcareous/high pH+kH water , this may be the issue why the eggs are not developing in a positive way..
Are you sure that it is the Apistos who eat the eggs(the female?) ?? ..and are you sure you have a male-cacatouides??
(Sometimes line-bred female-specimen of cacas can have as much color as the males!!.. and females may spawn together when lacking a male!!)
Ancistrus/catfishes, large shrimps, "Malaysian sand snails"(cone shaped) or other inhabitants (who prefers to swim/live at the bottom... at night!!??) may sometimes be the problem ??
Apistos can not always defend their offspring in a heavily populated community tank..

BTW.. I rarely have experienced infertile Apistos.. only couples/specimen which don`t match.. (in dominance/behaviour, or in size!!)

/Micke

 

[Numnified]

Hi MickeM thanks for your reply to my threat, my cacatuoides thriple red pair have spawned at the shop that I got them from and they were raising the fry so they are a proven pair when I bought them which means the male should be fertile and right now they are in a tank specially for them with just some dither fish which means its lightly populated and should not be too much stress for the female and lastly I was sure the female was the one who ate the eggs as i saw her eating them so any idea what can be the problem example substrate etc.....

 

[Mike Wise]

What are the dither fish and what is their diet like? Could you discuss the tank size, lay-out, water chemistry, and tank maintenance, too? All these can affect breeding success.

 

[Numnified]

My dither fish that are with my apisto are 10 golden pencilfish and that they are in a 2ft tank with some java fern and a cave, my water chemistry has a ph of 6.5
nitrate and ammonia to be 0
temp is around 27-28 degree Celsius
I do weekly water change of 50 percent with Indian almond leaves to soak with my declorinate water to soften the water as well as reduce the ph of the water

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

My dither fish that are with my apisto are 10 golden pencilfish

<"Nannostomus beckfordi"> is much more predatory than the other Pencil fish.

also on a different matter my female triple red has laid eggs and they are white.

Can you see the eggs in the cave? if you can the opening is much too big.

If you've had a peek inside the cave? don't.

On the few occasions I've inadvertently seen eggs they've always been pink, but my fish get a lot of live food in their diet.

cheers Darrel

 

[Numnified]

Hi Darrel, Thanks for your reply as for the matter of he cave opening my male apistogramma is pretty big so I had no choice but only to provide a big cave so my male can fit in and fertilize as to get more fry and if the eggs are white does it mean its not fertilized? and why cant I peek in the cave? as the cave is front facing should I get a blocker to block the front of the tank?

Cheers Darren

 

[Mike Wise]

First, the male does not need, nor should he, be able to enter the breeding cave. He will fertilize any eggs by fanning milt into the cave entrance. When possible, most female apistos will fill most of the cave entrance with a sand berm to keep other fish out. White eggs can be fertile. White eggs normally indicate that the fish are eating mostly dry foods. If your apistos accept dry food when first put in the tank (mine 'mouth' it and then spit it out) dry foods are a good staple diet that should be mixed with live or frozen foods. If your apistos don't eat dry food right away (like mine) then it is best to feed a variety of live and frozen foods (like I do).

 

[Numnified]

Hi Mike thanks for your reply firstly, I want the male to be able to enter because of the fact that I want a higher fertilization rate of the eggs so i use a pvc pipe as a cave and should i bury one end into the sand? in the topic on diet I feed solely a range of different dried foods too so its good to know that the diet influences the colour of the eggs of the fish and also is there any way to know that apisto eggs are fertized?

Cheers Darren

 

[Mike Wise]

Anytime a male can enter the breeding cave there is some stress on the female. This can lead to her (or him) eating the eggs. I am more successful when the female feels secure. My experience, with regard to food, is that an entirely dry diet leads to fewer spawns and fewer surviving fry. At least it did when I started out breeding apistos. I find that live/frozen foods are more eagerly eaten and condition the fish for breeding better. Newly hatched fry never do well on dry foods. They orient to foods that move in the water column. I never worry about infertile eggs. Checking for eggs only stresses the female, who often eats the eggs. Any infertile eggs will be removed from the spawn and eaten by the female.

If you are truly serious about breeding your apistos, you have to accommodate their requirements. For me that is the right tank/lay-out, the right water, and the right food. So far yours are not what they want.

 

[Numnified]

Hi Mike Thanks for your reply on this forum thread greatly appreciate the advice given so far as for the topic on raising fry I personally have had experiences in breeding other fishes and raising the fry as for the layout and cave i would try to burrow one end of the cave down into my substrate and rearrange my scape abit and I hope it will work out as for the diet i will try my best to obtain reputable live and frozen food for the apisto that im breeding.

Cheers Darren

 

[themountain]

Get some fruitflies and Grindals...problem solved

 

[Koobee]

If you are truly serious about breeding your apistos, you have to accommodate their requirements. For me that is the right tank/lay-out, the right water, and the right food. So far yours are not what they want.

is Dither Fish a must in breeding apistos? kinds like Characidae would easily eat up most of the food feed in the tank (especially dry food) and left only a few to the male apistos and even less for the female.

 

[Mike Wise]

Dither fish are not necessary but can help. If the dithers are eating most of the food, then you aren't feeding enough.

 

[MickeM]

is Dither Fish a must in breeding apistos? kinds like Characidae would easily eat up most of the food feed in the tank (especially dry food) and left only a few to the male apistos and even less for the female.

Hi all..!!
I would put the food in a cup of water, then get a pipette and aim the food at the Apisto-female/females.. since Apistos often are relatively slow+shy..!!
All the other fishes will get enough of food anyway!!!, especially the many fast swimming species of Characidae
(And remember that fishes can swim/live for days/weeks without food... such is also the situation in the wild sometimes/quite regularly(?) !!)

 

[MickeM]

Hi Mike thanks for your reply firstly, I want the male to be able to enter because of the fact that I want a higher fertilization rate of the eggs so i use a pvc pipe as a cave and should i bury one end into the sand? in the topic on diet I feed solely a range of different dried foods too so its good to know that the diet influences the colour of the eggs of the fish and also is there any way to know that apisto eggs are fertized?

Cheers Darren

If the female is still guarding the cave after/at day 3 and starts/continue to dig inside the cave/caves... then the eggs are , with all probability, well fertilized..!

If you can post a pic , it may be easier to see what may be the problem for your Apistos...
, but I agree with Darrel and Mike... the cave entrance/size may be an issue ..??
In planted tanks without any small caves, I have (a few times) seen males taking over the eggs/cave from a female .. and chasing her away... and later ending up loosing the offspring when they start to hatch!!! Probably not knowing exactly what to do...??!!

 

[TK27]

I used to breed to breed some apistos when I was younger. Now I only have a community tank with a great pair in it. I grow up the fry that I can catch in a special tank just for that, but im not actively breeding them I always gave them different foods. I have frozen and dry food at home. I do give live food once a week ( i get that from a shop). i give frozen and dry food at a 50/50 rate. Like MickeM said, using a pipette can really help giving your fish the right amount of food they need. I use plastic pasteur pipets. I must say, i only use it to feed my female (and her fry) with it. My male comes to the surface for food. he will even eat worms out of my fingertips.

I dont have any experience with infertile apistos. all I know they seem to prefer holes that they can close up. I use coconut shells, I place the opening close to the gravel, because I know they like to dig. The opening is big enough for the male to enter aswel. With my great pair this is what I learned from them. she lays eggs, gets male into the cave to fertilize it. she will close up the opening (she can only leave it sideways, barely any room left). I dont see her much for the next 3-4 days. Next time I see her, she has fry.

 

[Numnified]

Hi guys thanks for your replies I decided to give frozen foods a try frozen bloodworms and mysis shrimp to be specific and still didn't have any success with my apisto pair. My cave has also been changed to a ceramic cave with just one enterance and I have basically changed their diet as well as the layout of the tank but my male apisto is still not fertilizing the eggs I guess. I guess he is just one lazy apistogramma triple red hahaha

 

[chris1805]

Go for the coconut caves, they always do great

 

[Numnified]

I find it just weird that my male is a fertile male its just that suddenly one day he just stops fertilizing the eggs for some reason and becomes very lazy. Although he does some body wag I always fail to see him fertilizing the eggs. Although I did change their layout, caves

Go for the coconut caves, they always do great

and diet my male still seems to not be interested in fertilizing the eggs like he used to have any ideas?