A. agassizii Iquitos spawn

[doug]

hi i had to reregister here.
my pair of f0 iquitos spawned a week ago
and now the female has brought out
30 fry. this is my first apisto breeding experience.
the mom is a very good parent already. how long can
i leave them with the parents? the male doesnt seem to
be a threat yet? any advice? thanks!

 

[farm41]

3 weeks would be good, usually you have to take them out when they are ready to spawn again

 

[Neil]

doug,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM AGAIN!

Congratulations on your first spawn. And a nice one it is. A. agassizii "Iquitos" is a lovely fish. But the question is quite difficult to answer. You will probably be safe with Matts' suggestion, but you may have no problems for 6 weeks or may run into difficulty in 8 days. Depends on the individual fish. If I want to minimize trouble in the tank with fry that are too small to be easily removed, I usually remove the female. Males, contrary to widely held beliefs, seem to often do quite a good job of remaining in with the fry. They may not be quite as efficient at herding, etc., but they do provide a good parental figure. I have had more females eat spawns for no apparent reason than males. I think the males are more concerned with the perpetuation of their genes in the current spawn than the female, because the females can simple lay eggs again and raise another spawn with very little help from the male (save his milt). Males usually need the female to lay the eggs, tend to them, hatch them, and give them the initial start to their underwater world. But after that males can often take over. And removing the female reduces stress to her and allows you to start conditioning her again.

It is helpful to know the individual personalities of your pair. That usually can only happen after a few spawns with differing circumstances. Some pairs will breed, raise fry and not have any problem for months. Others will be so at odds, that it is important to get one or the other parent out of the tank quickly to save the spawn. And still others, will eat the eggs or wigglers every time, so it is necessary to artificially rear the fry (rare and difficult).

I say for this first experience, go with Matts' advice and remove both Mom and Dad in 3 weeks to another tank (easier than catching all the fry), if you have another tank for them. Welcome to the difficult aspect of Apistogramma husbandry - actually getting fry to adult size. Breeding is easy in comparison!

Neil

 

[doug]

thanks for all the info neil and mike.
they have spawned twice before and ate the eggs quickly.
i think this was due to me trying to still get thier water right haha.
anyway i dont have any other tanks or room for them-college student- so can i remove the fry and use a breeder net? the parents get along great except when the male gets too close to the fry. the pair lives in a 15g so i could probably isolate one or both of the parets with these nets if that is better.

what makes raising them hard? do they grow slowly?
thanks again for all the help

 

[Discus Man]

With Agazzisi, does it ever happen that a mother has two batches of fry at the same time without issues?
I ask as mine have eggs again as well as tending to their three week old 1/4 inch fry.

Female herds them around, then runs back to the cave to check on eggs.
They will hatch tomorrow so I would love to hear suggestions on what to do when I get home tonight!

 

[Neil]

Discus Man,

With Agazzisi, does it ever happen that a mother has two batches of fry at the same time without issues?

Most definitely. But "without issues" is too broad of a term here. There are always issues. One of them being the larger fry going after the smaller, then as a domino principle the mother or father going after the larger. But hat does always happen and is often not too bad when it does.

I have had different spawns in a small tank numerous times with aggies, with differing results, but there have been instances that younger fry grew to large enough size that the mingled with the older fry without problems.

They will doubtfully act within the parameters of a true colony, but I have seen situation where apisto species are not far off from that scheme. The parents usually somewhat keep the 1st spawn a distance from the 2nd. You may want to let things stand. If nothing else, it is a fascinating experiment and may work out OK. But keep your eyes open because there is always a chance of "issues".

Neil