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Apisto Drama - Double Red Cockatoo Pair

jordanstrango

New Member
Messages
6
Hi all,

I've had my apisto pair for nearly 2 years. I've slowly gotten more educated and put more effort into giving them proper parameters, although I know my tank is too small (10gal) because the original info I read stated that was all they needed... I plan to upgrade to a large tank once I move houses and would like to have a harem. I removed all their previous tank mates except some nerite snails.

I've got a heavily planted low tech setup with a bubble stone. I feed them cichlid bug bites and throw in peas, earthworms or bloodworms every couple days. I try to do water changes every week, and mix RO water with (hard) tap to get around 6.5 PH with KH around 40ppm and GH around 50-100ppm. My nitrates and nitrites are always minimal. Since I started getting more serious with the water quality, they've started spawning twice a month. I'd love to watch fry grow up, but not sure I have much know-how with live food.

The male I have is very large and derpy. The female preferred this pirate ship ornament for laying eggs, but I decided to turn that sideways in case the issue was him not wanting to squeeze inside it. I have 2 caves and a coconut shell as well.

For the most part, they get along. But when the spawning happens, she decides it's time to kick his @ss (not even sure he has time to fertilize them), and he refuses to back down until she beats him pretty severely. I've been putting him inside a floating breeder box when this happens, but she spends half her time tending the eggs, and the other half trying to attack him while he makes rude faces at her. I'm still not even sure he fertilized the eggs in the most recent spawn in the cave below, although these eggs are more of a tea color than white like before.

Are these fertilized? Because she's already eating them or spitting them out of the cave after 2 days, just like the last 9 spawns. I'm not sure she has relationship nor parenting skills.

What do you guys recommend? Fish marital therapy? Different pair of fish? Thanks in advance...


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Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Fertile eggs come in many colors (white to red) depending on what is being fed to the female. Your fish appears to be primarily on a dry food diet. Only white fuzzy eggs are infertile.

Males do not need to enter the spawning cave to fertilize the eggs - and female prefer if the male cannot. Otherwise your female is acting normally. She is trying to keep the male away from her eggs/fry so that he does not attract predators to the site.

If you only have a 10 gallon tank, you will have a hard time getting more an a few fry to survive or will have to do water changes almost daily just to keep up with their waste.
 

jordanstrango

New Member
Messages
6
Thanks Mike-- I did not know the females don't want the male inside at all... Does the female normally (in a proper tank) calm down once the eggs hatch and let the male help?
 

yukondog

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
664
Location
N.W. Fl.
Once the eggs are laid and fertilized try removing the male to another tank and see if she still eats them or tries to raise them.
Does the female normally (in a proper tank) calm down once the eggs hatch and let the male help?
The only apisto's I've ever had that did that was a pair of Borellii and she only let him do it once, after that she was hell on wheels.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Apisto females of polygamous species are the sole guardians of fry. They do not want the male anywhere near their brood territory (within 12"/30cm) - ever. Why does she eat the eggs? Well something is wrong with the environment, water quality/values, what you are feeding, or being bothered by other inhabitants (the male). As my son quipped, "marriage counseling (5 cents, please) does not work. :) If you truly want to reproduce you apistos I suggest the following:

1. larger tank; a 20 gallon long, with densely structured decor forming multiple personal territories separated by visual territorial boundaries.
2. water; what you are doing should be fine.
3. food; replace the peas with frozen/live foods and feed dry foods less than half of the time. I feed mostly live/frozen foods and dry food maybe once/week.
4. spawning sites; supply multiple spawning caves with narrow openings that the male cannot enter. Use sand, not gravel, around the site that she can move to narrow the opening even further.
 

jordanstrango

New Member
Messages
6
Aha! Thanks for all the info Mike and yukon, I think all the other articles I was reading were generic on the genus and led me to believe the male apisto always helps with fry raising. My caves (4 total, 3 with small openings), planting, driftwood, and decor are pretty dense, but she always goes out of her way to find him and hound him, and she can still see him (maybe smell him) in the container... I guess that's why she eats the eggs. I've never seen her move the sand on purpose, but that is interesting...

When I naively bought them, I had read a few simplistic articles about how they pair off and can be housed in a 10gal community tank. So I just thought, "these two are married, they're small, and babies will be a fun bonus!". Of course I know now, it doesn't really work like that...
 

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