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Apistogramma lifespan?

M0oN

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5 Year Member
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118
Location
Orange County, CA
Does anyone know off the top of their head what the average lifespan of most apistogramma is in captivity?

I'm most interested in panduro, but curious to all of them as my LFS informed me that they don't order apisto's because of their short lives...
 

farm41

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5 Year Member
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1,191
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monroe, or
2-3 years, much depends on the quality of the water you keep them in. The cleaner it is the better and the longert the fish will live, provided they get a nutritional diet.
 

fishboy20

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
201
Location
Columbus
they are certainly somewhat short lived but i've got some apistos that are now well over three years of age. the longest lived species is supposedly A. hongsloi which can live 7 years and take 1 1/2 to mature to adulthood. Fortunately, they will breed at usually half the adult size and between 3-9 months of age in most cases. I would think any of the species that are related to panduro would live closer to the 3 yr. mark ands probably longer if the conditions are right. If you keep the fish a little bit more on the cooler side (no higher then 74) their metabolism should be slower and therefore live longer. Do be aware that temperature has a big affect on sex ratios in most species.
 

mervin

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5 Year Member
Messages
269
Location
singapore
I had a Agassizii that lived up to 4+ years.

1/3 of its head was even wasted due to "hole in the head" but that fella managed to live up to another 1 year before it died.....
 

M0oN

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
118
Location
Orange County, CA
I'll keep hte temperature thing in mind, does anyone happen to know at what temperature variations in sex ratio's occur and which temperature is related to which ratio?

The only other fish I'll have in the tank are praecox rainbow's and pineapple sword tail's, along with some cory cats (if the apisto's tolerate them) otocinclus and snails...I can do my own research but off the top of your head does anyone know if these fish will have any problems with lower temperatures?

Thanks again...

Jason
 

fishboy20

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
201
Location
Columbus
low temperature's = more females lower then 76
high temperature's = more males higher then 76
i would try to keep temperature around 76 as close as possible to get almost an even ratio
 

P.W.

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
185
Location
Sweden
Hi

I had a female Borellii that lived for eight years! Very unusual of course.
Her eyes looked very strange in the end.
But I´m not surprised if they normally reach 2-3 years.

Best regards/ Per
 

Neil

New Member
Messages
1,583
Location
Sacramento, Ca.
Per,
Congratulations! I think that has to be a record. My best is 4.5 years. But I average somewhere between 2 and 3. I suspect that the stresses of breeding don't help. If an apisto was kept in a nice planted tank that was well maintained and water values and tankmates were not changed often, you would see some longer lifespans. But then again, they would be missing all that fun! If I were to personify Apistogramma, I would say that they would be happy to give up a little extra time in order to fulfill their need to reproduce. I like to think that both my fish and I are OK with that.

Neil
 

P.W.

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
185
Location
Sweden
Hello Neil!

Sorry, but I didnt noticed your reply!
I think you are right about that a hectic life with a lot of breeding and territorial fights, shortens the lifespan of our apistos!
My very old Borellii (Opal) female lived alone in a tank with a few guppy for several years.
It was back in those years when a lot of people thought that the "Opal´s" was a geografical colour strain of the Borellii. (Some even believed that it was a new species)
I was one of them. And I was waiting for some Opal males to show up to join my lonely female.
I didn´t wanted to put her into a tank with my "yellow" Borellii´s.

I couldn´t find any opal males, so the female remained in that tank and lived happily(?) for eight years!

Best regards/ Per
 

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