Apistos moving small stone?!

[cdawson]

I've got a small stone about the size of an acorn inside the flowerpot where my female double red is guarding fry. The only thing is, WHERE on earth did this stone come from?! The substrate is silica sand that's been established for well over 2 years and there was no stone in the substrate where flowerpot is 2 weeks ago when I set it up as a breeding tank. She's almost pushed this rock so that only her and the free swimming fry can enter the cave. The gap is now too small for the male to even come close to entering. The stone has moved about 2 inches in a week.

Also, what are peoples experiences on breeding cockatoos this is my first pair and they've spawned 3 times now in just under 2 months. The third time is the charm, and as I said they're at the free swimming stage and doing well. However, there are two harlequin rasboras I rescued from a friend in there and i want to know what I should do. Should I return them to the store? I don't have anywhere to put them other than in the breeding tank. If I remove them I'm worried that it could risk making them less comfortable.

 

[Api-Mom]

Yah I think so

If you see carefully, you can see that Ap.Diplotaenia bites ADA Africana
soil and try to lift up and move it somewhere.

After I put small mirror in tank,
To threaten himself on the mirror, My Diplotaenia bite soil and
lift up.. -_-;; It makes me surprised..

http://blogfiles.naver.net/data6/2004/11/21/163/diple1-mail209.jpg

you can see in my web, too.

"http://blog.naver.com/mail209.do"

 

[cdawson]

No, this stone is MUCH bigger than that, around 0.5 in diameter. I'd remove it to get a picture but I don't want to stress the newborns.

 

[Neil]

cdawson,

Your guess would be better than mine as to where the stone came from, but it sounds like your female is putting it to good use! They will sometimes use whatever is available to make their cave entrance smaller for security.

Should I return them to the store?

I would, if you can catch them. They may not pose a problem, but I wouldn't take the chance. Rasboras are very quick and if they get a taste for apisto fry, the mom may stand little chance of preventing them from picking fry off one at a time.

Api-Mom,

Your picture was too large, so I placed URL tags on it. Please view Image Posting Rules.

Thanks,

Neil

 

[Api-Mom]

Dear.Neil

Mr.Neil

Nice to meet you..^^;

Sorry, I did not know rule about posting website..
Next I will keep the rule..
Thank you.. But Web link has problem. I think..
Can you fix up?

Sincerely,

 

[cdawson]

well we (the wife and I) removed the rasboras and added them to our heavily planted community tank. I must say, this is the first time I've watched apistos care for their young for more than a few minutes and they truly are the best parents. The mother is constantly picking up stragglers and moving them into a safer area. It's pretty comical watching her suck up 12 fry and spit them in a ball back in the java moss :lol:

I just want to make sure the male is going to be ok during all of this, he's pretty mature, probably around 9-10 months old and he's from the wild. I assume he's raised plenty of broods before, will he be ok in the tank? He seems ok and stays towards the perimeter (as with standard apisto males during brood time). Also, the fry are already feeding off of infusoria in the java moss and on the driftwood, plants etc. For cockatoos do I really need BBS? How should i feed them first bites? Should I add it to water and then suck up some food and spray it towards the fry with a small baster? I have some REALLY old BBS in my freezer upstairs but I don't know if it's ok to still feed to them.

 

[Randall]

Feeding Apistogramma fry

Hello CD,

I enjoyed reading about the stone utilized by your female. My Tilapia sp. "Mamfue" (a "dwarf" cichlid of 6") excavated 3" of substrate down to the plate glass and moved rocks into the breeding pit. Before breeding the rocks were repositioned within the pit several times before the eggs were layed. So much for my well thought out aquascaping; apparently the fish didn't like my arrangement.

To address your question concerning feeding your fry, they eat infusoria at a faster rate than the colony can reproduce. For this reason, it's necessary to suppliment with additional food about two days after the fry are free-swimming.

Many hobbyists mix BBS with water and inject it into the shoal with a dedicated turkey baster several times daily. I've had success using Golden Pearls (an Artemia replacement used by fisheries), powdered krill and/or decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. The food is administered as with BBS.

From what you write, it seems like your male is just fine where he is. Removing him will disrupt the family structure and prevent you from witnessing their interaction.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[cdawson]

Are you sure they can eat THAT much infusoria? I mean infusoria means organic matter that grows within the tank, on java moss, driftwood, plants etc.

1. Infusoria, subclass Infusoria -- (in some recent classifications, coextensive with the Ciliata: minute organisms found in decomposing infusions of organic matter)

In a planted tank there is more than an abundant amount of this, are you absolutely positive that it's possible that 35-40 2 day old fry could take care of all of it inside a heavily planted 10 gallon? I could understand that happening inside of a bare breeding tank with nothing but a claypot, gravel and a sponge filter. I'm pretty sure I've got more than a constant supply inside my tank. I had a really bad algae problem before I added the apistos for breeding and they've grazed alot of it away but there's still alot left over.

 

[Randall]

Infusoria

Hello CD,

Algae and plants in a tank surely help to feed fry. From my experience, however, 35-40 Apistogramma fry deplete Infusoria colonies surprisingly fast, especially considering the small size of your tank.

It's your call, of course, but if these were my fish, I'd start supplimenting with other foods straight away. Doing so not only precludes loses but also significantly increases growth rates.

Good luck!

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[cdawson]

I wasn't saying that I wasn't going to supplement BTW I've already fed them BBS once already. Should I be ok feeding them BBS once a day and letting the algae and plants do the rest? or should I try and feed them some first bites in the morning (lights are still out).