carnage in my macmasteri tank!

[cootwarm]

A few weeks ago I set up a 38 gallon tank with 2 sponge filters (1 new & 1 used and active) and stocked it with 10 cardnal tetras. It has plants, driftwood, oak leaves, rocks, and coconut shell caves.

Anyhow, I got 6 adult wild caught macmasteri on Tuesday and added them to the tank. Wednesday and Thursday everything was great. The cardinals were swimming in a nice school, the macmasteri were all active, even taking flake food off the surface.

Friday morning when I went to work everything was fine as before, but when I got home I found all 10 cards dead, floating on the surface! All but 2 of the macmasteri were acting a little skitish and keeping a low profile.

I was worried about disease or parasites from the wild caught macmasteri, but figured it to be too much coincidence for all 10 to have died within a few hours! Anyhow, while trying to do a head count of my macmasteri, I found two caves occupied with brooding females!

I've only had them a few days!

Michael

 

[apistodave]

HAAHAH life in the apisto world!!!!!!!!! Good thing you didnt have any expensive Discus in there!!!!!!!

 

[fishgeek]

are they always that aggressive?
how tall was the tank?

andrew

 

[cootwarm]

Hi Andrew,

I don't think they're usually this aggressive. I have viejita that are simular and they are fairly peaceful. The difference could be that my viejita were put in their tank (30 gal) as F1 juvies and the macmasteri were already mature adults (and wild caught) that seemed to be ready to spawn shortly after they arrived.

The tank is high actually. It has a 30 gallon footprint but is 6 inches or so taller. Problem is that I was at work when this all happened, so I wasn't able to do anything about it.

Michael

 

[Zapisto]

are they always that aggressive?
how tall was the tank?

andrew

no
but you can have some crazy fish

i have wild mac also , and on 8 fishs only one was amazingly agressive.
when he got remove the tank coming quiete and peaceful.
i never say passive , they are territorry and some figth (usual)

i have 3 spwanig pair in this 30g tanks
and a loony female swing around.

So never say , this apisto is peaceful , or this apisto is agressive
better say, usually this species is ........

 

[aspen]

fisrt, i guess that you forgot about quarentine? that might have helped you figure out what happened. i will never forget quarentine, no matter where i got the fish from and esp with wild fish.

second, ime, wild fish are WILD. there is a reason they have lived so long in a place where everyone is out to get them, and that is because they are the most agressive in their territories. i had some wild nannacara anamola's that killed each other all off one by one in 36 hours or so, then the last one started on the pencilfish, before he got whacked.

rick