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Dead male :(

while

New Member
Messages
7
Hi!
I am a bit new to the Apisto world but started a new 260L tank a few months ago with a Cacatuoides pair. They have been thriving and spawned for the first time a few weeks back. The fry are growing nicely and seem to be doing fine. However the male suddenly went all sad just resting by the bottom until he finally lost his balance and died. Super sad.
I cant figure out why and the water parameters are great as far as I can tell. He was the first fish to enter the tank though so Im thinking maybe he was damaged in some way by the slight imbalance in the beginning. Or he hurt himself fighting off tank mates to protect his fry. If anyone have had a similar experience im very interested to know what could have been the cause to learn from the fail.

But looking forward. How would you handle adding a new male? Should I wait with adding a new one until the fry is all grown up? Will the female accept a new male if she has fry? Or should I let one of the fry become the new male in my tank? Is that ok or can it result in inbreeding if they in turn spawn later?
 

Samala

Active Member
Messages
99
Location
Oviedo, FL
What are the other tankmates?

Any information on the fish when you purchased them? The advice from the group on how to handle introducing a new male might be different if they know whether your fish are a tank-bred strain of A. cacatuoides or if they were wild-caught.

I don't have the same species, so hesitate to offer, but I wouldn't add a male when the female still has young fry. She isn't likely to be ready to spawn for at least a few more weeks yet. Any new mature male is likely to immediately try to persuade her to spawn again.
 

while

New Member
Messages
7
The other tank mates are Green Neon tetra, Otocinclus and Carnegiella strigata. I dont think they caused him any harm as they are all very small and peaceful but maybe he hurt himself chasing them or got very stressed by them being in the tank.

I think they are tank-bred as they are of the Orange flash type which I think are not present in the wild. Didnt get much info though when I bought them.
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,201
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Sadly, sometimes fish die with no apparent reason. Without a necropsy immediately after death occurs it is impossible to say what the cause was. If/when you decide to replace the male (after the juveniles are old enough to remove first) it is best to quarantine the fish for several weeks before introduction, just to prevent some unseen illness being introduced to the community tank.
 

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