Help with selection

[MacZ]

Too late to back off now. Will be a long term hobby I guess.

Erm... no. You can simply put in some tetras with the Apistos and the topic of offspring is a non-topic. You could also have not bought a female.

Never underestimate the workload of a. raising fry and b. getting rid of them.

 

[Me&Fishy]

Erm... no. You can simply put in some tetras with the Apistos and the topic of offspring is a non-topic. You could also have not bought a female.

Never underestimate the workload of a. raising fry and b. getting rid of them.

I

Erm... no. You can simply put in some tetras with the Apistos and the topic of offspring is a non-topic. You could also have not bought a female.

Never underestimate the workload of a. raising fry and b. getting rid of them.

Manage to speak to my local LFS, they are willing to take the offspring once they reach 2 months.

So far the female is still hiding in her beloved pot, no sight of any fry or sort.

Pardon my photo taking.

 

[MacZ]

Manage to speak to my local LFS, they are willing to take the offspring once they reach 2 months.

Then the growout should be 100 liters (26 gallons) at least.
50-75% waterchange 2x a week, high quality food (not dry foods, but live artemia nauplii and microworms)
separate the fry from the mother when she stops caring for them.

Also: Do you feel able to remove the fry? It might be necessary to empty the tank of plants and decorations to get them all. As the tank is too small for growout you can't just remove the female.

I'd still also setup the second 60 liter tank, so you can separate the male and female. Otherwise you'll regularly have fry. Basically once a month. And once that happens it will become tiresome rehoming them all, and at one point the store will stop taking them off your hands.

I grew up with a fish breeding family side business. I remember vividly when we switched from a simple 500 liter living room setup to full fishroom and a 2.5 meter tank in the living room, because my dad saw a chance to make some bucks. This was in the early 90s and we had some (back then) pretty rare specimens to breed with.

 

[Me&Fishy]

Then the growout should be 100 liters (26 gallons) at least.
50-75% waterchange 2x a week, high quality food (not dry foods, but live artemia nauplii and microworms)
separate the fry from the mother when she stops caring for them.

Also: Do you feel able to remove the fry? It might be necessary to empty the tank of plants and decorations to get them all. As the tank is too small for growout you can't just remove the female.

I'd still also setup the second 60 liter tank, so you can separate the male and female. Otherwise you'll regularly have fry. Basically once a month. And once that happens it will become tiresome rehoming them all, and at one point the store will stop taking them off your hands.

I grew up with a fish breeding family side business. I remember vividly when we switched from a simple 500 liter living room setup to full fishroom and a 2.5 meter tank in the living room, because my dad saw a chance to make some bucks. This was in the early 90s and we had some (back then) pretty rare specimens to breed with.

Definitely will separate the male and females after the first batch. Thanks for the heads-up.

My childhood was with my dad rearing arowanas in the 80's and 90's. That is how I caught the fish bug from. We used to have drains and swamp where after school we will stay back after school to catch guppies and some long kang fishes.

Till date I have spent more than 20x the value of the borelli trio just to house them. After hearing that they breed monthly, I'm kinda speechless.

I should have done more home work before trying to breed them. Didn't know they will breed so easily.

Last question, will borelli female breed with other species of apisto? The male will be lonely if I house him in a 17 gallon.

 

[MacZ]

Ha! Welcome to the club of people starting off in childhood. We had Malawi and Tanganyika cichlids, which also breed in high numbers.

Till date I have spent more than 20x the value of the borelli trio just to house them. After hearing that they breed monthly, I'm kinda speechless.

And the worst: You will be glad if the store gives you store credit in return. Most take the fish for nothing and sell them at normal prize.

Last question, will borelli female breed with other species of apisto?

Depends on which species. I know the fish I used to keep in the past hybridized easily even across genus borders, I'm not sure about Apistogramma, but I wouldn't rule it out to happen in captivity.

The male will be lonely if I house him in a 17 gallon.

No it won't. We as humans tend to anthropomorphize animals. The male will be content alone in a tank. It's only our human understanding that it might feel lonely or miss out on behaviour like breeding or territorial behaviours. But in the end the fish will just be foraging for food, looking for females (that won't show up), maybe shush around some catfish and that's it.

 

[Me&Fishy]

Ha! Welcome to the club of people starting off in childhood. We had Malawi and Tanganyika cichlids, which also breed in high numbers.


And the worst: You will be glad if the store gives you store credit in return. Most take the fish for nothing and sell them at normal prize.


Depends on which species. I know the fish I used to keep in the past hybridized easily even across genus borders, I'm not sure about Apistogramma, but I wouldn't rule it out to happen in captivity.


No it won't. We as humans tend to anthropomorphize animals. The male will be content alone in a tank. It's only our human understanding that it might feel lonely or miss out on behaviour like breeding or territorial behaviours. But in the end the fish will just be foraging for food, looking for females (that won't show up), maybe shush around some catfish and that's it.

Used to have a pair of electric blue dempsey. Never get to know their gender should be both either males or females.

The LFS focus mainly on cory and apistogramma only. Store owner is a nice young chap and taught me a few tips.

Breeding is not a choice now.

I just planted more plants. Having the vibe " welcome to the jungle".

 

[Me&Fishy]

Presumed tank dimension rule out the A. ortegai. The tank is also much too open and offers too little structure / breaks of sight lines for Apistogramma in general. The substrate is also less than ideal (fine sand would be optimal).

So a pair of A. borellii (includes "Opal") would be the only option I can recommend with a clean conscience, regardless of any other options. They are the only species that's suitable for that tank size. A single male might be an alternative if you don't care for breeding.

Is JBL Sansibar Sand 0.3 to 0.6mm overlay a good idea? I do agree my current jun platinum soil is too coarse.

 

[MacZ]

Is JBL Sansibar Sand 0.3 to 0.6mm overlay a good idea? I do agree my current jun platinum soil is too coarse.

To be frank, I'd replace the whole substrate with it. But yes. I have the Sansibar Orange in my tank.

 

[Me&Fishy]

Mummy is out with her fries. I can count about 10 at the moment.

 

[anewbie]

Mummy is out with her fries. I can count about 10 at the moment. View attachment 12960

Just keep a close eye on the male; some borelli females will be hyper aggressive towards the male and you will have to remove him or end up with a dead male. I'd remove him if you see any aggression as they don't play around and while you sleep he might end up perm. sleeping.

 

[Me&Fishy]

Just keep a close eye on the male; some borelli females will be hyper aggressive towards the male and you will have to remove him or end up with a dead male. I'd remove him if you see any aggression as they don't play around and while you sleep he might end up perm. sleeping.

So far the aggression is still fine. I'm preparing the 2nd tank for the male.

 

[MacZ]

So far the aggression is still fine. I'm preparing the 2nd tank for the male.

Good, keep a good eye on that situation.

 

[Me&Fishy]

Good, keep a good eye on that situation.

Left with 5 fries from the first female.

2nd female has a brood of fries of about 10. Male is now quarantine in a borrowed recycled tank for the meanwhile.

 

[MacZ]

Wait, second female? You got a trio? I thought you got a pair after being told the tank is too small.

 

[Me&Fishy]

Wait, second female? You got a trio? I thought you got a pair after being told the tank is too small.

It's was market and sold as a trio.

 

[MacZ]

How responsible of the seller...
Sorry, things like that make me angry.

 

[Me&Fishy]

 

[Solarpoweredaquarium]

Keep us updated on how the fry progress, I'm planning to breed some later in the year and am following along keenly.

 

[Me&Fishy]

View attachment 12965

Keep us updated on how the fry progress, I'm planning to breed some later in the year and am following along keenly.

The 2nd female took over all the fries. Even from the 1st female.its really weird. My guess is they are confused.

The 1st female is acting like she is a single now. Keep swimming and looking for the male too bad the male is in another tank.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

The 2nd female took over all the fries.

The dominant female will tend to end up with all the fry. I kept a <"one male : seven female"> Apistogramma cacatuoides harem at one point and <"one female usually ended up with all the fry">.

cheers Darrel