Multiple questions about my Apistogrammas "Borellii"

[Drazyor]

Hello everyone,

I have so many questions I think this thread will last for quite some time, but anyway, let's start with my tank population first.

I have a 150L tank, so far my population consists of 16 Rummy Nose Tetras and 11 Corydoras Julii, I've added just recently (Wednesday) what I think is the final touch to my tank, which is a harem of Apistogrammas Borellii, I purchased them online (this is the first time I do that), specifying I wanted 1 male and 3 females, the reason I chose 3 females instead of 2 is for the remaining female to not feel lonely in case I manage to create a couple.

Now the thing is, this is my very first experience with Apistogrammas, and compared to the images I can see online, my fishes don't look that colorful, all the fishes did gain some coloration in the past 2 days, I'm guessing the transportation was a huge stress for them, but even then, I'm not quite sure if I really received Borellii and if I have one male for three females. I'm going to attach some photos below, as for the fishes size, I'd say they're about 3,5cm, maybe barely 4cm for the "male":

This is the one I believe to be the male, "he's" the only one without a black coloration on the pelvic fins, he has some sort of grayish blue color, hard to distinguish in picture.

In this photo, you can see what appears to be a female and the male below, I chose this photo to show you the difference in color between them, again he doesn't have the bright blue I see on pictures online, maybe it's a bit to early since they've been here for 3 days?

In this image, this is what I consider to be the 3 females, it's not very clear for the one at the far left but these three have a touch of black on their pelvic fins, they are slighty more beige in terms of color, although the one on the right is a bit olive/gray, also they're noticeably smaller.

I will attach more photographies if needed.

Now for the behavior, so far I haven't noticed any territory claimed by any of them, I do see quite often one female in a cave I formed with a few rocks and another one in another, but the "male" roams between all females, sometimes they stick around for a few minutes then each of them part ways. Also I saw what I think is a female pretty gently chasing the male when he gets too close to her or even during feeding time.

Maybe I didn't give them enough time, especially with some active species on the bottom and above their heads, but I do worry about what the online store sent me, whether it's the right species or the right gender.

Thanks in advance for you help!

 

[MacZ]

the reason I chose 3 females instead of 2 is for the remaining female to not feel lonely in case I manage to create a couple.

Apistogramma are not very gregarious, so a single fish is not bound to feel lonely. Try to not think in human terms about fish social behaviour. And even if that may seem strange: Don't attribute feelings to them at all.

11 Corydoras Julii

Corydoras trilineatus. True C. julii are almost impossible to get.

Now the thing is, this is my very first experience with Apistogrammas, and compared to the images I can see online, my fishes don't look that colorful, all the fishes did gain some coloration in the past 2 days, I'm guessing the transportation was a huge stress for them, but even then, I'm not quite sure if I really received Borellii and if I have one male for three females. I'm going to attach some photos below, as for the fishes size, I'd say they're about 3,5cm, maybe barely 4cm for the "male":

Takes a while to colour up, plus they are quite young still.

This is the one I believe to be the male, "he's" the only one without a black coloration on the pelvic fins, he has some sort of grayish blue color, hard to distinguish in picture.

Yes, it's a male. It can take some weeks to months until the full colouration comes through.

And be patient. It's the number one rule in fishkeeping. Patience is everything.
The way you describe everything you seem to expect things to happen much more quickly than they actually will.

 

[Drazyor]

Thank you so much for the detailled reply MacZ, you're right, I think the Corydoras species I have is what they usually call "False Julii", slip of the tongue from me, my bad.

I'm reassured by the fact that I have a male, then they did their job correctly at sexing them before shipping, now it's my time to do the job correctly by being patient and learning their behavior and habits day after day.

In all honesty, it's my fault for looking at how fast it took for the two previous species introduced in my tank to colour up and considered it to be the norm. I'm just glad there's nothing wrong with them for having this appearence.

Thanks again!