Rogue Fish

[jowens]

I just completed a very difficult month that resulted in the deaths of my male Cacatuoides and female Agassizii. To make a long story short, I had to move out of my apartment and leave my tank basically unattended for three weeks (other than nightly feeding) during a critical time - the tank had just been planted. Desperately in need of weekly or bi-weekly water changes, the tank was in fairly bad shape when I finally got it back...at which point I had to move the thing to a new apartment, causing even more stress. Needless to say, neither I nor my fish were pleased.

At any rate, things are now back on track. I've got my new apartment, my new RO unit, and most of the plants and fish managed to survive the trauma. Here's the problem: I'm now stuck with two rogue Apistos. Is the best thing to do to order a new female Aggy and a new male Cac and just replace the old ones? Should I trade the rogues to the LFS and start from scratch? Or, if I went ahead and got a whole new Apisto pair, do you think the rogue fish would present territory problems? Both of the fish seem extremely non-aggressive now that their mates are gone.

The tank is a planted 46-gallon bowfront Amazon tank with ample hiding spots.

 

[Neil]

jowens,
That is a bummer, but it happens all the time with animals that are not easily acquired. I always have a male this or a female that hanging around, waiting for another mate. If the place where you got them from doesn't have them currently, maybe they still have access to them. I would put a bug in their ear to get some more. You can try to get just the missing partners first, if possible, because they will probably pair up with your current fish. If that doesn't work, then try to get new pairs. Good luck, Neil

 

[jowens]

I got new partners! If anyone lives in Massachusetts, Ned's Fish Factory in Millis, MA has a fairly steady supply of Apistos to choose from. At any rate, I got new mates for the lonely hearted singles. Now that I'm able to give the tank full attention, everyone is quite please. The plants are taking off like crazy and the Apistos are pleasantly mellow for the time being.