Hi,
I'm new to the forum. We have what I think is a male apistogramma viejita or macmasteri (see post in ID forum http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/threads/apisto-id-help-please-viejita-vs-macmasteri.18992/ )
Got a pair about 18mths ago. Unfortunately 2 months ago we lost one which we think was the female. They previously did really well, very interactive with each other, mostly bottom dwelling when resting but swimming up to mid tank and around objects etc. Actively feeding etc.
Since losing its mate the male (?) Has become very withdrawn. Still appears to be a good size but spent most of the time hiding under the little caves made of bogwood and rocks etc. It was difficult to find him and he always seems to be sitting on the sand. He would also share cave with our large striped Raphael catfish (platydoras costatus) at times. We thought he was probably lonely but we were in the process of moving house so didn't want to subject newcomers to two moves and change of water etc so we have waited until now. We also lost our albino bristlenose ancistrus before the apisto and our catfish isnt particularly active so we thought the lack of activity at the bottom may be causing it to hide. We considered options and we decided to get some Cory's - got 2 x Cory sterbai and 2 x Cory paleatus/peppered who we got yesterday.
Since then the apisto has come out of hiding and is moving around the tank more and has had dorsal fin up a lot and is sitting/resting out in the open. Also saw him actively feeding tonight.
So...I'm not sure whether he a)was feeling scared/depressed since losing mate and lack of activity and is now feeling happier b) was scared/depressed and now feels threatened by Cory's hence dorsal fin up or c) not very well.
When moving across the tank he doesn't seem to leave the bottom and when he stops he leans to the right a bit and never really get to see the ventral fin.
When the mate died it deteriorated over many weeks - became thin/shallow in the body and was always sitting on the bottom and swam along the bottom - hence my concern with this one. They both used to rest on the bottom but usually would swim properly. At the time the water quality tests were fine and we treated tank with esha 2000 and people have suggested it could have been worms.
So now I'm not sure if this apisto is picking up and whether the Cory's activity is enough? I have been enquiring about trying to get another apisto of similar/same species or even a pair but was told they are best only as pairs? My concern with that is with lifespan we could be left with one dying again and having to replace mate and so on.
Can they happily live on their own after losing a mate?
Any advice would be much appreciated!
I'm new to the forum. We have what I think is a male apistogramma viejita or macmasteri (see post in ID forum http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/threads/apisto-id-help-please-viejita-vs-macmasteri.18992/ )
Got a pair about 18mths ago. Unfortunately 2 months ago we lost one which we think was the female. They previously did really well, very interactive with each other, mostly bottom dwelling when resting but swimming up to mid tank and around objects etc. Actively feeding etc.
Since losing its mate the male (?) Has become very withdrawn. Still appears to be a good size but spent most of the time hiding under the little caves made of bogwood and rocks etc. It was difficult to find him and he always seems to be sitting on the sand. He would also share cave with our large striped Raphael catfish (platydoras costatus) at times. We thought he was probably lonely but we were in the process of moving house so didn't want to subject newcomers to two moves and change of water etc so we have waited until now. We also lost our albino bristlenose ancistrus before the apisto and our catfish isnt particularly active so we thought the lack of activity at the bottom may be causing it to hide. We considered options and we decided to get some Cory's - got 2 x Cory sterbai and 2 x Cory paleatus/peppered who we got yesterday.
Since then the apisto has come out of hiding and is moving around the tank more and has had dorsal fin up a lot and is sitting/resting out in the open. Also saw him actively feeding tonight.
So...I'm not sure whether he a)was feeling scared/depressed since losing mate and lack of activity and is now feeling happier b) was scared/depressed and now feels threatened by Cory's hence dorsal fin up or c) not very well.
When moving across the tank he doesn't seem to leave the bottom and when he stops he leans to the right a bit and never really get to see the ventral fin.
When the mate died it deteriorated over many weeks - became thin/shallow in the body and was always sitting on the bottom and swam along the bottom - hence my concern with this one. They both used to rest on the bottom but usually would swim properly. At the time the water quality tests were fine and we treated tank with esha 2000 and people have suggested it could have been worms.
So now I'm not sure if this apisto is picking up and whether the Cory's activity is enough? I have been enquiring about trying to get another apisto of similar/same species or even a pair but was told they are best only as pairs? My concern with that is with lifespan we could be left with one dying again and having to replace mate and so on.
Can they happily live on their own after losing a mate?
Any advice would be much appreciated!