Viejita cat fight

[mk_ultra]

I finally came across the male I have been looking for over a month now. The dilemma was that he was strictly going to be sold as a pair. I figured no real big deal. The went into a heavily planted 10 with multiple caves. This is until i can get a 55 cyclced. The fish there are 3 Colombian red fin tetras (very nice fish although the stay in the same part of the water column) 2 panda corys, 1 Oto, and a glass shrimp. All seems to be nice.
The male starts dancing for the larger female (the one I already had) but she doesn seemed interested. She seems more interested in chasing the new small female all over the tank. How can I break this up until i get the larger tank ready?

 

[Randall]

Fighting Viejita Females

Dear David,

It sounds like you have a dominant-subdominant social relationship here that is exacerbated by the small size of your tank. Until you can get your larger quarters ready, you might try adding some more plants until your 10-gallon tank resembles a tropical rain forest. This way the little girl can take cover. Additional hiding places constructed with rocks will achieve the same end.

Glad to hear that you found your male viejita.

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[mk_ultra]

But I thought that was a problem that males suffered from?

 

[Randall]

Apisto Social Issues

Dear David,

When more than one Apisto female is present, especially in such small quarters, eventually one of them will emerge as dominant. If the tank is large enough so that both females can comfortably stake out their own breeding territory, then it is usually not an issue. Apisto species are harem spawners, and it is possible to have two brooding females simultaniously.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn