Apistogramma cacatuoides breeding behavior

ljse

ljse

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Oct 12, 2005
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Yesterday I finally managed to get some nice double red apistos for $20 a pair. I cut out a hole in a flowerpot and placed it upside down in my tank, and when I got home today, I noticed that my female is sitting in the pot, does this mean that the apistos should spawn pretty soon? Is there any way I can get them to spawn faster and will I need anything other than the flowerpot?
 
that doesnt mean that they spawned they just like to hide in caves and such. For my cacs I made caves out of slate and they would spawn in there all of the time... If they spawn be prepared to remove the male before the female kills him
 
What are some signs of preparing to spawn?

Do apistos need plants in their diet? Because I caught my male devouring a piece of java moss covered in black algae.
 
I'd also add that if you want to actually raise any of the fry, you will have to remove them from that tank. Those tankmates are all consumate fry predators, and with that many, the apistos won't have a chance. I don't think the female has spawned yet, but every cactuoides I've owned has usually spawned within a few weeks of bringing them home (sometimes sooner). Frequent water changes, and a good variety of frozen food will bring the female into condition the quickest.

I also don't think the apistos will tolerate those cories once settled in.

Congrats, watch yourself or your sig could look like mine in a few months. :)
 
I do weekly water changes so that should be fine. If the apistos do bother the cories, I guess I'll buy a 10 gallon for them. If I'm succesful with these apistos, I plan to get another tank for a different species maybe trifasciata.

Just out of curiosity, how can you tell apart the different color varieties such as double red, triple red and orange in a female? At the lfs I saw orange and double red females and they looked the same, so I was just wondering.
 
Female cacatuoides. This is the problem. The orange flash females I had did have orange in their dorsal & tail. But getting a true breeding pair is very difficult. Even if you have an orange flash pair that doesn't mean you will get all orange flash young ones. Cacatuoides has been so inbred that most color forms do not breed true. Oh & BTW, my OF pair never had all the same color morph fry either. I suppose it can be done but would take a few generations of selective breeding to get a breeding-true pair.
 
How long does it take for the apistos to finish spawning?
 
Today I noticed the male following the female and he went into the cave with her for a few seconds, previously he stayed out of the cave. Does the male go into the cave if there are eggs inside, or would the female chase him away?
 
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