Does anyone know how much territiry a female Apistogramma cacatuoides requires. I have a male and a female in a 33g but i'd like to get two more females.
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Cacatuoides back yards
- Thread starter cloud
- Start date
You could probably get away with a harem in a 33g, but I really would push any further than that. You'll want to make sure there are enough caves for them too. They're going to breed, and when they do the females will be aggressive towards each other without the proper space. Just have lots of broken sightlines and tonnes of cover.
I'm going to guess 3 females in a 33g. With only two, then you take the risk that the male will bond to one female and the other will become "odd woman out". Cd's right on the money with the broken lines of sight, especially around the entrances to the caves.
Cacts aren't pair bonding apistos. They're harem breeders. You won't have an "odd woman out". The male will tend to all of the females within the tank and gaurd them and their fry. The females will be territorial with each other, but generally their territory's won't extend more than 8" away from their center point.
thanks guys.
got pleny of broken lines of site. the tanks so heavilly planted, and 2 big piece of driftwood. i'm going to get one more i've decided. then perhaps a third a week or two later depending on where the first two females stake their territory.
got pleny of broken lines of site. the tanks so heavilly planted, and 2 big piece of driftwood. i'm going to get one more i've decided. then perhaps a third a week or two later depending on where the first two females stake their territory.
Re to Cloud
Sincerely Curtis
:idea: Hey Cloud. I would get all females at same time let them sort out teritories doing 1 at a time alows those before larger territories and they will harrass new ones might even not alow to aquire teritory thinking whole tank is hers. :idea:cloud said:
Sincerely Curtis
Interesting.. my experience with cac's is that you will have an odd female out if you only keep two. They may be harem breeders, but one on one female competition does interesting things with this fish. What happened in my tanks, and I gave trios like this about 40 gallons worth of footprint space.. is that there was an odd female out.. usually the smaller of the two females. The male would spawn with both but he preferentially guarded the larger females' fry - more of her babies would make it to adulthood too. Perhaps cacatuoides chooses females based on overall body size being perceived as increased clutch size.
I'd also add in both the two new females at once. Greatly lessen the chance your current female will batter one too greatly and all three will have to adjust their territories just once, not twice. Less chance for serious fights I would think. Also, consider rearranging a little when you introduce them, if you havent already. Even something as little as re-orienting their spawning caves and the driftwood should help.
>Sarah
I'd also add in both the two new females at once. Greatly lessen the chance your current female will batter one too greatly and all three will have to adjust their territories just once, not twice. Less chance for serious fights I would think. Also, consider rearranging a little when you introduce them, if you havent already. Even something as little as re-orienting their spawning caves and the driftwood should help.
>Sarah
I bought one already as the LFS i get them from would'nt sell me two females at once (they like to keep them paired up). But she's in quarantine so I can go back in a couple of days with a fake moustache on and get a 2nd one, then I can keep them in the q tank until their both ready to move over at the same time.
It's my understanding that while cacs will form harems, this is by no means gauranteed. I would not expect male-female aggression, but female-female aggresion is a definate concern. Anyone who's owned apistos can tell you that it's the female who ends up wearing the pants in the end.
Equally sized females introduced at the same time would seem to be the best bet to limit female-female aggression. Since that is not an option for cloud I would make sure susbsequent females are as close in size as possible. If I were doing it, I would remove the original female completely to the q tank with any new females for a few days and then add all the females at once. It seems easier and safer than simply rearanging the tank. Cichlids are smart fish and may not be completely fooled by this trick. Lots and lots (6 or 7 would not be overkill) of caves can only help.
bummer
All a little redundant for me now anyway. I just checked the q tank and she's lying on her side gulping and twitching. she's only been in there a day. I think i might have to put here out of her misery, and look for a new source to by apistos from.
All a little redundant for me now anyway. I just checked the q tank and she's lying on her side gulping and twitching. she's only been in there a day. I think i might have to put here out of her misery, and look for a new source to by apistos from.