Fat Apisto

If you want to do any preventative treatment of wildcaught fish I would suggest using a hospital tank and treating for external parasites (Parizapro as stated by Cathy G) and metronidazole for internal parasites. If the hospital tank is not an option and the fish looks healthy, then just keep an eye on her. Signs of trouble would be flashing or scratching on tank decor, a failure to gain weight when fed a varied diet, and stringy looking feces.

Bloodworms in moderation are great for conditioning females as they have a high fat content. I would not feed beefheart as this contains warm blooded animal fat. There is a feeling, and some scientific research to back it up, that fish cannot properly metabalize warm blooded animal fat. There is also an issue with the melting point of warm blooded fat (it's solid at tank temperatures). Unfortunatly, cichlid chow contains turkey heart (also warm blooded). A good frozen prepared food is Marine One. Nice mix of aquatic based protiens, vegies, and vitamins/minerals.
 
Together?

Hi,
Would you treat the fish with both at the same time? Or, run Prazi for a week, then run the metro. I heard the metro doesn't absorb well in water, therefore doesn't get to the fishes internal organs. What is your experience?

I just bought another male ram and am trying to get him to eat that medicated Jungle food - it has prazi, metron. and levimasole...
The little bugger spits it out...

(I am sick of rams dying for no good reason - there has to be a reason! My water is 0 - 0 - <10 and soft with pH of 6.8...!)

Cathy G
 
I would treat them at the same time. My gibbiceps are the first wild-caught fish that i've worked with, and I have not treated them as they all look to be in good shape, and are the only residents of thier tank. If is was going to treat them i'd do it all at once. Something in the water for external parasites, and some irrisistable food (like mysis) soaked in the metro (disolved in water).

there are several ideas as to why rams are so dificult to keep. One is that they are just very delicate fish (probably true). Another are the breeding prctices in SE Asia where the majority of LFS rams come from. I have no idea whether these rumors are true, but it makes sense to me. The rumor is that rams are raised under very crowded, stressful, less than optimal condition. In order to get maximum yield, the fish are given antibiotics constantly. This keep them alive and looking good for awhile. Eventually the antibiotics wear off, and you are left with delicate species of fish that has had it's immune system propped up with meds since the day they were born. Same deal with neons. Like I said, this explanation is anecdotal at best. If anyone has first hand knowledge of these practices, please let us know.

I will take this opportunity to say this. When all you guys are tired of your rams dying for no reason...........
Buy an APISTOGRAMMA!!!

Are they more expensive....Sure they are. But it only takes one dead ram and you are already at the cost of an apisto. They do require clean water, but as long as this is provided they are very hardy, very interesting to watch, and IMO just as beautiful as rams.
 
Funny!

Mooman, you are funny - I think you must be able to buy apistos in Ohio because you are closer in proximity to Europe where they seem to be way ahead of us. Here is WisCONsin, we get only the usual... I even asked about getting shell dwellers at one point because their water requirements are close to what comes out of my tap. You know the manager of the biggest of the lfs said?! He "doesn't get them because they are boring"!
Geesh, but thanks for the advice. I did by some Bolivians yesterday...do they still count as apistos of choice?!

Cathy G
 
What sized tank are these fish in, what is your filtration, and what are your maintenance routines?

Also, if you are planning on spawning apistos, or any egglayers for that matter, I'd advise adding a sponge filter to your tank. In addition to helping with water quality, it also adds a ready source of live food for the fry.
 
Its a 20 long, with a penn plax 150 rated for 30 gal. I do water changes every week at least once. As for food for fry, I think there might be something growing in my java moss because my cory fry seem to be feeding from that most of the time.

This female has a lot more red on her fins than the other one and blue lips. She also has a much darker stripe, so I see what people mean when they say that getting a wild caught is worth it.
 
ljse said:
Its a 20 long, with a penn plax 150 rated for 30 gal. I do water changes every week at least once. As for food for fry, I think there might be something growing in my java moss because my cory fry seem to be feeding from that most of the time.

This female has a lot more red on her fins than the other one and blue lips. She also has a much darker stripe, so I see what people mean when they say that getting a wild caught is worth it.
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Most of the wildcaught cacatuoides I've seen actually have a lot less color. It's more the rarity and difficulty involved in keeping WC specimens. The two batchs I saw at LFS had NO females, so make sure what you have is actually a female. I only say this because I've never seen a female cac with any blue in her whatsoever, and "sneaker males" can often have female characteristics. The dead give away for cac females is the dark black margin on the leading edge of the ventral fins. Here is a pic of three males (no black on ventral fins, and a female with the black margin)
cacatuoides
 
She has faint black markings on the fins. Another thing I guess would support that its a female is the way the male acts in front of her.

What are some of the difficulties in keeping wild caughts?
 
I also have a question about caves. Do both males and females need a cave? I noticed that only my male occasionally goes into the cave previously inhabited by the female that died. The female spends most of her time in the top back corner of the tank. Should I try to prod her in the direction of the cave or will she find it on her own? Im asking because the male is constantly coming up to her and showing off his fins and swimming at her backwards in a wierd wavy motion.
 
There really aren't that many special concerns when dealing with wild caught individuals. Water quality is important (as always). Cacatuoides comes from water with a higher ph and hardness than most apistos (similar enough to most peoples tap water that it should not be a concern).

As for caves, there should be several for the female to choose from. When she's ready to spawn, she will pick one and begin to clean the inside of it, and then begin to entice the male into her cave.

It's not unusual for males (especially established males) to bully females for several days until things calm down. make sure there is enough structure and caves for her to escape harrasment (if she's hanging out in the upper corner ther might not be). clay flower pots, fake plants, and peices of slate all will work.
 
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