Female Apisto Spawning behavior

[sumtnfishy]

Hello
I finally set up a nice breeder tank for my red fire apisto pair. She had tried spawning in the community tank but I think she was frustrated. When she was in there she would never leave the cave which I read is what she is supposed to do. So the current concern is this. Is she really spawning in her new cave or is she just hiding from the male because he is being a jerk? She does defend the cave indicating eggs. I thought I saw her doing the "dance" to get him to come fertilize the eggs. I thought yep spawning. However she leaves the cave once and awhile so that threw me for a small loop trying to figure out what is going on.
Well sure enough he is kind of a jerk to her. Sometimes she stands up for her self and he backs off and sometimes she lets him chase her. I mean they aren't killing each other it is just pushing a lot of weight around.
Then she goes back to her cave and seems like she is guarding eggs. I just want to make sure she is not being held captive in her cave. I was thinking of taking him out and then see her behavior. I just don't want to disrupt the tank if she is on eggs.
I also think that he is not fertilizing the eggs now. They have tried 3 times now two in the community and one in the breeder now. The first time he fertilized the eggs because I got to witness it. From there on out he seems to just ignore her. Just to state this as well, I was planning on taking him out as soon as he fertilized the eggs. I I just don't know what is going on.
I have read about many techniques to get them in the mood.. I think he has lost his groove -

So any tips or ideas on any of this that would be so so helpful now!!

Thanks

 

[Rbishop]

Amore detailed timeline would be nice...if recently removed from a community tank, it may be awhile before they settle in...

 

[Frank Castle]

Hello
I finally set up a nice breeder tank for my red fire apisto pair. She had tried spawning in the community tank but I think she was frustrated. When she was in there she would never leave the cave which I read is what she is supposed to do. So the current concern is this. Is she really spawning in her new cave or is she just hiding from the male because he is being a jerk? She does defend the cave indicating eggs. I thought I saw her doing the "dance" to get him to come fertilize the eggs. I thought yep spawning. However she leaves the cave once and awhile so that threw me for a small loop trying to figure out what is going on.
Well sure enough he is kind of a jerk to her. Sometimes she stands up for her self and he backs off and sometimes she lets him chase her. I mean they aren't killing each other it is just pushing a lot of weight around.
Then she goes back to her cave and seems like she is guarding eggs. I just want to make sure she is not being held captive in her cave. I was thinking of taking him out and then see her behavior. I just don't want to disrupt the tank if she is on eggs.
I also think that he is not fertilizing the eggs now. They have tried 3 times now two in the community and one in the breeder now. The first time he fertilized the eggs because I got to witness it. From there on out he seems to just ignore her. Just to state this as well, I was planning on taking him out as soon as he fertilized the eggs. I I just don't know what is going on.
I have read about many techniques to get them in the mood.. I think he has lost his groove -

So any tips or ideas on any of this that would be so so helpful now!!

Thanks

My cichlids always spawn after a large water change - change out 70-90% of the water and add freshwater that is maybe 2-3 degrees F COOLER than the tank itself. Cooler water signifies the coming of the rainy season when every thing floods in the Amazon and that is when cichlids naturally breed in the wild.

You can also work up to this by everyday, remove 1/2 to 1 gallon of water and make it seem like there is a drought. The rainy season always comes right after drought periods. Continue doing this daily until the tank is only half-full or even less (mind the heating element on your heater and don't leave it exposed - slide it down into the tank further if you need to) then once you've done that, bring on the cool water and fill it back up, slowly if possible

 

[fishorama]

IME, females are ready to breed earlier than males. There is a learning curve for both too, with egg laying/fertilizing & egg/fry care. Be patient, they most likely will get the hang of it.

Like Frank said, a big water change can help. So can feeding higher protein foods like live blackworms or frozen bloodworms.