Finally figured out the gender ratio of my dwarf cichlids, now there's a new problem

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fishorama

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I haven't kept farlos (yet?) so I don't know. They are pretty too! That pretty vs compatible thing is hard to decide on...that's why many of us have several tanks :cool: I know you can't, so it's going to be a decision only you can make...
 

Snagrio

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Ultimately, it's a roll of the dice when you get down to it. You can research and test everything you can like a mad scientist but in the end you're still going to have take leaps of faith and the trial and error that comes with them.

I've already learned several things during this journey that I didn't expect to, like how disruptive BNs can be when introduced to sand and how mystery snails apparently view salvinia as a floating buffet. Part of the hooby really.
 
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fishorama

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Exactly! I'm still learning stuff 40+ years into our hobby. I don't pretend to know everything, only what I've tried or can assume from similar efforts. We only can help so much with your particular tank, it's always something different, hopefully new & exciting!!
 
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Snagrio

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So I called the store, and they don't do return credits (which means they likely won't take the male BN either)... The best they can do is swap out one of the extra males I have for a female they have in the store and see if that works.

Sigh...

But now the issue is, will two females go to each male or will the dominant male just drive off the others and have all the ladies to himself? Because as things stand now the other two males constantly hide in the shadows on opposite sides of the tank. Even with 125 gallons to work with the dominant male's rule is absolute.
 
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Wyomingite

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Nice. The trifasciata are too far away to even guess sex. The atropersonatus are sharp looking cories!

I tried two male and two female BNs in a 20 gallon longs for breeding BNs. There was no way the dominant male would allow it. In a 125 gallon, well, there might be enough space to allow more than one pair to breed regularly. I think it's worth a shot if you want to try.

I vaguely remember keeping a single farlo years ago, but I may well be imagining it at this point. Even if I did, I know it wasn't more than one, and I've never kept a group or tried to to induce spawning. Good luck with them when you finally get some.

WYite
 

Snagrio

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I wasn't even intending to breed anything at all. The fact I ended up with a mating pair of BNs was pure coincidence.

And 3 trifasciata in the main tank are absolutely all males. It's incredibly obvious at this point not only from watching behavior but the female I have in quarantine makes the difference clear. So now the debate is if I should either take back both the extra males and get the other female from the store for the trio I thought I had from the get-go, or only take back one male and attempt to shoot for two pairs with the two females.

The hangup I have about the latter option is if the dominant male claims both females as his own and bullies the remaining male even more harshly.
 

fishorama

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I would try a second female, an even up trade is better than most shops would do. Keep the next biggest or healthiest male. In a 125g there "should" be room for 2 apisto pairs. The females will decide who goes with which male, they're no without opinions & fighting abilities. Probably the biggest M & F will pair up & so will the "lesser" 2. Do you have or can you add a second hiding/nesting place? 1 at either end is going to be best. That log is pretty big...they don't need that big of nest area...

If you can't or don't want to try to sell the male BN on your own & you do want to rehome him (now or in the future), I'm sure the LFS will take it as a donation...Have you found any more fry? I'm thinking there will be at least a few...
 

Snagrio

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The log was with the male BN in mind (and we know how that went). There's not really space to add anything more though. At most I can try to add a smaller log but not sure where it'd go.

I have noticed one of the males intentionally get into the dominant one's face to test him more than the other, so I'm guessing that'd be the one to keep of the two since he at least tries to stick up for himself.
 
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Wyomingite

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The log was with the male BN in mind (and we know how that went). There's not really space to add anything more though. At most I can try to add a smaller log but not sure where it'd go.

I have noticed one of the males intentionally get into the dominant one's face to test him more than the other, so I'm guessing that'd be the one to keep of the two since he at least tries to stick up for himself.
A small coconut would get you two decent sized but small caves for your apistos. Saw it into equal halves with a power saw, clean out all the meat, and finally drill a 1/2" hole into each half. These make great spawning caves for apistos, other small cichlids, badids, and such. They're actually pretty easy to squeeze in between clumps of plants and other decor as well.

WYite
 

Snagrio

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A small coconut would get you two decent sized but small caves for your apistos. Saw it into equal halves with a power saw, clean out all the meat, and finally drill a 1/2" hole into each half. These make great spawning caves for apistos, other small cichlids, badids, and such. They're actually pretty easy to squeeze in between clumps of plants and other decor as well.

WYite
There's these little rock caves at the store. They look something like this iirc. Could try those.
 
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