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A week ago I picked up a pair of Apisto Bitaeniata Tefe who are in a 23.7G tank with 3 otos. There is no aggression between the otos and the apisots, but the female is very aggressive towards the male. If she sees him out in the open, she creeps up on him, then goes in to try to nip him. I can tell he is intimidated. He doesn't cover out of cover often & is cautious when he does so. This makes him the harder one to feed. I don't think her actual attacks will be enough to kill him (although as I hadn't seen him for 24 hrs I did wonder) but the side effects (stress on being chased & not getting enough access to food might??)

When I first got them, the thought of fry was important, but it no longer matters to me, as I'd prefer to have 2 happy fish, even if this means leading single lives.

I'm considering putting the female in my community tank & leaving the male where he is, alone for a couple of months or so. Then moving the female back in & seeing if anything changes.

What does anyone think. Should I separate them, or what can I do. I've already provided heaps of cover (plants, pots, wood).

Another problem is that I can't get them to take processed food. I try to drop it so it will float down right in front of their faces, but they always turn away (by accident or co-incidence I don't know). By day day 4 of no eating, I gave in & bought brine shrimp, but I don't think it's good for them to only eat that & no pellets. Feeding them with pellets only seems to result in polluting the tank. Has anyone else had this problem and how did you solve it?

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Cheers
TW

Bickering and chasing is unfortunately normal for Apistos, especially a mature pair. When conditions are normal or the male wants a reluctant female to spawn, he will chase and sometimes bite her. When there are eggs or fry present, the female aggressively runs off her mate. If females outnumber the male(s) greatly, sometimes they'll just gang up and tear him up. That's what these guys do. The male will become the more aggressive one as the two fish age, because he will grow larger and think himself a king in his tank. Personally I'd just leave the fish alone, keeping an eye out for any serious trouble.

Have you tried frozen foods? How about flakes? Maybe placing a few flakes underwater in the current will get a response out of them. You're definitely right about just the brine shrimp not being healthy. Brine (live, right?) can be enriched, but it's still nothing compared to a more balanced diet.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Thanks sirbooks, it's just very different from the apistos cacateudies I have in another tank - no bickering at all. They get on really great & when they had eggs, they seemed to work as a team (her guarding the eggs & him patrolling the area)

Altough LFS told me the A.Bitaeniata Tefeare are both juveniles, he is already bigger than her, yet he is the one to run away. They are the only 2 apistos in the tank, so there would be no "ganging up", just one to one aggression. Is it possible that she could kill him?

Yes, I am using live brine shrimp. So, you think that flakes might be better than pellets?

What frozen food do you mean? Do you mean frozen blood worms, or is there something different I should be looking out for.

Thanks for advice.


Cheers
TW

She could kill the male if she attacked him in earnest, or if he stopped eating. You are the best judge of how far she's taking it, and whether you want to take the risk. You can always try seperating the two, or put a divider in the tank.

Flakes will dance a bit in the water's current, while pellets just sit there. If you have flakes that you use for other fish, maybe just try a few. If they react well to them, you could buy cichlid flakes as the staple diet.

Just any frozen food in general. Bloodworms, enriched frozen brine, or frozen cichlid or omnivore diets. San Francisco Bay Brand makes something called "Emerald Entree" which is a mix of several different other frozen foods. If it's available in Australia, you could try some of that. Most fish seem to like it, so maybe just cut off a small piece for the Apistos and feed the rest to your other fish. That way if they don't take it, you haven't wasted much.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

It's been a while since I updated this thread, so thought I'd report back that things are much better. I went through a period of more than a week when I could barely get them to eat. Wouldn't touch cichlid dinner, flakes, pellets & even lost interest in the live brine shrimp. The male was a wimp, & hid all day from the female, who wouldn't let him out of the corner. By this stage, I really thought both fish would end up dying from starvation.

For a while I removed the female. I let the male settle in the tank without her & get to feel he "owned" tank & was the "king of the tank", then I returned her (at the same time as pencil fish as dithers).

That was yesterday, and things seem to be going well.

The feeding has been sorted out. After newly 2 frustrating weeks, I rang LFS who sold them to me to tell him they wouldn't eat. He told me they will only eat Hikari frozen brine shrimp, daphnia & blood worm. They like this better even than the the live stuff & it is easier for me too. I will gradually try to get them to eat pellets too (by soaking them in the defrosted frozen food), even though LFS said they won't eat it. (So far he's right.) They now recognise me as the "feeder" and he comes to me when I 'm going to feed. So things are now easier in this tank & I'm no longer stressed. Seems silly, but I'm just so happy that things seem to be working out.

Thanks for the help along the way.

Here's a shot of the male, in the tank, making himself at home. He is there somewhere & so are 2 of the pencils.

EDIT: just noticed the female is in the shoot too, facing him. Nothing is clear, due to poor photo skills & camera

Attached Image:


Cheers
TW