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I wrote in my thread about the possible sexing mistake with some of my apistos...I have a trio in a 10g, one very definite male, one female, and what I still think is a male because it's starting to show color in the tail.

The tank is well planted, has only a corner/sponge-type filter and tankmates are MTS and cherry shrimp.

I did a water change yesterday and this morning when I was feeding them I noticed that second male inside the terra cotta pot, very reluctant to come out. It's kind of sideways in the tank but I finally got a peek and there are eggs! I've only successfully bred shellies so I'm really excited

A few questions though...

-any chance the snails or shrimp will eat the eggs?
-how long before the eggs hatch?
-is it typical for a male to be guarding the eggs?






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defender of the pot

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

oh, congratulations Theresa. As you know, I can't answer your questions, as I'm asking them for myself in my thread too. I hope we both have little apisoto babies soon./:'

Cheers
TW

Good deal on the spawning. Normally the females are the ones who watch over the eggs, while the males take care of the surrounding area. Is there a chance you can sex the fish by checking out its vent? If it's male, you'll see a smaller, pointed tip.

The eggs should take about two days to hatch at 78 degrees. I doubt the shrimp will be a problem, and I think the snails are too small to trouble the eggs. I'm not sure if the parents would be able to drive off larger snails.

Hopefully my new Apistos will breed as easily as both of yours did. Good luck with them.

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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."

Hi Theresa

I know ours are slightly different colour morphs - mine are the double reds. But for what it's worth my male has a silvery brown body, but with a hint of yellow in it as well. Disinctly less yellow than the female though. His fins & tail are fully coloured with a red & black pattern. He has a light blue outline on his lower lip. Makes him look cranky (but cute). My female has a much stronger yellow look in her yellowish/brown body, a dark horizontal stripe (one solid one in the middle of her body, with 2 half stripes above & below the solid one). She has some of the same red & black patterning on her fin & tails as the male, but less of it. Some of her fin & tail is the plain yellow/brown colour. She is smaller than the male. She guards the eggs, while he patrols the area.

It is hard to tell from your pic, but the fish poking its head out of your pot - it sort of looks to be more of a yellow/brown colour than my male is. But that could just be light angle or something. Just wondered if it is yellowish/brown, if it could be a female instead of a male?

My camera is ver poor quality & a fish always comes out blurred, but for what it's worth, here's a shot of my male

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Cheers
TW

Here's is his wife. Excuse the blurriness, but note the more yellow body & only a few touches of red on fins & tail.

Keep us all posted on the egg situation.



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Cheers
TW

The cherry shrimp will not bother them. However, I have seen the MTS attacking eggs before. Over feed the tank for a few days to they get plenty of food and will hopefully not mess with the eggs.

Did they hatch? If not, check my post in the other thread about Apisto eggs. And try my suggestion there.

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There is always a bigger fish...

After 2 days the eggs were simply gone

The apistos in my 30g haven't spawned yet. Water in that tank tested pH 7.4 and 9 dGH. I assume the 10g water is similar but I'll still test it.

What would be the ideal softness?

Almost forgot...the trio are a gold/triple red cross, which probably explains the differences in coloring/markings.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

That was the same story for me too. So sorry to hear it.

Fingers crossed that next time, we both have better luck.

EDIT. I'm a bit confused now about my type too. LFS told me that they were "Double Red" but I just read http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/apistogramma_cacatuoides2.php which said:

this male is a "Triple Red" and this means he is showing red in his dorsal, caudal, and anal fins. However, some of the other male's were showing red color in only their caudal and dorsal regions and was known as a "Double Red".

Don't know if they article is right, but on this basis, mine would be a triple red. Doesn't matter, but thought it was interesting. Apparently a cacatuoides spawning can produce any of the variations. So it will be interesting to see what we both end up with, if we end up lucky. Let us know if you do end up with fry.

Cheers
TW

Ideal hardness for them would be around 5 with 10 being the upper limit and maybe even to high in some cases. Lower should not matter however.

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There is always a bigger fish...