Raising my first spawn of Apistogramma Cacatuoides

[ApistoQueen]

Some people asked me to follow up on the Apistogramma fry I mentioned in my intro post. So, I thought I'd journal their progress here with some pictures 😊

The fry began free-swimming about 14 days ago now, spawned by an "Orange Flash" dad and "Triple Red" mom in a community tank with two Bristlenose Plecos and 12 Black Neon Tetras. Mom was doing a very good job at protecting her spawn but, since I only had one cycled tank, I couldn't separate her and the dad. This made me nervous about a second spawn and the fry being eaten.

I moved the fry to a Ziss Breeder Box within the original tank and have been feeding them a mix of live baby brine, frozen cyclops and daphnia 3-4 times per day since - occasionally putting some snails in with them to do some cleanup. I'd estimate somewhere between 30 and 40 fry have survived the first two weeks, which is terrifying as I'm pretty sure they'll expand to take up all of the 4 extra tanks I now have cycling before I can find them new homes.

Video of the fry: 

 

[Fish Folk]

Well done! I just pulled my first A. Cacatuoides batch, but definitely haven't done well with them. You're an ace already! Way to go. They look great. I may need to cave in and buy that Ziss breeder box . . .