Apistogramma Agassizii Pair

[ChargerstoLA]

Trying to confirm this is a M/F apistogramma agassizii pair. I have had them about a week the “male” has been very aggressive towards the “female”. I do have plenty of hidey holes, but I am not sure if he is just being so territorial because they are both males. 

[Fish Folk]

I’d sure like this to be a pair for you. Any dither fish in your tank? Might distract him. I like loading up my Apisto tank with boiled oak leaves. This adds more hiding spots. 

[Patrick_G]

I don’t mean to hijack the thread, but check out the color on @Fish Folk’s Apisto! Nice pic of a nice fish 🙂. 

[ChargerstoLA]

@Fish Folk I don’t have any dither fish in this tank. I might have to get some, issue is the tank is a 20 gallon square so I am not sure how many I would fit. 
Beautiful cockatoo, I love the colors. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by ChargerstoLA

[Aaron Hanson]

If you have another tank on hand, you could separate the two from each other. Take the presumed male out and put him in his own tank and keep the presumed female in the tank you want to keep them in long term.  This has helped me with two things: identifying “sneaker males” and allowing the female to establish herself in the tank before the male.  

For the first point, when you remove the dominant male, he is no longer suppressing the less dominant fish in the tank.  So, if your presumed female is in fact female, she should start displaying female coloration naturally as she settles into the tank without the pressure of the male.  If your female is actually a male, when you remove the dominant male, the less dominant male will start to show it’s male characteristics because it no longer being suppressed by the presence of the other more dominant male.

If she is a female, she will establish her own territories within the tank, so when you do add the male back into the tank, she has the “advantage” of the tank being her territory.  I’ve found this helps balance aggression between pairs I’ve selected in the past, but this idea is also purely antidotal experience and no actual science backs this theory.

With all that being said, this does hinge on you having another tank to temporarily house the dominant male😅. But, This has been the easiest and most definitive way for me to select male and female apistos from a group without physically watching a female lay eggs or buying a big, boisterous male etc. In reality, less dominant males can suppress their male characteristics as long as there’s a more dominant male in their environment. 

Hopefully this helps, or at least I’ve entertained some thought into adding another tank to your current situation!

[ChargerstoLA]

On 6/29/2022 at 8:37 PM, Aaron Hanson said:

If you have another tank on hand, you could separate the two from each other. Take the presumed male out and put him in his own tank and keep the presumed female in the tank you want to keep them in long term.  This has helped me with two things: identifying “sneaker males” and allowing the female to establish herself in the tank before the male.  

For the first point, when you remove the dominant male, he is no longer suppressing the less dominant fish in the tank.  So, if your presumed female is in fact female, she should start displaying female coloration naturally as she settles into the tank without the pressure of the male.  If your female is actually a male, when you remove the dominant male, the less dominant male will start to show it’s male characteristics because it no longer being suppressed by the presence of the other more dominant male.

If she is a female, she will establish her own territories within the tank, so when you do add the male back into the tank, she has the “advantage” of the tank being her territory.  I’ve found this helps balance aggression between pairs I’ve selected in the past, but this idea is also purely antidotal experience and no actual science backs this theory.

With all that being said, this does hinge on you having another tank to temporarily house the dominant male😅. But, This has been the easiest and most definitive way for me to select male and female apistos from a group without physically watching a female lay eggs or buying a big, boisterous male etc. In reality, less dominant males can suppress their male characteristics as long as there’s a more dominant male in their environment. 

Hopefully this helps, or at least I’ve entertained some thought into adding another tank to your current situation!

That is a great point, I have 2 other possible tanks but I am not sure how it will go. My other tank is home to another Apisto pair, so I worry  introducing the male to that environment will cause another set of issues. My other tank is a 6 gallon with nothing but shrimp. It would become a slaughterhouse!!!

[Aaron Hanson]

On 6/29/2022 at 11:17 PM, ChargerstoLA said:

That is a great point, I have 2 other possible tanks but I am not sure how it will go. My other tank is home to another Apisto pair, so I worry  introducing the male to that environment will cause another set of issues. My other tank is a 6 gallon with nothing but shrimp. It would become a slaughterhouse!!!

You are in a bit of a bind with the other two tanks. If you aren’t too hard pressed to get them breeding, you could just wait to see what happens. Some sort of dither fish sounds like a great avenue to go; I really enjoy pencil fish as an alternative to tetras, but tetras are an obvious choice, as well.

[Vince C]

On 6/30/2022 at 10:20 PM, Aaron Hanson said:

You are in a bit of a bind with the other two tanks. If you aren’t too hard pressed to get them breeding, you could just wait to see what happens. Some sort of dither fish sounds like a great avenue to go; I really enjoy pencil fish as an alternative to tetras, but tetras are an obvious choice, as well.

What type of tetras would you recommend with the apistos as dithers that wouldn't be able to eat eggs/fry? I have always heard pencils are best, but haven't found any good ones yet.

[smacheta]

On 7/17/2022 at 11:46 PM, Vince C said:

What type of tetras would you recommend with the apistos as dithers that wouldn't be able to eat eggs/fry? I have always heard pencils are best, but haven't found any good ones yet.

Pencils are a great option! Or try something like Ember Tetras?

On 7/19/2022 at 12:28 PM, smacheta said:

Pencils are a great option! Or try something like Ember Tetras?

Another thing I would say is that if they are a pair and do breed you shouldn’t have to worry about dither fish as the female will protect her fry.

[tolstoy21]

@Fish Folk Do you every see any aggression from the female towards the dither fish when she is guarding fry, or do they stay high enough as to be off her radar?

[Fish Folk]

On 7/19/2022 at 7:55 AM, tolstoy21 said:

@Fish Folk Do you every see any aggression from the female towards the dither fish when she is guarding fry, or do they stay high enough as to be off her radar?

No. Females tend to just look for the male Apisto to tail-whip.

[Lowells Fish Lab]

Looks to me like the left is male and the right is female.