Apistogramma Cacatuoides fry!

[Mag]

First spawn for this pair. More than 40 😀

[Guppysnail]

Watch mom’s stripes. As she communicates with the fry and with dad they change stripe pattern to communicate 

[Mag]

On 8/15/2024 at 4:13 PM, Guppysnail said:

Watch mom’s stripes. As she communicates with the fry and with dad they change stripe pattern to communicate 

She is straight yellow now with a solid line. The dad pretty much just stays away. What would they be communicating? How long until I should remove them to the grow out tank?

[DansFish]

Gooooaaaalllll!!! What fun!

[Guppysnail]

On 8/15/2024 at 4:28 PM, Mag said:

She is straight yellow now with a solid line. The dad pretty much just stays away. What would they be communicating? How long until I should remove them to the grow out tank?

She communicates when it’s time to move. When she wants them to go to the ground and be still because she fears something.  She communicates to her mate. 
I have a breeding trio. I don’t move them until they are full juveniles and start showing color and the adults chase them away. The adults will chase them away prior but my young have a center area they grow up in then. It’s only when color comes dad chases to get rid of them. He actually herds the young to his territory which is the center once mom chases them away. 
My dad retrieves fry that wander and spits them back at mom, sometimes the wrong mom. 
here is my journal when I first started breeding them. 
https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/32230-my-first-apisto-fry-🥰/

 

[Mag]

On 8/15/2024 at 7:34 PM, Guppysnail said:

She communicates when it’s time to move. When she wants them to go to the ground and be still because she fears something.  She communicates to her mate. 
I have a breeding trio. I don’t move them until they are full juveniles and start showing color and the adults chase them away. The adults will chase them away prior but my young have a center area they grow up in then. It’s only when color comes dad chases to get rid of them. He actually herds the young to his territory which is the center once mom chases them away. 
My dad retrieves fry that wander and spits them back at mom, sometimes the wrong mom. 
here is my journal when I first started breeding them. 
https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/32230-my-first-apisto-fry-🥰/

 

What size is your tank?

The mom's behavior is stunning. The male is just staying as far away as possible.

My tank is 11.6g, 24in long 14 wide and 7" deep. My thought process was, most of my research says they live in shallow water. I found in my 60g with apistogramma agassizi, the height of the tank makes territory larger and encourages aggression.

Also apistogramma rarely go above the first 5" of a tank. Figured I would increase their total swim space with a longer and wider tank

[Guppysnail]

On 8/15/2024 at 8:46 PM, Mag said:

What size is your tank?

The mom's behavior is stunning. The male is just staying as far away as possible.

My tank is 11.6g, 24in long 14 wide and 7" deep. My thought process was, most of my research says they live in shallow water. I found in my 60g with apistogramma agassizi, the height of the tank makes territory larger and encourages aggression.

Also apistogramma rarely go above the first 5" of a tank. Figured I would increase their total swim space with a longer and wider tank

It’s a 20 long 30 inches length, 12 inches wide 12 inches deep. This is the size that worked well for a trio of caucatoides, borelli opal, trifasciatus, and Agassizii.

The males form territories in the wild. That means the tank is their territory. All my males patrol the perimeter.  When time to mate they bring girls into their territory or in a tank enter whichever part of the males territory the female has chosen.

Very fun species. As well as extremely interesting to observe their interaction.