Apisto breeding in 'harems'

[tolstoy21]

Are there any gotchas when breeding apistos in a group with a single male and multiple females?  

Aside from the expected protectiveness of the mothers, will one mother actively predate on the fry of another? Or are they generally respectful and mostly don't eat fry of their own species?

[Daniel]

27 minutes ago, tolstoy21 said:

Are there any gotchas when breeding apistos in a group with a single male and multiple females?  

Aside from the expected protectiveness of the mothers, will one mother actively predate on the fry of another? Or are they generally respectful and mostly don't eat fry of their own species?

For me harem breeding has worked when the were large open spaces (in largish aquariums) combined with varied boundary markers like plant barriers or hardscape. This allow the apisto male to go from 'apartment' to 'apartment' and yet the females had reasonably defensible locations.

[tolstoy21]

@DanielThanks. I have the ‘apartment’ thing going well right now with driftwood and plants making up the boundary. However, I’m only using a 20 gallon high.

The male is staying with his childless mistress right now and avoiding the house full of kids. But I’m guessing if that female spawns soon, he’s going to get beaten to death, having no area that’s his own. 

Edited February 21, 2021 by tolstoy21

[FrostiesFishes]

I tired a trio and the dominant female just bullied the other female and I didn’t get any breeding action. I eventually moved the single female and paired her with another smaller male. The trio was a heavily planted tank but it didn’t have a large foot print so that may have been my issue. I typically divide a 20 long so I can get to pairs in a tank 

[tolstoy21]

@FrostiesFishes I relocated the male today as I believe the other female is actively guarding her cave. I watched the male trying to hide in a plant before being spotted and savaged by the other female guarding fry.

I think I might grab a couple discount ten gallons at the local LFS (they always have a mountain of them on sale for $8) so I can easily relocate adults when I need to.

I also think I’ll stick with pairs from here on out, not trios.

[FrostiesFishes]

Yeah, it’s fairly easy to tell when they have eggs, what species? 

[tolstoy21]

Cacatuoides.

Im guessing when the females stop leaving their caves, that means they've spawned?

This is the second batch I've had spawn for me, but the difference this time is I had a trio in the tank rather than a pair.