Nathan Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) Hi all, I have recently purchased a breeding pair of cacatuoides double red Male/Female they are in there own tank with almond leaves coconut shell aqua soil and bubble filter aquatic plants. The first week I had them they spawned which was amazing I was told to remove the male to allow the female to look after the eggs and fry . The next couple of days the female had seemed to eat the eggs I don’t know if they where fertilised or just not the best as this is there very first time spawning and are still learning the ropes. So I decided to re add the male but I have noticed that the male keeps nipping at the female and hunting for her in the aquarium also has gone a dark black colouration but the fins and tail are bright red. I haven’t done anything different doing weekly water changes of 25% feeding daily to once every other day with brine shrimp/blood worm/dafnia/ flake food. The female is a bright yellow colour. I’m just curious on why the male is acting the way he is the temperature of the tank has not changed hitting around 27’c. any help would be much appreciated Edited March 7, 2021 by Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph lambeth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I believe they are still learning to be parents. I would probably go to say they should stay together. have watched the video breeder dean made about breeding the apistogrammas setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) Hi joe, Thankyou for replying to my enquiry the female seems to be doing fine but the male keeps hovering around her and keeps side turning and going for her even hunting to see where she is in the tank so I am abit worried that he maybe his stressing her out but she’s eating well not leaving any food and is a fast swimmer I have attached a video of what I walked into yesturday this is the first time I have seen them do this and haven’t seen them do it since .. Edited March 7, 2021 by Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph lambeth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 okay that's a good video to start with. so first there is not enough line of sight break for them so i would get something like a planting pot break a small section off and put it in the corner. so there is a line of sight break. or get some rocks and put them in the middle. the next thing i would do is get a apisto cave from the coop website and slightly bury the cave where there is some substrate in the entrance. so if she really wants to get away she can build up the wall in the entrance so only she can get in and out. so now you have multiple cave choices for breeding and several line of sight breaks. I would not worry about them doing what they are doing in the video until you actually see damage on her fins. I did not personally see him doing anything harming her i seen him nudge her not bite to cause her to not swim anymore. its almost to where she is giving herself up to him. I have one more question do you know the ph in that tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph lambeth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 also the coloring I believe has alot to do with the coloring of the substrate honestly i do not think the color is some for major concern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Hi Thankyou for your recommendations there is a coconut cave in the aquarium so should I fill the hole with the substrate also there’s 2x almond leaves at the bottom of the tank with plants at the back I can add a small piece of dragon stone that I have left over from my other scape. The ph of my tank is 6.8 and that’s a relief as didn’t want the male to be showing any signs of stress also or deterioration since adding him back into the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph lambeth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 can you show me a picture of the coconut hut so i see the hole size and where its located Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joseph lambeth Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 i would add some type of rock in the middle that would be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 I can add some photos later and add them on this post. many thanks Nathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 It sounds like normal breeding behaviour to me the male is trying to court the female just make sure you have plenty of hiding places for the female to hid from the male if he is harassing her to much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Hi Colu, Thankyou for your message, I have had so many comments from others on different forms saying so many different stuff regarding the behaviour of the male/female double red and I have now taken out the male to allow the female to rest before I loose her as many people have told me that this may happen but give it another week before adding the male back in to the tank and go from there I have add more almond leaves into the set up also a pice of dragon stone to block any views when the male is back in. Any advice on what to do now as the male is now starting to de colour from a deep black to back to his normal colouration. The female is still a deep yellow colour. I can add photos of the female tank if needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 (edited) Once you put them back together they will colour up again I would add more caves for female so she has more hiding places when you put the male back in Edited March 7, 2021 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now