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Thread: WC Apistogramma Caca fries

  1. #1
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    WC Apistogramma Caca fries

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    Hi guys,

    Kinda new to the apisto breeding and somewhat successfully breed 3 batches of WC A.Caca fries.

    I wanted to know about how long would it usually take for them to grow to a size that i can start sexing them? I got a whole lot of them but they all look almost the same to me at this point of time.. First batch was in since Nov 2018, so its been about 6 months since then..



    Thanks!
    JG

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    Re: WC Apistogramma Caca fries

    If your fish are wild-caught and don't display domestic cacatuoides traits, any fish which displays male features can be confirmed, but fish which don't develop any male features could be females or sneaker males.

    Male features on cacatuoides:
    - tail begins to square off and the dorsal and ventral rays/membranes extend out, forming a lyre
    - lower jaw enlarges (to get an idea what this looks like, look at old male cacatuoides)
    - leading spine of ventral fin forms long extension
    - ventral and anal fin and maybe tail fin develop lavendar/yellow colours
    - posterior portions of dorsal and anal fin more acutely angled, with membranes extending and tapering to a point (vs females often show a more "squarish" shape on the ends of both these fins, with no long extension)
    - dorsal and tail fin show colour (very variable even in wild cacatuoides, maybe orange spotting on a dark blue base, or just iridescent sky-blue sheen)

    Cacatuoides that have been kept in the hobby for many generations are harder to sex as females tend to develop typical "male" features.



    Six months - your fish should be sexually mature. If they have had good food and water they will be small adults now. Of course small males will stay as sneakers, but you should have some confirmed male fish easily visible, I think. It's differentiating the females from the sneaker males that is hard. The only clue I know will be to look at the general body shape - the female has a more swollen abdomen if she's full of eggs, and the head shape is subtly different - but still very iffy to judge.

  3. #3
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    Re: WC Apistogramma Caca fries

    Yeah mine are WC with no colour strains at all. Its kinda difficult to identify since they all look exactly the same, colour and size wise.

    Some of the fries are growing much faster than the rest, so i can identify a few of them as of now. The others are like only half the size :/ guess i’ll have to wait.

    Here are some examples of them in the tank.
    Though hard to see as they love to hide

    JG

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    Re: WC Apistogramma Caca fries

    If yr apistos are 6 mths old, you should be able to sex them. Size difference in the same batch is normal as some are more dominant than others. In a batch of 20-30, you can usually spot a few more dominant males. They are larger and have more vibrant colours (even in dull fishes). The females of cacas are a little harder to distinguish. The old method is to look at the ventrals - black means females. I usually look for multiple signs such as rounder bodies, even dorsals (no extended rays in the front). Even then, its not a fail-safe method.

    One way is to catch out a dominant male & the biggest "female" you can identify & put them in a separate tank. From observing their interaction, you should be able to tell if they are a pair or both males.

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