Apistogramma behavior questions

[mikhail]

I have 5 apisto agassizi juveniles (3.0 - 3.5 cm) which I acquired not so long ago and placed in my heavily planted 2ft tank (wild jungle like setup with bogwoods, ferns, crypts, moss). Since they are juveniles, all of them are still having the round tails and they all look the same to me except for the following behavioral difference:

1.] 3 of them, the bigger dominant ones constantly use the caves I provided for them. I observe that they rest there during the night and they defend it from the others. I suspect them to be females for I have seen them suddenly turn very bright yellow (not gold but something close to lemon yellow) showing single black dot at the middle of their bodies. Apart from that, their eyes and black markings (slant line) in the face as well as in ventral fins becomes very noticiably black. Moreover, I have seen them showing their belly to another non-yellow juvenile and swims in and out of their cave. Are they just signaling that they are now ready to spawn or spawning has already occurred? So far, I have not seen any eggs or fries. Maybe because I am doing partial water changes diligently every 4 days, the disturbance could have triggered them to eat their eggs. Aside from these 5 apistos, I also have 9 small green neon tetras (p. simulans), 3 cherry barbs and some shrimps in the tank. I think my bioload is a bit heavy, thus I am doing the frequent water changes. Should I postpone water change if I saw one becoming yellow (aparently, only 1 turns yellow at a time. have not seen all 3 or 2 become yellow at the same time)?

2.] The other 2 smaller juveniles do not exhibit the bright yellow color. They remain in nuetral color with slight tint of yellow and occassionally one of them will show intensified bluish markings on the face and silver body line from head to tail during feeding. Moreover, a couple of small thin silver dotted strands can be seen at the middle of the tail only when the fish goes to shaded areas or against black background. I do not see these markings on the other 3 described in [1]. Do you think they are the males? The problem is no sign of lanciolate caudal fin pattern being observed yet, thus, it's difficult to confirm. These 2 fishes prefer to station at the java ferns/bogwood and not using the caves even if there's still extra unused ones.

So far, the aggression is pretty much okay. All 5 of them can be seen actively swimming and eating. There are plenty of hiding places in the tank. So far, no one gets singly bullied/battered. My plan is to eventually separate them into pairs once the sexing attributes become physically evident. Would it be good to do the separation now or wait for pairing to establish? What are the signs of pairing to look at?

Would appreciate to get views from you who have more experiences with apistos. I am just new to this genus and I'm still in the process of getting more info through research. Thanks.

[benetay]

Welcome to apisto keeping, they are indeed a very intriguing species to keep! Without picture it's very difficult to determine their sexes but i'm sure the description of:-

I observe that they rest there during the night and they defend it from the others. I suspect them to be females for I have seen them suddenly turn very bright yellow (not gold but something close to lemon yellow) showing single black dot at the middle of their bodies. Apart from that, their eyes and black markings (slant line) in the face as well as in ventral fins becomes very noticiably black. Moreover, I have seen them showing their belly to another non-yellow juvenile and swims in and out of their cave. Are they just signaling that they are now ready to spawn or spawning has already occurred?

I think they might have already spawn. Breeding apisto are best done in breeding tanks or planted tank with only them in it. Reason being is that no further disturbance of any other fish will spoil the brood.

Their eggs are usually bright red to whitish, just shine a torch on the ceiling of the cave to check if there is any. If the female is in brood colour, it turns bright yellow showing only the single black dot which you've mentioned. The lateral lines will be faded off, therefore what you see from afar is just a black dot.

Just continue to keep them & i'm sure they will reward you in days to come.

Once again, welcome to apisto keeping!

Cheers!

[mikhail]

Thanks for your feedback, Benetay. I will try to snap some photos later and post for reference.

Yes, I agree with you. I also feel that it's best to house them in their own tank. I feel that the current setup is a bit overcrowded. I will try to reduce my bioload and consider setting up another tank (probably 1 ft cube) to house a pair which will eventually become a breeding setup in the future. For now, my objective is to help them in their growth until they become mature. So far, I am enjoying them. Indeed, each of them have their own personality.

[mikhail]

Below are photos for reference - pardon for the size (couldn't attach original size, thus resized this small ):

The planted tank:


Described in [1] - Suspected females
a. Normal yellow

b. Bright yellow and aggressive


Described in [2] - Suspected male
(blue in cheeks as well as the silvery band at the body are more visible. Moreover, there some small silver color appearing already at the tail)

[Don90]

I think [2] is female..

[mikhail]

I think [2] is female..

Thanks Don90 for your feedback. Sometimes, I do think that they are all females because of their similar appearance . But after thinking that they are still juveniles, I still have this hope that one of them could emerge as a male. Maybe, [2] are inferior ones because of their smaller size. Is it possible for a female to not show their breeding color? So far, I have not seen them [2] coloring up to bright yellow compared to [1].

[Don90]

Thanks Don90 for your feedback. Sometimes, I do think that they are all females because of their similar appearance . But after thinking that they are still juveniles, I still have this hope that one of them could emerge as a male. Maybe, [2] are inferior ones because of their smaller size. Is it possible for a female to not show their breeding color? So far, I have not seen them [2] coloring up to bright yellow compared to [1].

Haha, females are not always bright yellow.

MY females are only bright yellow when they have spawned or are ready to breed.

Anyway, [2] looks female yellow to me, but not spawning yellow.

[mikhail]

Thanks, Don90 for confirming. Will continue to observe them for the next few weeks.