Back into Apistos.. with a slight problem

[stormhawk]

I only have 2 coconut husk hideaways. I think I should get a few more. The female aga is hogging both husks and she doesn't let any other apisto get near. Even the snails get shoo-ed away.

As for the agassizii, I think I need a new male. The current one just conked out in the hospital tank. I know the female is in breeding mode, she turns bright yellow and shows the black mid body spot once she's in the hideaway.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Welcome back to apistos

[mobile2007]

haha, very interesting reading this.

..... Even the snails get shoo-ed away.....

[stormhawk]

She doesn't like anything near her coconut. Her boyfriend just went into the big fish heaven in the sky, so I'll be looking for another male agassizii to join her.

[exotic_idiot]

She doesn't like anything near her coconut. Her boyfriend just went into the big fish heaven in the sky, so I'll be looking for another male agassizii to join her.

Try getting caves? Those clay caves... Very good

"Your avatar" What a waste... Should continue that species...

[stormhawk]

I can get eggs again to get the killie started, but lack of space means I cannot keep killies for now. They are delicate at times. I'll get a few more caves just for the apistos soon.

[A.Rashid]

hahaha Stormhawk... you have appear again.... and into Apistos....

myself also getting back to apisto but still havent the rite pertensis group of apistos yet...still lookin

[stormhawk]

Well when the time comes one has to go back to what he likes best, in my case, fishes.

A new addition:



My new wilhelmi pair hiding in the cave. Male just behind the female.



The male peeking out. Compare his head to the opening of the cave. He's huge. I wasn't expecting such a large male.



Pair under a moss arch. The male was displaying for a little while.



Their current home.

The male is very shy, once he sees the camera he scoots off. Big thanks to wychay for the pair.

[doppelbanddwarf]

Congrats on acquiring a breeding pair! The purple chin looks superb.

[SCOPE]

nice Wilhelmi pair! Great purple chin

[mobile2007]

Another bro got poisoned very badly. Very good catch from wychay. This one got good color on its tail finnage.

[stormhawk]

Thanks guys. They are fairly picky feeders for now. Female more out-going of the two. Maybe I need some dithers.

I took this picture as well when I was at wychay's home:



Apistogramma baenschi fry. There's at least 2 batches in that tank and they're all growing fast.

He takes great care of his fish. You guys should see his elizabethae and diplotaenia.

[iwishweallcouldwin]

Cute wilhelmi pair!

[wychay]

Thanks for the comments. I try my best to make the fishes comfortable
Nice talking to you Stormhawk. Wish I got more time to chat - maybe the next time.

[stormhawk]

Nice talking to you as well wychay. Got bored, and finally got this shot of the male:



Pardon the specks, I didn't clean the tank glass beforehand.

[doppelbanddwarf]

Really superb specimen. The purple seems to be on the back and forehead too, not only the chin.

[genes]

Best looking wilhelmi i have seen so far!

[stormhawk]

Slight update on the wilhelmi. This morning I saw the female turning bright yellow and chasing the male away from her hiding cave. She gets aggressive and a few tail slaps towards the male usually turns him away. She never leaves her cave for long, only short breaks to feed then she rushes back. She doesn't really hurt him so I'll leave him in there, especially since I saw him guarding his older fry while I was at wychay's place.

Is this a sign that they might have spawned? Last night the male was twitching, shaking his head and displaying to the female. Right now he's not doing anything, just patrolling the tank and eating when he feels like it.

I realised the wilhelmi is not a greedy feeder, like the caca and aga, but rather a more slower feeder. They take their time and enjoy their meal.

[doppelbanddwarf]

I think thats the sign that they have spawned. Congrats. I've a batch of fry with my wilhelmi pair too right now. I left the male in there as the female seemed to be able to keep him at bay. He isn't too interested in the fry either, much more interested in getting to the food.

[stormhawk]

I hope they spawned too.

Last night I did a small water change, gave them some live adult brine shrimp, and added in some Tetra Blackwater Extract (TBE). The male went bonkers and started displaying to the female. I didn't see the "act" because I dozed off about 5 mins after dosing the tank with the TBE. Woke up today and saw the female behaving that way. She seems to be busy cleaning something in the cave.

My male is a lazy feeder. He eats when he wants to. I've tried giving the pair NLS pellets but to date, only the female will touch them. However, I have a thin layer of fine river sand as the substrate, so the NLS pellets are pretty much the same color as the brown bits in the sand. I might try Tetrabits since they're brighter in colour. They will eat frozen BW, but only a little bit at once. The live brine shrimp drove them nuts though.