Apistogramma atahualpa "Sunset"

[blueblue]

Sunset

[blueblue]

Is Sunset a popular and readily available fish in Singapore?
This species looks strong while it actually has a very high mortality rate
for the wildcaught... it's also quite sensitive to changes in water parameters... anyhow, it's a pair which i also like very much

[Wackytpt]

Sunset is available in Singapore recently. I seen this fish at a LFS. It is a pretty aggressive apisto.

[benny]

It was imported a few times, but something you find in regular shipments. Sometimes, hobbyists also confused them with the tradename "Sunrise", which is another species.

Cheers,

[valice]

blueblue, have you managed to breed them? One local hobbyists mentioned to me before that it can be difficult to breed them as the males will kill the female if the females are not receptive to their advances. Is that true?

[blueblue]

Sunset is available in Singapore recently. I seen this fish at a LFS. It is a pretty aggressive apisto.

I see, yes, it's an aggressive species

It was imported a few times, but something you find in regular shipments. Sometimes, hobbyists also confused them with the tradename "Sunrise", which is another species.

Yes, sunrise is the same as sunpin and huascar that I also posted. One easiest way to differentiate them is to observe the caudal fin: Sunset is always round and not double orange-tipped. However, it could be very difficult to differentiate the female. The only way I can tell the difference between the females of the two species is by colour.

blueblue, have you managed to breed them? One local hobbyists mentioned to me before that it can be difficult to breed them as the males will kill the female if the females are not receptive to their advances. Is that true?

Yes, i did breed this species; the comment from the hobbyist you mentioned is correct. A male can keep on attacking the female until the female dies!!

The only way is to try our best to have a strong and well-fed female, and separate them if the fight is fierce... for the pair i posted here, it took me 4 months to tame them so that they are now living happily together. Once the bond is formed, the pair can breed quite readily and both male and female could look after the fries together though the female plays a more crucial role. The same applies to Sunpin.

[valice]

In that case, the condition of the female seems more important than the male. Do you think having more than 1 pair to spread the aggression would help? And then let them pair up naturally.

[blueblue]

unless you have a very big tank and you fill the tank with a lot of pairs, otherwise, it doesn't seem to be a good idea.

[yorky]

Hi blueblue,
This is a very beautiful specimen of Ap. atahualpa with very dark orange and blue hues on the body.
Its my favourite fish now.. as well as the Ap. sp mouthbrooder.
Any good pictures to show us?

[blueblue]

Thanks yorky. Maulbruter is a good fish while i do not have maulbruter's parent fish at home now (i do have three male babies). Do you have some
good specimens to share with us?

[blueblue]

Babies have come out today

[yaya]

nice and cute babies.. are they coming out for food?

[blueblue]

Yes, and under their mother's protection.