Back with an update

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 mforbes04apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma bitaeniata, Apistogramma bitaeniata 'Shishita', Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma macmasteri, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', Apistogramma trifasciata, apistos, Aquabid, cichlids, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, fry, fry crack, threadfin rainbowfishLeave a comment

Hello everybody! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and here’s wishing a safe and Happy New Year as well!

There hadn’t been too much new in the fish tanks lately, pretty much same old. This is just a quick update with no pics this time.

The Apistogramma hongsloi ‘Rostrich’ continue to breed, but have only seen 3 fry that didn’t make it. Think the female is still eating the eggs, but can’t be sure. This is about 6 times she has laid eggs. Soon, I will try my hand at hatching them myself.

The Apistogramma macmasteri female is with eggs for the second time, no fry survived the first time, unfortunately. It was a small spawning, at most I think I saw 10 fry. Let’s hope for more this time!

I have a ‘possible’ pair of Apistogramma bitaeniata ‘Shishita’ in the 29, but not sure. Kind of looks like 2 males at this point. Sigh…oh well, don’t have room for more fry at this point anyway.

Speaking of fry, the Apistogramma sp. pebas ‘morado’ and the A. borelli ‘blue’ fry are all doing very well. At about 3 1/2-4 months the larger are closing in on an inch in length, which I believe is about right. The ‘morado’ are vicious little eaters, taking frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp with gusto. They also like their ‘fry crack’, which I got from Fishguy_1955 on Aquabid. Paul’s a great guy, and I buy several items from him regularly.

I also acquired a nice little pair of Apistogramma trifasciata, and they settled into a 10 gallon quickly, and as of this morning, mom has close to 20 free-swimming fry! Only had these fish a couple/few weeks. It’s that magic water again! I have a couple pics of the male that are decent, and I think one of the female in non-breeding colors. Will post them next time after I upload to computer.

In with the A. trifasciata are my new favorite non-cichlid, some threadfin rainbowfish. These are active, showy little guys, with the males doing lots of display bluffing. Awesome little fish, and I think I will try to get more in the future.

That’s it for now. Pictures to come next time when I have a few more to post. Until then, have a fishy day! Mark

Quick update after selling some fish

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 mforbes04algae eater, apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma bitaeniata, Apistogramma bitaeniata 'Shishita', Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma macmasteri, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, babies, black neon, breeding, breeding Apistos, brown tail pencilfish, buy tropical fish, cichlids, decapsulated brine shrimp, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, fish parenting, fry, fry crack, hongsloi rotstrich, live brine shrimp, Loreto tetra, microworms, pencilfish, Pygmy corydorasLeave a comment

Hi all, it’s been a busy week or so. I have finally managed to re-home a number of Apistogramma as well as many tetras. I had too many Apistogramma borelli ‘blue’ what with 15-20 fry doing well in a 20L, a lonely heart Apitogramma bitaeniata ‘Rio Napo’ male, and too many fry-hunting tetras. Never again in my Apisto tanks.

I’m still learning, since I’ve been out of the hobby for over 20 years, and just began keeping Apistos this April. The female bitaeniata succumbed to ich, introduced by some black neons from Petsmart that I foolishly didn’t quarantine first,

Now, I have 2 20L with fry (Apistogramma borelli ‘blue’ and about 30 Apistogramma sp. pebas ‘morado’). All doing very well, eating microworms, freshly hatched brine shrimp,decapsulated brine shrimp eggs and some a little ‘fry crack’. The larger morado are now able to take whole frozen brine shrimp (one lasts them quite awhile…lol).

The 29G has a female Apistogramma bitaeniata ‘Shishita’, the male having died in shipping. Am waiting on another male. That tank also contains the 2 Siamese Algae Eaters, who are very shy right now. I need dither fish for that tank and another. Have decided on 10 brown-tail pencilfish for one and 10 Pygmy corydoras for the other.

The 20L with the Apistogramma hongsloi ‘Rostrich’ is keeping me on my toes. It seems the female has eaten her eggs twice now, and the male has been very aggressive. If you remember, this male (gorgeous fish; photo in last blog post) harassed his first female nearly to death, and I was unable to save her. He has twice circumnavigated a tank divider, causing me much stress and resulting in many idle threats and name-calling. On the bright side, the new female looks to have laid eggs a third time and is keeping him at bay this time, as well as the Loreto tetras I couldn’t catch without tearing tank apart.

Have a new pair of Apistogramma macmasteri (red-tail, I believe). Got them less than a week ago, and the female looks to be guarding eggs as well. Geeshhh, I wanted them to spawn, just not all at once…lol.

Well, they have tank to selves for now, and dithers coming next week hopefully will not bother eggs or fry. I also have kept the 2 10G open, which will likely pay off in the long run.

Also big news- I FINALLY broke down and got a Python water-changer. No more lugging 5G buckets up a flight of stairs! This will only mean increased water quality. Not a moment too soon, I might add, as my back is trashed and I receive a shot in lower back next week. No more heavy lifting for this old man…lol.

Will post a couple poor pictures of the newest additions to my family. Have a fishy day, will update soon as something happens.

Female A. bitaeniata ‘Shishita’ She is very active, but no doubt lonely without a male in big tank.

Male A. macmasteri. Haven’t gotten shot of female yet. Both these and the A. bitaeniata have been in tanks less than a week.

More baby pics +

October 26, 2015October 26, 2015 mforbes04African cichlids, apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, babies, breeding, breeding Apistos, buy tropical fish, cichlids, community, community tank, dad, daddy, dwarf cichlids, eartheater, fish, fish fry, fish parenting, fry, Geophagus, goldfish, hongsloi rotstrich, koi, momma, Ned Bowers, Pebas morado, pond plants, tropical fish, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Uncle Ned, Uncle Ned's Fish factoryLeave a comment

Hi again. It’s been a little while since I’ve updated the status of the tanks, so here goes.

Not really that much going on, but I did have to separate the borelli pair. The male was becoming aggressive toward the female as he seemed to be guarding the older fry while she was watching the youngsters. He is now in a 20L with all but one or two of the older fry. Unfortunately, the youngest fry with the female seem to have disappeared. Could be she ate them, I’m not sure.

Most of the other tanks are still business as usual, but I’m thinking of doing some major changes before winter arrives. I would like to re-home quite a lot of fish, in order to do major tank cleaning and re-stock with fish I haven’t bred yet, maybe some a bit more challenging.

Also in the maintenance department, I have a canister filter coming this week to clean up and help polish the water. I tend to feed a bit heavily, to bring fish into breeding condition and to assist in the growth of fry, and my sponge filters don’t help much with mechanical filtration. This will be an important addition.

I also visited a really neat fish store not so long ago, and got to meet the owner, Ned Bowers. I met Ned what seems like a million years ago, when he operated out of a basement. I saw a small ad in the back of Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine at that time. He had difficult to find fish even then. I got out of the hobby for over 20 years and had no reason to re-visit, but now, I just HAD to see his store.

Now, Uncle Ned’s Fish Factory in Millis, MA has over 103 community tanks in the front room, over 97 tanks in the African cichlid back room, and 16 large vats in the parking lot for goldfish, koi and pond plants in the summer.

Ned currently enjoys the Geophagus (eartheater) species, as they exhibit less aggressiveness than many cichlid species. He is a personable and knowledgeable fish person, and I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. A fish for every taste!

Ok, last, but not least…the babies. The Apistogramma sp. Pebas ‘morado’ fry number at least 30, and they are growing nicely. At about 4-5 weeks old, the largest have reached about a half inch. I expect them to start putting on size rapidly soon, as they start to be able to take a more varied diet. I have begun to put ‘feelers’ out for sale in a couple of months and have found some interest.

The Apistogramma borelli ‘blue’ fry are about a week older, but are typically a slower growing fish. Roughly 20 of them are doing very well, and like the others, I expect faster growth soon. I’m sure the extra cleaning capability that the canister provides will help immensely.

On to the pictures!

5 wk old A. sp. Pebas ‘morado’ fry. Cute, huh?

6 wk old A. borelli ‘blue’ fry. Love these guys, too!

Borelli fry with dad in the picture

Possibly the best pic yet of the male A.hongsloi ‘rostrich’. No fry yet from this pair, although I think the female laid eggs once. Most likely she ate her first spawn (not unusual). Hope they give me time to move some fry before they try again!

That’s all for this time. Thanks for reading and have a fishy day! Mark

Fascinating but sad…

October 7, 2015October 7, 2015 mforbes04apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma hongsloi, apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, babies, breeding, breeding Apistos, cichlids, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, fish parenting, fry, hongsloi rotstrich, momma, South America, spawning, tank inhabitants, tropical fishLeave a comment

Hello all! Saw something rather amazing in one of the tanks yesterday, and felt I had to share it. As you know if you’ve been following this blog, the Apistogramma borelli have both 5 week and maybe ten day old fry in their 10 gallon tank. They have been good parents and the fry have been growing nicely. As usual, the female has done most, if not all of the work herding and protecting the fry.

Yesterday I noticed the newest fry seemed to have abandoned the female and were schooling with their older siblings. I thought that was pretty cool until I saw the female with one lone fry. Unfortunately, this fry was dead. I watched as she sucked it into her mouth and spit it out three times, seemingly looking for any movement. When none occurred, she proceeded to take the fry into her mouth one last time, turn around and swim into her flowerpot cave, where she evidently deposited it. She emerged seconds later with no sign of the dead baby. As of today, she is still guarding the flowerpot while her other fry happily swim about with their brothers and sisters.

Not to anthropomorphize, but if fish have feelings, this fish was feeling rather sad. I’ve never witnessed anything remotely like this, and my heart goes out to her loss of a single fry. Thankfully, the others all seem to be doing well, in fact, I’m considering trying to net out the older fry to put them in a grow-out tank.

In the only other real news, the Apistogramma cacatuoides have also given me a bit of a surprise. The female is nowhere to be found in the 10 gallon, and the male is diligently guarding the small horde of approximately two week old fry. All I can think is that she has laid more eggs in a cave and will emerge when the fry are free-swimming like last time. I wouldn’t have thought that two weeks would be long enough for new eggs to develop, but it must be so. Unless the male just drove her away and stole the fry, which I doubt, as she was pretty fierce and seemingly quite able to keep him from them. Still no developments from the Apistogramma hongsloi ‘rostrich’ tank, although female has been in breeding colors and in cave for quite some time now. Maybe a good thing, as I only have one grow-out tank currently. I NEED MORE TANKS!!!

Thanks for reading, and have a fishy day! Mark

Female Apistogramma borelli ‘blue’ looking forlorn in her breeding dress

Short update and fry pictures!

October 6, 2015October 7, 2015 mforbes04apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma agassizi, Apistogramma bitaeniata, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, babies, breeding, breeding Apistos, cichlids, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, fish parenting, fry, hongsloi rotstrich, momma, Pebas morado, South America, spawning, tropical fishLeave a comment

Hi all! As title says, not too much to say today. I was fortunate to spend a couple of days with a very good friend and fellow veteran last weekend. We stayed with a lovely couple he knows, the Kerrs, Aron and Beth. They are in Deerfield, NH, and own a farm there. Beth works with horses and Aron runs his own welding company. They are extremely nice people and were very hospitable in sharing their lovely home. We all attended the Deerfield Fair while we were there as well. Loaded up on lots of food and saw many, many horses, goats and sheep. Haven’t gone through those pictures yet, but may post a couple in the near future.

On to the tanks. Things seem to be going well. The female Apistogramma borelli ‘blue’ has week or so old fry in with the month olds. She is guarding a handful of the new fry, while the others seem to be mixing with their older siblings. Both parents seem tolerant. Pretty cool in a 10 gallon tank!

The Apistogramma cacatuoides ‘orange’ are doing well. Momma is a fierce protector and dad is still doing his job, keeping the evil Loreto tetras (all 4 of them!) at bay. Babies not showing much growth yet, but they are less than 2 weeks old.

Most noticeable change is in the Apistogramma sp. pebas ‘morado’. The fry are starting to put on some size at less than a month old, and I’ve even seen some territorial chasing as they pick their favorite spots in the tank.

Still no sign of fry from the Apistogramma hongsloi ‘rostrich’, although the female is colored up and has been in cave most of the time for what seems like over a week. Keeping fingers crossed.

Bottom line…in the six occupied tanks, I have fry in three, possibly soon four! Now to raise them all up! Until next time, I hope you’ve enjoyed the update and the baby pictures. Have a great day. Mark

Apistogramma sp. pebas ‘morado’ fry at about 3 weeks old

Baby Apistogramma borelli ‘blue’ at about 4 weeks old

Yet more fry in the tanks!

September 28, 2015October 7, 2015 mforbes04apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, Aquabid, aquarium, aquarium fish, babies, breeding, breeding Apistos, cichlids, decapsulated brine shrimp, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, fish parenting, Fishguy_1955, fry, fry crack, hongsloi rotstrich, live brine shrimp, microworms, momma, Pebas morado, South America, spawning, tropical fish, walter wormsLeave a comment

Well friends, it’s been a bit since I’ve posted. Didn’t have too much news, but it seems to have been the calm before the “storm”.

Yesterday, the female Apistogramma cacatuoides ‘orange” brought out her babies for the first time! There look to be about sixty of these tiny babies, and the cool thing is that dad and mom are dividing brood care pretty evenly. He is still mostly responsible for perimeter patrol, but she sometimes chases the Lareto tetras away as well, before quickly returning to her fry. And most amazingly, I witnessed the dad taking stray fry into his mouth and spitting them out back with the rest! With many apistos, I’ve seen the female do that, but never the male. Pretty cool stuff.

Another loss in a tank, however. The female A. sp. Pebas ‘morado’ passed. The fry (about 15 or so) seem to be doing very well. I think it’s because with the fry I feed rather heavily, and the tank has a planaria outbreak as a result. The parents, being wild fish, needed cleaner water, while the fry, having been born and raised in this tank for several weeks are more adaptable. I have been doing more water changes and gravel vacuuming. Sigh…is tough to keep tank clean while feeding fry. Now I understand why most use bare-bottom tanks for fry. I just don’t want to tear apart entire tank to catch these little guys and gals, especially since they seem to be doing well.

The A. borelli fry are also doing well, if a little slow growing. Not sure, but think mom has laid new eggs in her flowerpot, but no fry have emerged yet. Must keep my eye on her. If she begins to get aggressive with the older fry, I will need to remove them to another tank.

To top it off, the Apistogramma hongsloi ‘rostrich’ are looking like they have spawned or are about to. Seven tanks and as of today, three have fry, with the possibility of more to come. And one tank remains empty! I’m finding getting these fish to breed is not so difficult, raising the fry is a chore.

Right now am feeding Walter worms, decapsulated brine shrimp eggs, live baby brine, and soon adding microworms for the larger fry. I also have some “fry crack” to try soon as they seem able to eat it. All of these fry foods came from Fishguy_1955 on Aquabid. A very nice guy that sells some righteous stuff for the aquarist. Do check him out!

Going to end with a couple pictures. Have a great day all! Mark

Awesome shot of the daddy Apistogramma cacatuoides ‘orange’

Female with some of her brood (Hard to get a good pic, as this first-time mom is VERY nervous!

Strange and wonderful news from the tanks!

September 8, 2015September 8, 2015 mforbes04algae eater, apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma agassizi, Apistogramma bitaeniata, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, babies, black neon, breeding, breeding Apistos, bristlenose ancistrus, cichlids, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, fish parenting, fry, hongsloi rotstrich, mommaLeave a comment

Well reader(s), (wishful thinking there), something that rather amazes me has happened! Since my last post, when I talked about losing the male Apistogramma sp. pebas ‘morado’ after spawning, there has been a development.

The female had been in brood coloration since the event, chasing away the ember tetras and in general, being a little tigress. I looked into the cave and the hollow ceramic log where she spent most of her time, and saw no signs whatsoever of eggs or fry. I was thinking the eggs fungused, or she ate them and was simply in “fishy denial”.

Boy, was I wrong! This morning she brought her newly free-swimming fry out for the first time! There appear to be roughly 40 of them, and she had them right out front of the tank, on top of a catappa leaf where I could see them. I am overjoyed! I thought for certain that I would be keeping her alone, with no mate, and likely little hope of ever finding another.

As Jeff Goldblum’s character in the original “Jurassic Park” said, “Life will find a way.” It has and I am privileged to be here to see it, and to have the responsibility of helping her raise her young.

She is a good mom so far. The tetras have been banished to the other side of the 20L, and a little while ago, I watched her take 3 fry into her mouth to relocate them with their brothers and sisters. Fascinating. These babies are all ready bigger than the 3 week old Apistogramma borelli fry (they are typically slow-growing), so it will be a race to see who needs the fry tank first. I’m thinking the borelli can stay with the parents for quite some time. On the other hand, where the female A. sp. pebas ‘morado’ no longer has a mate and will be unable to spawn again, she may care for her brood longer. Will be interesting and I will keep you posted.

Going to close with some pictures of the new mom and her school of fry. WIll be trying to get better photos as the days go by.

Have a great day and thanks for reading! Mark

momma Apistogramma sp. Pebas ‘morado’ with young

mom posing with babies

Apistogramma sp. Pebas ‘morado’ fry…tough to get them all in focus!

Sad news today…

September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 mforbes04algae eater, apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma agassizi, Apistogramma bitaeniata, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, black neon, breeding, breeding Apistos, bristlenose ancistrus, cichlids, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, hongsloi rotstrich, hospital tank, Kensfish, Loreto tetra, otcocinclus, oto, Pearl gourami, Pebas morado, pencilfish, SAE, South America, spawning, tank inhabitants, Ted Judy, tropical fishLeave a comment

A loss in the fishroom today. The male Apistogramma sp. Pebas ‘morado’ didn’t make it. I had set up 20L to get him away from female, as it seemed post-spawning stress was making him lethargic. He wasn’t eating and was hiding in a corner of tank while female guarded the eggs. The tank water in 20L was coming up to temperature, needing maybe another hour before it was right. I came back to transfer him and found him dead.

He showed no signs of disease, but wild-caught apistos are known to sometimes harbor parasites; stress caused by a number of factors can cause them to succumb. I have seen the female ‘scratching’, even violently a couple of times since. I have treated the tank with KanaPlex (wide-range fungal and bacterial treatment). It’s unfortunately the only medication I have on hand, and I won’t be able to get more until much later in the month. At least I can treat any secondary infections, if not the supposed parasites. I’m pretty certain it’s not due to water conditions, as I had done a 50% change the day before they spawned, and another 50% 2 days later when I first saw her scratch (only once or twice, which I chalked up to stress of spawning).

She is still vigilantly guarding her cave, and I’m expecting to see free-swimming fry ANY day now. The ember tetras in that tank are fine, and she is chasing them more often now (they don’t even need to be NEAR the cave). Hoping I can save some fry from this spawn.

In other tanks, the A. bitaeniata ‘Rio Napo’ seem very subdued, maybe a little lethargic. Hoping a water change in next couple of days helps. Everybody else in that tank (black neon tetras and SAEs seem fine). These wild fish are a bit trickier to raise and breed than tank-raised.

The A. borelli family is doing great. The fry are starting to grow a tad bit, and straying farther from mom each day. Dad isn’t concerned with them at all, so the tank is peaceful. Getting the banana worms and decap brine shrimp tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes. First time for me to feed either of these to fish before.

The female A. honglsoi ‘rostrich’ managed to get through the divider twice in one day, and I finally decided to roll the dice with that pair. The male still stalks her, sometimes trying to attack her violently, but she is much quicker than him and has lots of hiding places. She is eating well (he ignores her at feeding time…lol), so I think this might work out after all.

The A. cacatuoides pair is doing very well, as are the Loreto tetras in that tank and the A. hongsloi tank. The “cacas” have lots of personality and always come right to the top glass when I approach the tank. I realize this is because they recognize me as “The Giant Food Dispenser”, but it still amuses me.

And last, but not least, the A. agassizi tank is business as usual. One female (on the left) is guarding eggs again, while another (center female) looks ready to bust. She has gotten quite big, am hoping she lays eggs soon, or I must look at other possible issues. I’ve had these fish the longest, for about 4 months now, and never any issues. Everybody else in the tank seems quite healthy and the breeding doesn’t seem to stop.

It has occurred to me that maybe I’m feeding too heavily. I started 3 times a day, with a good mixture of food, but may cut it down to twice a day. I am also cutting down on the feeding of frozen bloodworms (thinking it may be causing some constipation), and going to try to increase dry foods (flake and pellets). My fish are a bit spoiled with the frozen foods, but it may be in their best interest to have a more varied diet. I’m sure if they get hungry enough, it will become easier to get them to take pellets and flake.

That’s all for today, will post again soon with progress of the A. sp. Pebas ‘morado’ eggs/fry and hopefully it will be good news next time. I’ll leave you with some new pictures. Thanks for reading and have a great day! Mark

M Apistogramma hongsloi ‘rostrich’ New female A. hongsloi ‘rostrich’

Female Apistogramma sp. Pebas ‘morado’ in breeding colors

Decent photo of Loreto tetra (Hyphessobrycon Lorentoensis)

New additions and updates

August 31, 2015August 31, 2015 mforbes04algae eater, apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma agassizi, Apistogramma bitaeniata, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, black neon, breeding, breeding Apistos, bristlenose ancistrus, cichlids, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, hongsloi rotstrich, hospital tank, Kensfish, Loreto tetra, otcocinclus, oto, Pearl gourami, Pebas morado, pencilfish, SAE, South America, spawning, tank inhabitants, Ted Judy, tropical fishLeave a comment

Good afternoon all. Just a quick update on the tanks today and a couple new photos.

The borelli family is doing well, mom still herding the fry, but having increasingly more trouble keeping them together as they begin to roam on their own. Still micro-tiny, eating freshly hatched brine shrimp and algae and other micro-organisms. I am expecting a banana worm culture and some decapsulated brine shrimp eggs on Thursday to vary their diet a little.

The Apistogramma sp. Pebas ‘morado’ DEFINITELY have eggs or fry. The female is in breeding dress, entering and exiting a cichlid stone in middle of tank. The poor male is cowering in a corner, not been eating. May have to remove him to the 20L I have set aside to grow out fry in. Will think on this one, do some research. This is the first pair of wild Apistos that I have managed to spawn, and they are not particularly common, so I’m excited.

The female hongsloi ‘rostrich’ arrived, and the pair played nice for about a half hour before the male started ‘stalking’ her and nipping. She didn’t use the caves to escape, which is a shame, as they are perfect for her, but too small for him. So, tank divider went in. Sigh…I need to grow her out, and hopefully when she develops eggs, he will accept her. Or maybe then she will use the caves…lol.

The new Apistogramma cacatuoides ‘orange’ (another Czech-bred fish from Ted Judy), are amazing. They are gorgeous and loaded wuith personality. I’ve never had this species before, but wanted a pair that could do ok in a 10G, and they seem to be. The male chases the female a bit and the female chases the Loreto tetras I am using for dithers. I have the Loretos in with the A. hongsloi ‘rostrich’ as well. They are a smaller tetra, just above “nan-size”, and I don’t think they will be a threat to the Apisto fry.

Last but not least, the Apistogramma bitaeniata ‘Rio Napo’ in the 29 are sto;; being secretive, but are out a bit more. Since I added the two SAEs and the ten Black Neon tetras, they seem a bit more comfy. They don’t seem to feed much, and I have noticed they eat leisurely, not competing well with the black neons, who are like a school of their cousins, the piranha at feeding time!

Ok, that’s all for now, except the obligatory pictures. Enjoy, and have a great day! Mark

The new female A. hongsloi ‘rostrich’…needs to grow out a bit

The male, in case you forgot what he looks like…lol

Pair of Apistogramma cacatuoides ‘orange’

Loreto tetra…very hard to get good photos of these guys and gals, but I have 14 of them in 2 tanks.

Apistogramma borelli fry and more!

August 25, 2015August 25, 2015 mforbes04algae eater, apisto, apistogramma, Apistogramma agassizi, Apistogramma bitaeniata, Apistogramma borelli, Apistogramma hongsloi, Apistogramma Pebas, Apistogramma sp. 'Pebas morado', apistos, aquarium, aquarium fish, black neon, bristlenose ancistrus, cichlids, dwarf cichlids, fish, fish fry, hongsloi rotstrich, hospital tank, Kensfish, otcocinclus, oto, Pearl gourami, Pebas morado, SAE, Ted Judy, tropical fishLeave a comment

Hi again! Some things going on with the tanks this week, all good. First, the female A. borelli ‘blue’ has finally brought her fry out of the spawning cave! Seemed to take forever for them to hatch, possibly because I keep them at a lower temperature than my other apistos. She is being a good mom, herding them around the tank. They seem to be eating algae off the back wall of the tank, tonight they will get some live baby brine shrimp. Dad is behaving well, also.

The A. agassizis just keep at it, but I don’t often see fry. I re-homed the red bristlenose ancistrus and the pearl gouramis, so the only possible predators left in that tank are 6 cardinal tetras. Will just have to wait and see if any fry emerge. Otherwise, that tank is pretty quiet.

The A. sp. Pebas ‘morado’ appear to have eggs as well. The female is in breeding colors and sometimes a little aggressive toward male. Cannot see eggs or fry, not even certain where they might be. Somebody did some prodigious pit-digging in back of tank, but I’ve seen female go into cave on other side of tank. Never seen my apistos dig like that; it’s very reminiscent of the bigger Central American cichlids I used to keep. Interesting stuff, will keep you posted.

The 29 is also puzzling me. The male A. bitaeniata ‘Rio Napo’ was being horrible to the female after the pair of pearl gouramis were removed. She was in hiding constantly, to the point where I would only see her once every couple of days. I had to add some fish there and it appears to have helped. She is out more now, and looking a little skinnier, so maybe eggs were laid. This pair seems very secretive, so even harder to judge what is happening in the tank.

For dither/target fish in that tank, I added some fish from PetSmart in Leominster, MA. The prices were great, fish looked and acted healthy. I got 10 black neon tetras and a pair of 2″ algae eaters. They were sold as Flying Foxes, but they are really Siamese Algae Eaters (SAE). They will get much bigger, and I may have to move one to another tank eventually if aggression occurs, but for now, I think they are just right. The black neons were $1 each, and the SAE just over $2 each. Great deals!

More importantly, picked up 2 more 20L while I was there. That bring my tank total to 7, and there it shall remain until I move. One tank will be for the pair of A. hongsloi ‘rostrich’. The female will be here on Thursday, along with a pair of orange A. cacatuoides (Czech-bred also) and 14 Loreto tetras to split between a 20L and a 10G. After that, might add a few Otocinclus in some tanks, but am pretty much done. One 20L will be reserved for raising fry, should any make it far enough along.

Also took a road trip yesterday to Ken’s Fish in Taunton, MA. I’ve ordered online from Ken’s in the past, but wanted to save on shipping charges on frozen foods. He has a big warehouse operation with anything an aquarist might want. Great deals on foods as well. Nice guy, Ken gave me a sample of a new veggie food that my SAEs seem to really like. I also bought 1/2 pound of Ken’s Earthworm flake. So far, fish aren’t wild about it, but they’ve never been big flake eaters anyway. With a whole half pound, I hope they learn to like it soon!

That’s enough for today. I will close with some new pictures. Enjoy, and please feel free to comment or like my blog if the mood strikes you! Thanks, and have a great day, Mark

Female Apistogramma borelli ‘blue’ with fry

Still having trouble getting a clean shot of the male Apistogramma sp. Pebas ‘morado’

Here is a fair picture of the female A. sp. Pebas ‘morado’ in breeding dress

Tough to get good shots of the Black Neon Tetras, but this will do

Best SAE shot yet.

apistogrammatales

Sharing my enjoyment of Apistogramma and other tropical fish

Apistogramma hongsloi