View Full Version : What is this stunning little guy?
Hi all
Saw this on a add banner on one of the foreign sites, no name or anything attached. Anybody know what it is?
7848
Cheers
Neville
Apistogramma Cacatuoides.
AKA Dwarf Cockatoo Cichlid from S America
Nice! Very nice! I thought as much but wasn't sure as most the pics I've seen of these are normally more orange than yellow on the fins.
From what I read, they should do fine in my little 60cm soft water, planted setup?
Just wonder how the Panda Garra will take to them? He seems mostly peaceful though and only gets slightly territorial at feeding times, but not really agro though.
PS - I'm quessing these will likely retail for around R200 a fish, if I can find them in Cape Town somewhere... ?
Yes, lots of orange ones and that red, dubble and tripple red. They have been bred extensively in different colour morfs. You might pay less that that. Get a pair and breed them but im not so sure about the garra. Cacatuoides like to breed in peace.
You can get a breeding pr for around R100 or so. Just need to look around. Pm Altum or Dolphin
Altum can source them... I wouldn't buy just a pair though. I'd buy 6 or 8, let them pair naturally, and sell the rest. The natural pair can then be used to breed. If you only buy a pair and force them to breed, I believe you sometimes don't have successful spawns.
Thanks all. Don't really have breeding facilities anymore as I've shut down my bigger tank and only left with on small display tank. Between my two corries, coolie loach and Garra, I don't think any eggs will ever see daylight in this tank. Good advice re. natural breeding pairing though - have stored it in the memory banks for future use.
Oh, you'll be pleasantly surprised..just because YOU don't think you have breeding tankspace or your other fish will misbehave doesn't stop Apistogramma from making it their homestead.
With one or 2 suitable crevice/cave, spawning hollows you won't stop them.
60L is a fine tank size. @ species of APistogramma would comfortably live in it.
Garra flavatra shouldn't pose a problem, and your Other tankpals, are OK too
BTW Zoom, Nowadays, there isnt much "forcing" pairs..they're relatively easy to get going.
Other times a harem is required..but for Cacatuoides, not necessary.
We communicate with our breeders to provide as even split of gender.
Sometimes we ask for more of one sex, if we feel Trios are more suitable.
One reason I import 80-160 pcs of Apistogramma at a time
Hope this helps.
PS of course, they are cichlids, are intelligent, MAY read this and employ Reverse Psychology on YOU!:p
Thanks Altum. Good points. If they breed, good luck to them, I'm not going to try and stop it ;-) I like fish like this that do their own thing, they sound just up my street.
That's awesome... I want!
spock rider
18-07-2011, 19:08
Neville, they are very good parents, all should be fine.
Mine have fry as we speak.
R200 is a tad steep, I got mine for R45 from Jungle. They were small but didn't take long to size up. 9328
Actually R200 for a quality breeding pair is about right. When I bought a pair I paid R300 for a breeding pair. Meaning the pair were not forced to pair, they naturally paired out of a school.
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Zoom, was that for a pair of Cacatuoides? Even for a 'quality' pair, R300 seems very high for Cacas, unless they are 'Special' Caca's like the 'Blue' colour form, but not the Red forms?
R200 for Quality would be acceptible, but still high, R150 or so would seem more of a fair price for Caca's.
Regards
G!
I think the more apt question is: How long have you had the pair? If it a recent purchase, then possibly a little overpriced. If it was a purchase before the Apisto craze really took off, then it's not a bad price. Remember that when something is rare on the market, the price is higher... Not that I'm defending myself... If I remember correctly, I sold Zoom a few Apistos when I shut down my systems...
Oops! slagter, I seem to have a very large foot tonight firmly wedged in my mouth hey? ;)
Yes, you are perfectly correct that prices were significantly higher a year or two ago, so R300 for even Caca's would have been about right! Nowadays, it would be over priced significantly! R200 is on the high side, but not rediculous IF the pair are Quality.
Regards
G!
Nah dude, no need to say that.
Another thing about collecting rare fish. If you manage to breed them to supply a hobbiest market, you sell them for 20% less than what you paid for them. Then the next people to do the same sell for 20% less, then the next people to the same, and the same, etc etc... You actually devalue the strain of the fish. This is probably not a very good thing to do for breeders making money, but on the other hand, at least it's not depleting the river systems of the fish. But it's not a win win situation for the breeders. That's why Apistos in general are a very controlled species in the hobby. (In my opinion) While this is not detrimental, it's certainly a pain in the butt...
I got a very nice pair from Nick at Hartlands a few months ago, probably not long after I posted this thread. They're dong well and are really good looking little critters. They act a bit territorial at times when other fish come close to their usual hide-out, which got me excited that they might be breeding, but a las, I don't think so. The pare don't seem crazy over each other and at times the male even chases the little female away. Of the two caves in the tank, they are usually occupied by my Barra or Bristleknose or both. Doesn't bother me much though as I'm not hung up on breeding, they're pretty to look at and nice to watch. They do seem a little shy at times but I suspect its just my tank that is over-grown a bit.
Zoom, was that for a pair of Cacatuoides?
Plain sunburst.
I think the more apt question is: How long have you had the pair? If it a recent purchase, then possibly a little overpriced.
Bought pair over 3 years ago. (From a sponsor). Price was considered cheap at R300.00 back then!
Yep, slagter did sell me his stock when he shutdown... I think I paid R200 for about 5 of them.
I can't keep them alive. I think it may have to do with my water being too hard for them?
I can't keep them alive. I think it may have to do with my water being too hard for them?
Possibly. I run a low PH, soft water setup and they seem quite happy. They get flakes in the mornings and some frozen foods most evenings.
At the time my gH was sitting up between 8 and 10... which is considered very high for these guys.
Yikes! That is high! But I've had them in similar conditions and they were fine... Very strange.
Just an update on my pair of Apistogramma for those interested....
After settlign into my tank quite nicely, initially and for about 2-3 months after that, thy seemed quite happy and seemed to get along nicely. Then I started noticing the male "bullying" the female a bit at feeding time. Almost like he was trying to prevent her from feeding. I thoght maybe it was just a breeding dominance thing and left it for a while, trying to fee dher seperately in the corner she would go and hide from him at times. Then she started getting completely reclusive and wouldn't come out at all during feeding times. She eventually died, I suspect from starvation.
Now I must try and find someone that will sell me a female separately as most LFS's only let these go in pairs... :(
Thinking of trying to get two females perhaps to try and see if he will choose one of them as his mate...
Any ideas?
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