Apistogramma Agassizii pair

Hi everyone!

So here's the story. I bought a stunning pair of apistogramma agassiziis, put them into their own little setup up, got some live plants I'm trying my luck with growing in there as well. Soon as I purchased them I have been all too excited for them to breed as I haven't ever bred these yet

Here is the issue though: The female has laid eggs 3 times now but the next morning they are eaten.

Things I have noticed:
Once eggs are laid, the female guards the cave heavily, even chasing away the male. The male is never near the eggs AT ALL and so I am wondering if perhaps the eggs never get fertilized.
Question: Would a female lay eggs 'on her own' without the male taking part? i.e. Just like a female hen that will sometimes lay eggs without any involvement of the male? The 2nd time eggs were laid, this was in an upside down pot which is almost IMPOSSIBLE for a fish to get inside, but the female squeezed herself sideways under slate and then laid eggs inside. This is also what is making me think she is laying the eggs 'on her own' because there was absolutely no way of the male being able to fit anywhere near where she laid .

The weird thing is that the male is always looking like he is ready to breed - always quivering by the female and trying to wrap himself around etc. So it really looks like he is super keen! But then soon as eggs are laid he is nowhere near the female.

I am really hoping to let them be good parents without me removing the eggs from them so as of yet I have no intention to separate the eggs from them, but yeah guys any help and advice would be much appreciated .

The male is approx. 5cm displaying great colours and long fins so I'm quite certain sexual maturity isn't a problem? I really love these stunning fish and breeding them would be too great (I am sure fellow members can relate to the excitement of trying their luck at breeding).

Any info please share

Thanks,

D

 

What are yoour water parameters? (pH, gH, kH)

I'm having a similar issue with my pelvicachromis taeniatus, but I know my pH is too high, which is causing the eggs not to develop.

 

I'm going to do water quality checks and will let you know! I do a weekly 5-10% water changes, siphon and clean the filters etc.

I guess one of the ways to see what's potting is to actually watch as the female lays eggs to see whether the male actually fertilizes them or not.... but that is easier said than done considering work and I'm not a stay at home fish man

 

How do you clean your filters and do you do it every time you do a WC (water change)?

Also, are the pair alone or are there other inmates in the tank, and what size tank is it?

 

You may this interesting, especially reproduction part: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/apistogramma-agassizii/

 

Tank is a standard 2ft. Two of those round sponge filters. Yes I clean the filters most times i do a WC, in the tank water which I take out.

The pair are alone in the tank.

I was considering adding 1 or 2 other small fish to perhaps 'trigger' their breeding? Although I thought it would be most ideal if they are on their own so no other tankmates could potentialy get bullied by the pair, or eat the eggs etc.

 

You can get some dither fish. Tetras and other schooling species do well as dither fish as long as you keep them in the correct numbers (at least 5). Try to get schooling species which occupy the middle to top parts of the tank.

Regarding your filters. IMO you only need to clean them every 2 to 4 weeks depending on how dirty they get and your bioload. Considering that you only have 2 fish in there you may need to clean those filters only once a month. Also, don't clean both filters at the same time. I alternate my filter cleaning, so I clean only 1 filter every 2 weeks. This ensures that you always have a healthy bacteria colony in your tank.