breeding apistos

seems as these seem to be the buzz fish lately everybody buying all kinds of species with the intention of breeding them no doubt in everyones mind so how do we go about it.i know there are a few experts out there @prof dirk and @Bigg,i know firemanmuzz has had some success alas i have had none not that iv bent over backwards to assist the process but i would like to.so where do i start?are there any tricks to the trade?

 

Good idea on this thread. I am expecting a pair of Borelli next week and too would be interested in some advice.

 

The best way to learn how to breed apistos, is to start off with the easy species. A. cacatuoides and A. agassizi are probably the best ones to start off with. If you can master breeding these guys, then you can move on to the more difficult ones.

It's quite easy...

1. Tank

A tank of between 40 - 80 liters is ideal for breeding.

2. Lighting

Not too bright, but planted aquariums make good breeding grounds for these guys. The only issue is removing the babies once they are big enough.

3. Food

Feeding of freshly hatched brine shrimp is a great way to condition the breeders, as well as feeding of the babies. Then some good quality flakes and frozen foods as well.

4. Water

A PH of around 6.5 is usually ideal. Also, the softer the better. Aim for a KH of around 3 - 4.

5. Hiding places.

Make sure there are enough retreats in the tank. Coconut caves, ceramic pots, etc all act as potential breeding sites for Apistos.

Hope this helps somewhat?

 

i am going to start seperating them soon,there appears to be a bit of chemistry between the male and 1 female but in months there's been no joy for me.the 2 females seem to get on each others nerves so keeping them apart sounds good.

 

This is suppose to be the main breeding tank ph 7,kh 2,26degrees,added some coral to the tank when it was sitting at ph 5.5 thinking i should drop it again a bit.

 

and add some more wood

 

Add rainwater. Ph is slightly acidic. Just make sure its clean rainwater

 

My ph is 6 or below, and the agassizii's are now giving spawning a second run. First attemp not successful.

Feeding them twice a day. Dry foods in the morning, and late afternoon bloodworm twice a week, mysis twice a week and brine shrimp twice a week. One day of the week their afternoon feeding is dryfood as well. They seem to thrive on this diet, but I haven't had them long enough to see if this will suffice for breeding.

Will be starting to hatch brine shrimp shortly.

 

i tried rainwater once didnt do anything but it was only once.i think the rain is finished here in jhb but if it does again will try collect some.getting the profs food today their diet is hikari pellets,frozen brine shrimp,a frozen discus mix live bloodworm and brineshrimp once or twice a week and i see them nibbling the tetra algae blocks

 

where do you get live bloodworm?

 

from a local pet shop also breed my own odd ones but summers gone and so are the mosquitoes

 

My agassizii's have eggs again, but they look unfertilized (white).

Any tips? This is their second batch. Can it be that the female is eager to breed but the male not so much so?

Any advice or info would be appreciated!!

 

Try dropping the hardness of your water. But you live in the cape, so that shouldn't be much of a problem... Just give them time. It might take a few tries to get it right.

 

@oscar freak I'm really liking the look of that tank but as posted in @Sean J post are there any caves? (pots/cocunut shells) I know even though I got wood in my cacz tank the female chose the pot

 

Hi Guys,

If you want to keep and breed your dwarfs, you will find that you need to concentrate on fine detail. The tank has to be not too bright, with pots, mosses, logs and surface plants. Water needs to be acid and you need to do regular small water changes. Filtration needs to be good but not excessive, I use standard airlift box filters which you may think are from Noah's Ark, but they are effective and you need not go the expensive route. I have two pairs of A aggasizzi that produce one batch of fry after the next, the numbers in this spawn are about 30 and the female is about ready to spawn again. I feed my own imported high quality granulates and flakes and freshly hatched brineshrimps on a daily basis. And you need good fishes to start off with. I have bred both of these pairs myself and I am now into the third generation from when I bought the first fishes. It can be done, but you need patience and as I have stated, careful attention to detail.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Those are beautiful A. agassizi Prof. I still miss the pairs I got from you about 2 years ago. They were beautiful. I will have to get some more when I plan my next tank.

 

i have a clay pot i can add in there when im ready to start trying in earnest.also busy preparing the water i will use for the water changes.kh of 2 and ph of 6 been stable now for a while no sudden ph drops.no floating plants yet but will leave the rotala to grow wild so lay on he surface.lighting is bright now but thats just for the plants can be reduced to the 1 blue spectrum tube when the the time arrives,filtration is about right to not much disturbance.

 

I added a clay pot for the new borelis they don't seem to like it I saw 1 of them there only once,of the 4 I bought 2 are completely awol cannot find fin or gill since thursday I'm hoping they found a love nest among the dense growth.wondering is this typical borelli behaviour

 

Hi Athol,

Borellis are not so easy and you have to manage them very carefully or else they get "lost" as you have called it, they just die amongst the plants. They are actually a lot more sensitive than is made out and you need to give them a lot of good cover. You need to cut the pot in half, a whole pot is too big for them. Have a look at the pot and coconut shell in the tank with the aggasizzis above and make the opening even smaller. After arrival in a new setup they will also definitely need freshly hatched bs to get them settled in properly and to overcome the transport stress.

Kind regards,

Dirk