Apistogramma Gossie

[smb7676]

I bought two AG from my LFS and things went really well for a day they swam together and hide together. The next the male(?) swims fast at the female(?) and chases her around a bit she hids he swims around a bit then it happens again they do kinda hangout and touch every great while. I'd leave them alone but my concern is the female which was always a bit lighter than the male seems to be changing to a light grey color and I'm worried its stress. But if they are just getting ready to breed I'd rather not pull her and put her in the hospital tank. Also the m/f sexing was done by the LFS I"m still not 100% sure its not 2 males !!! They do seem to be m/f but they are on the small side. By the way its a 20 high tank.
Thanks for any help you may give !!

 

[nc_nutcase]

Mating rituals and fighting are often hard to tell apart. The first thing to look for is does your female have any damage? Mating Rituals are usually simulated fight techniques used by the male to impress the female. The male wants to display to the female that he is a strong male worth mating with. If the female has bite marks on her or her fins are getting nipped then things may not be going well and you may want to separate them.

With my convicts, it seemed the male was interested in breeding a few weeks before the female was. The male was persistent with his courting and the female avoided him heavily. After a while (3 weeks) they starting hanging out more and more and the fighting stopped. Well, actually it was redirected. They attempted to attack every other fish in the tank. Luckily the other fish were big enough to hold their own. In the end the Cons took over a healthy size territory and had babies. None of the fry survived (Pacus and Oscars ate them quick!). Since then the Cons have been moved to their own tank and haven't attempted to mate. The female seems uninterested again.

I know my example is a totally different kind of fish with a total different temperament. But I think the mating rituals are definitely comparable. From now on I'm going to go the extra mile to protect the first brood of fry any of my fish have as I think loosing all her babies somewhat traumatized the female.

 

[Seb R]

Had the same problem with Rams, its probably because the male is imptaient for eggs. I removed my Ram male for a bit and then put him back, a few days later it started again.

Really though if it isn't too aggressive dont worry, think the colour change might be submission (?) and does she swim on her side when he chases her? Because whenever it gets too much for my female she uses that and the male usually stops.

 

[smb7676]

The female doesn't swim on her side but they do seem to be playing nicer tonight. She isn't being hurt so I'll leave them in the tank together and see. I have a roseline shark , otto , 2 rasboro, 1 coolie loach and 2 tetras in the tank as well do you think any of the fry will make it ? I wouldn't call it super planted but there are some dense areas and a pot on its side. The shark won't go into the pot or the super planted area? What do you think I'd rather not hurry up the new tank I'm cycling but I'd like to see if at least one could pull through.
Thanks for the info

 

[Seb R]

Dunno if you will be able to get fry, parents may feel that they don't have a chance raising offspring, so may eat the eggs or just eat them anyway. Add Java moss though, thats great for wriggles and babies.

Hope it goes well

 

[smb7676]

Do you have any idea what color the eggs are ? I forgot about the coolie loach to do you think it might snack on eggs? It really is the only other fish that goes into that corner .