Appistogramma's

[lowthy76]

hi al i have two pairs of appistogramma one pair are cacatuoides and the other pair are viejita's.
the problem i am having is the females of both appisto's seem to be bullying the males to the stage where they hide and eventually die!
i dont understand this as both the females have thrived in my tank but im now on the 2nd pair of males for each species and cant work out why?
in previous experience with other cichlid species it always tends to be the male that hassles the females so im scratching my head as to why.
any help would be appreciated ..........much thanks dan

 

[KittyKat]

Firstly, we need more details about the set-up. Tank size, decor, stock, maybe even a photo?

 

[lowthy76]

well its a custom made tank at a gues i would say 110 litres it has a sand substrate, 2 big bog woods, 5 hiding places i.e caves 12 live weeds a spray bar with an external fluval 205 filter. i have 10 cherry barbs and 3 bristlenose catfish in there to. the ph is 6.9 as i buy ro filtered water from my lfs.

 

[lowthy76]

any help would be appreciated as they are not cheap lol x

 

[KittyKat]

What are the dimensions? 100 litre tanks are usually too small for more than one male/species. Are there distinct territories?

 

[lowthy76]

its a bow fron tank 3 ft in length 1.5 ft to tp the widest point and 1,5 ft tall x

and yes the 2 females have territorys at either end of the tank and rarely come into contact with eachother

and yes the 2 females have territorys at either end of the tank and rarely come into contact with eachother

 

[KittyKat]

That's not big enough for more than one male: the (male) competitor combined with females whose territories they are invading doesn't give the males particularly good odds. I recommend that you stick with only one male, add some small caves for the females and move decor around before you release the male into the tank.