First Cichlids

[smithrc]

Hi folks,

about 6 months ago we bought a pair of cockatoos... the female killed the male

we got another and again she chased him and killed him over the course of a week.

since then we havent tried again - leaving her to live in the 350l.

Our local store had some more in so for one last time i figure Id give a male a try and if they get on - give them their own tank to breed them in...

he's not been doing too well in the community tank so i've seperated him where he seems a lot happier (he was just hanging out in one corner - out of everones way)

I just want to check a few things...

1. Are they indeed a pair (as the female is a lot bigger at the moment)
2. Will they be ok in a 2ft 50l tank as a pair?
3. whats the best substrate for them?

 

[Dany]

id say they are a male and female but we obviously cant tell if there going to pair. maybe if you got a few of them and let them pair of that way..? the tanks seems a tiny bit on the small side but it will ok. substrate is personal choice. maybe sand would be better though (easier to clean)

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi there,

Very difficult to tell.

The top picture is your dominant male, the bottom picture may be a sub-dominant male or a female.

In the bottom picture, although you can just see the extensions to the front of the dorsal fin and extensions to the top and bottom of the caudal fin which are typical of a male, with the domestic strains it's quite common to see this in the female (along with vibrant colouring).

Are there any black edges to the trailing ventral fins, if so then I would be inclined to say you have a pair. If there are no black edges to the trainling ventrals then more likely to be the sub-dominant male. When the female comes into breeding condition you should see a body colour change to a nice bright yellow with the strongly contrasting black on the ventral fins.

Your 50 litre tank would be fine for a pair, use pool filter sand for the substrate, all the apisto's like to dig a bit and as they are part of the eartheater group of cichlids at least they can filter through the sand looking for extra tidbits of food.

As far as breeding Apisto cacatuoides go, I've found the easiest way was to take your mature pair, add water and wait a week or 2 (simple as that!!!).

Regards

Andrew

 

[smithrc]

well.. they arnt a pair tonight... The male has died
I think he had been being harased in the 350 by someone (dont think it was the female this time) and the stress didnt do him any good. Even in the new tank he didnt really come out of his shell

I think I'll give them one last go and get a young pair (they are really easy to ID in the store as the females are nice and yellow and the males are really red...

Do they pair up like discus etc or will any male and female sort it out in the end?

I'll setup with sand then.
(most of our tanks have sand but I have run out so when I set that one up I used what i had. so it looks like a trip to argos coming up)