nitram79

Hi all,

This is my new 2 footer for my apistos. I'm hoping that they will breed.



I showed the fish shop the pics of my fish and he said they were different types, but they seem to like eachother alot. the male displays for the girls and they seem to love him just as much. the fish im talking about is the 2 females next to the dwarf gourami, and the big male down below to the right.




does anyone have any suggestions with anything. i think i'll be moving things around in the future if they dont like it like, but basically atm i have 2 cave like structures at either end of the tank for each female to claim, though i'm sure its not goin to be so simple, im hoping thats what will happen though, if they like them, who knows, will have to see i guess.
im still waiting for the heater. I filled half tank with tap water and the other half with water from my 3 footer. plus i pulled out one of the filters from the 3 footer and put in into the 2 footer without cleaning it. I seems like the tank is already cycled after a day or so as i tested it and no amonia or nitrites, and a low reading of nitrates. so all good there. any input would be much appreciated.
marty

TedsTank

Nice setup!! They will do fine in there. The dominant female will pick her place for spawning and the other will get the available spot farthest away as possible. I had no trouble with a trio in my 55 gal. You will need to keep an eye on things as they start to spawn....the tank may be a wee bit small for a trio. When the the female gets a good regular yellow coloring she is ready. As the fry hatch you will then need to watch for aggression....her sole purpose at that point will be to protect her fry.
Congrats on the the setup, they are fun and cacatuoides is a good starter apisto. What is your pH?? It might take them a spawn or 2 to get a hatch so don't panic if their first try is a failure. Have fun!!

Yes, at this point by the pics the one female does not appear to be a cacatuoides....the yellow one is a cockatoo female...they should look nearly identical. Possibly a female Viejita type. You ought to take her back to the pet store and wait and see how it all goes with the cockatoos. With apisto females, often times identification can be very hard....and she will be a target when the others spawn.

nitram79

thanks for the input Ted... i think they are both the same, one is a bit younger than the other one. I did get them at different times, but i think out of the same tank. The male seems to like them both so thats all that counts. my PH is around 7.3 or so. i dont really check it that often, i know they like 6 - 7 so i have added some ph neutral to the 2 footer hoping that will help a bit also

TedsTank

cockatoos are able to take a bit moe Ph so you will just have to be patient when they spawn.
Your picture of the one not yellow "female" also seems to be showing blue on the face, not a particulary good sign for being a female...maybe a young male of another species in a "hiding" coloration. I can't really tell by the pics...so if they are same proportions just wait and hopefully you have 2 female cockatoos....lol.

Hiding coloration = example...I have about 12 inka50's. one dominant male has been taken out with a female and spawning regularly. All the others in the same tank appear at first to be females!!!....but on 4 more their pectoral fins do not have a black edge....those are males in hiding for protection!!!....hopefully another will stand up and become dominant in that tank too!! All the apisto's are fun!!

nitram79

yeah they are fun, they really have personality. hopefully the water is to thier liking. i'll try to keep the ph at 7. i'm pretty sure there is 2 females. i can tell from their behaviour. i guess i'll just have to see how i go. thanks for all the tips ted , i'll kepp yás informed

nitram79

Hey all, here is an updated photo of the tank. I have 1 male and 3 females in there, prob take a 1 of the girls but will see how they go for a while so i can make sure i leave the right ones in there.

aquarist48

Good morning Nitram. Your tank looks awesome! Wonderful job.
Thanks for sharing with us!
Ken

nitram79

Good evening Ken,(ha time difference)

Thanks, I'm glad you like it. And they seem to like it aswell which it good now all I have to do is keep up the tank maintenance and hope for the best.

TedsTank

Nice...I think you have nailed it!!! Next step...just be patient, no matter what we do fish won't spawn til they are ready.

nitram79

true true, just have to wait and see.
Hey Ted, did u look at that other male I posted on fish ID

Slug

Wish i could find tanks like that. The decor looks good but i'm talking about the tank itself. Rimless is awesome, wish i could find them over here without building it or paying an arm and a leg for it.

TedsTank

yes I answered that thread for you....its a triple red version of cockatoo.

can you merge your 2 threads?? we jumping back and forth for same info.

nitram79

that was the end of that post coz u answered my question. will just stick with this one now

nitram79

Hey all,

I checked on the fish yesterday and found one of the girls on the bottom resting. on closer inspection, i saw that she had alot of fin damage, then one of the other girls came out from under the shell and started attacking the resting girl again, so i quickly got her out. then i found the other girl hiding in the other corner of the tank and could see sum damage also to the fins so i took her out as well. so ive got my dominant female. she lives in the shell now, and seems to be trying to attract the male but he doesnt seem too interested. he might be too young... well thats what i hope it is.

TedsTank

humm...she might have eggs already!!!...? Never had that much aggression with the females unless they had a reason...no torn fins ever. Your guys may be in the love zone now!! and your male certainly seems old enough by the pics...color, fins, etc.

Amanda

I'm confused....are you talking about breeding the female cockatoos to the male Ram in your tank?? Because from the photo, that's what it looks like you're talking about.

TedsTank

Amanda he now has 2 male cockatoos and 3 females also. He had 2 threads going and has gotten confusing.....lol. Is going for the cockatoos to spawn. In the first pic is a male orange flash and 3 females and a dwarf Gourami. I had him kill the second thread, was going nuts scrolling around on the same subject!!!
He is all set to go now....and thanks for questioning, I even double checked the photos.

Amanda

Ahh...because I was like...I see a Ram in the second photo in the first post, and was going to say that they won't breed. lolol