Why aren't my apistos spawning

Soo.... i have a pair of apistogramma caucatoities and I've had them for about 4 months. the have spawned once but not again, that was like 2 months ago. the male has been doing the fin thing but the female and male don't seem to hyped to breed. if anyone has any ideas that would be great. I have another pair in a 33 community and I might try to switch them eventually, or should I get another female to have a 1m/2f ratio?

Thanks-jack

 

Are you feeding live foods and frozen food plus pellets? What is the water change schedule? Nitrates?

 

Could you post a picture of the tank AND both fish, please? I learned a picture of a breeding tank says it all usually.

Then: GH, KH, pH, please.
Feeding and maintenance info would indeed be good to know, too.

I already have a suspiscion but I'll keep it to myself until I've seen pictures.

 

tank, male, female.

Ph: 7.0
Gh: 50
Kh: doesn't test for it (sorry)
nitrate: 5-10 (if you need it)

Are you feeding live foods and frozen food plus pellets? What is the water change schedule? Nitrates?

I feed fluval bug bites, flakes, brine shrimp, and blood worms

Edit: I also WC once a week

 

anybody help, they still haven't spawned. the male and female never show any aggression tho

 

Oh, I've not even seen you posted.

Erm... yeah... well... the fins on the female tell me a lot. Are you absolutely positive they spawned once? Because the fins tell me this is likely a sleeper male.

I feed fluval bug bites, flakes, brine shrimp, and blood worms

Not what I would call conditioning food. Bloodworms are not good for most dwarf cichlids, you can kill them with it even.
Conditioning foods would be live artemia nauplii, live and frozen black and white mosquito larvae, daphnia and mysis.

I also WC once a week

How much do you change each week?

 

25-50% crud about the sleeper male, that may be why, i thought they had spawned. then why does he/she look so yellow, i thought that was the female's colors. and thanks for the ideas on better conditioning foods, i will check with my lfs this "female" was bought from my lfs with a different male, they are siblings, so i bought another pair and swapped the males. i will check w/ my lfs, in the mean time i can change the pairs because the other pair, the female is wayyyyyyyy smaller.

thanks- jack

 

then why does he/she look so yellow, i thought that was the female's colors.

This is not the bright yellow to be expected of a female Apistogramma. It's the colour females have when not ready to spawn. Sleeper males mimik that.

because the other pair, the female is wayyyyyyyy smaller.

I was going to ask: How big is this one here?

Edit: Domestic A. cacatuoides are genetically a mess btw. Inbred and often impossible to recognize when compared to the wild ones. Like completely different fish.
https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/apistogramma-cacatuoides-yellow-wild/

 

wow, thanks would it be good to try a better dwarf cichlid instead. if so what? I only have a ten gallon, when the breed I might need a bigger tank but I have a 55 I could clear out.

I was going to ask: How big is this one here?

like 1-1.5 inches, sorry im in America, messed up system if you ask me.

This is not the bright yellow to be expected of a female Apistogramma

also the picture doesn't do it justice of how yellow he/she is its really yellow but he/she is always like that
now this just happened, the He/she apistogramma was in the cave with the eggs, the might not be fertile though because aren't fertile eggs supposed to be reddish? see the white spots on the roof, I think those are eggs

 

like 1-1.5 inches, sorry im in America, messed up system if you ask me.

Luckily we have the conversion bar on the side here in the forum. Size says female. Again, really messed up genetics in these fish.

also the picture doesn't do it justice of how yellow he/she is its really yellow but he/she is always like that

Unusual to be a permanent colouration.

now this just happened, the He/she apistogramma was in the cave with the eggs, the might not be fertile though because aren't fertile eggs supposed to be reddish? see the white spots on the roof, I think those are eggs

Yep. And either infertile or not viable.

Last resort before simply calling it a day (because I think these fish have some characteristics that shouldn't be passed on in the captive genepool): Bury the cave entrance half in the sand and get the cave out of the brightly lit part of the tank. Only a female should be able to get in on its side.

 

Last resort before simply calling it a day (because I think these fish have some characteristics that shouldn't be passed on in the captive genepool): Bury the cave entrance half in the sand and get the cave out of the brightly lit part of the tank. Only a female should be able to get in on its side.

ok thanks for the idea, which one are you referring to, the moss one or the clay one?

 

Oh, there are two? Both.

 

yeah, the plant mass on the right is moss on a coconut hide. thanks for all your help, but one more question, would it be a better idea to get a more genetically stable apistogramma species and breed them in the 10 gallon instead?

 

would it be a better idea to get a more genetically stable apistogramma species and breed them in the 10 gallon instead?

From a holistic standpoint, looking at what species have been linebred and are domestic strains nowerdays - yes.
There are many species endangered or near threatened in the wild that you can find in the trade that would - in my opinion and from species protection points of view - be served well being multiplied in captivity. In any case more than superfluous overbred domestic strains like A. cacatuoides double or triple red.

BUT I have to stress: These rarer species need certain parameters met (water, food, decoration) to even get in spwaning mood. It may also take months to find them, even longer to find them in good condition and for a reasonable price. Then you will have to get them through quarantine and so on. So this would be a project that will require thorough (like reading scientific articles about the fish) research. On the other hand it will also boost your experience level a lot.

 

yeah... I um.... might not be able to do that, im not even 15