Re: Apistos for beginner - pair or harem?

["alex pastor" <alexp@idirect.com>]

>I have two male and three female A. cacatuoides in a heavily planted 29
>gallon tank and they all get along fine.
>
>-brian


Brian, beware.

I had two males and four females in a four foot long 65 gallon tank.  The
males were brothers or father/son or uncle/nephew.  (Difficult to keep track
of their family trees.)  Then one day, 'Son of Satchmo' decided that the
tank wasn't big enough for the two of them.  I couldn't save the other male.
By the time I realized (it's a very heavily planted tank with wood etc.) it
was too late.  'Son of Satchmo' is now exactly two years old and reminds me
of the Pope.  He's old, hunchbacked and moves kind of slowly.  But he's
still busy courtin' them ladies.  I guess that makes him just a bit
different than the Pope. :)  (No offence meant to the RCs on the list.)

He's also got huge bugeyes, the biggest lips in fish history and 20 healthy
growing kids.

>From my experience I have to conclude that if you want to keep harem
spawners either have only one male or crowd the tank and have several.  That
way they can't focus their aggression.  Things were a lot more peaceful when
there were 6 males in the tank.  Nobody fooled with 'Son of Satchmo'.  But
they all got their genes into the next generation.  Sneaky devils. :)

Gabriella Kadar




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