Re: tank bred vs. wild (was inbreeding) spawning

[Biplane10@aol.com]

IDMiamiBob@aol.com writes:

> It is notable, however, that wild apistos are reported to breed easier and 
>  have larger spawns than even F1 offspring.   But the evidence of this is 
> more 
>  anecdotal than actually studied.

I was advised by a long-time hobbyist when I was looking into acquiring 
apistos, to opt for tank-bred and raised apistos as opposed to wild. She felt 
that the tank raised would be more adaptable and easy to breed than wild 
caught.

My experience with the tank raised guys, so far (several breeding sessions 
where all eggs were eaten, probably by mom, despite vigorous defense of the 
nest) is that few eggs are produced. I figured after a few spawns she might 
get things right, and stop making a snack out of them. As a deterrent, I even 
deliberately threw worms at feeding time directly down to the spot where her 
nest was, since she wouldn't come out to eat. Interestingly enough, even 
though provided a cave for spawning, they opted to lay eggs on the leaves of 
valisneria plants. Just yesterday, I finally pulled the leaves off and placed 
them in a net breeder within the tank to try to raise something viable 
myself. There are probably about 10 eggs in all. Since I caught them early in 
the game (presumably before any were eaten), I am assuming that this is about 
all that was produced. 

Another oddity I noticed--I had 2 male viejitas and 1 female in this tank, 
with cardinal tetras & some small killies. It seemed up to now they were 
following the right formula. Mom defended the nest, dad the territory. The 
other male Viejita was harrassed severely by the dad. After it appears dad 
successfully killed off the non-breeding viejita, he turned his aggression on 
the female after spawning. While she was trying to watch the nest yesterday, 
he was chasing her down with a vengeance, with body attacks included. That's 
when I decided to pull the eggs. I'm not sure whether he designated himself 
as nest watcher or what his problem was.

Any ideas on this? Or does this just prove out Bob's theory, and my fish are 
incapable of normal parental behavior? (not to mention the low number of eggs 
produced).

Sylvia


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