Re: Fwd: Re: Fwd: Re: Water Softener question

[Pete Johnson <petej@wordsanddeeds.com>]

Ed Pon writes:

> Most of my earlier experience with breeding Apistos had to do with
> Steindachneri and Borelli--since they were among the more readily
> available as well as easier to keep alive apistos in the mid-to-late
> eighties. Perhaps that is where I developed my opinion that apistos
> tend to be egg-eaters.

As I mentioned, I've consistently had trouble with A. steindachneri 
parents not raising fry successfully. My experience with borelli is 
limited to some fish I got a couple of years ago that never bred.

> I mentioned Dr. Ron Coleman's lecture in my previous note because
> what I got out of the lecture was that it may be a positive survival
> instinct that cichlids consume eggs if the probability of raising
> young successfully (to the age at which the parents no longer care
> for the young) is low. The eggs are consumed and thus the energy is
> used in a positive manner by the fish to produce eggs at a later
> time, when conditions are better. One of the conditions that may be
> essential in raising fry successfully in fish as small as apistos may
> be sufficient cover or hiding places. The egg eating behavior seems
> to me to be less prevalent in tanks that are so densely planted that
> the fish hardly see each other.

Plants seem to help, though I've had some Apistos (A. resticulosa, for 
one) spawn in bare tanks and raise fry.

> One of the early dwarf cichlid books advocated filling a five gallon
> tank up with round rocks so that there are a lots of hiding places
> (used to be pretty critical when all you can obtain is a single pair)
> for the females to escape aggression from the males. More
> recently--Dave Soares advocated using larger tanks, I think a minimum
> of 40 gallons. With enough plant cover,the same situation is
> attained.

Five gallons seems a bit small, though I know some on this list have 
succeeded with spawns in them. I've spawned several species in 10-gallon 
tanks, but 20s are my preferred size. Soares likes large tanks for 
Apistos, but that's a luxury for most of us. Incidentally, he's been an 
advocate of raising fry with parents and has done so successfully with 
many Apisto species, though he's now separating youg from parents to 
promote more frequent spawnings.


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Pete Johnson  /  San Jose, CA  /  petej@wordsanddeeds.com
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