Apistos relocating eggs

[young@mda.ca (Shawn Young)]

Hi there,

I've just recently joined the list and have been reading a lot about
which Apistogramma species make good parents, frequency and conditions
under which they will eat eggs or fry, etc., and I was wondering if
anyone had any experiences where the female moved her eggs when feeling
threatened, rather than eating them?

I ask because this happened with a pair of A. Agassizi I have.

They are in a well-planted 10g with many small slate ledges, one actual
cave, and a piece of root with a natural bowl forming a cave at the back.
The tank is adjusted to pH 6.6 (from 7.2), with peat filtration in an
AquaClear with a prefiltering sponge on the intake, and Waters of the
World. The water around here is generally pretty soft (I get mine from
a fresh mountain stream, actually), and is further softened by the WOW.
Regular water changes, nitrates, etc. in check, etc., etc.

After being in the tank for about a week (with a few radical temperature
changes due to both extreme changes in Vancouver's temperature and a
temperamental heater), the female laid her eggs in what I would have
thought an unlikely place, given the options. She chose a very small
ledge right at the front of the tank, with moderate daylight exposure
and heavy traffic (feedings and water changes, as well as egg-gawking
aquarists, family, and friends).

After a few days of dealing with the normal, and newly developed egg-
gawking traffic, the female _did_not_ eat her eggs, but rather moved them
one-by-one to the bowl in the back underside of the root. A few days later,
there were between 40 and 50 very small fry.  I suspect we suffered some
attrition due to the move, since I would say from eyeballing it that there
were many more eggs than that.

Unfortunately, given the extensive aquascaping in such a small tank, it
is near impossible to remove a rambunctious male A. Agassizi; so he
remains and the fry dwindle somewhat. I suspect there are ~20 left (these
being the best users of available camouflage, and those which take best
advantage of their mother's presence). The female is extremely defensive,
but this pair is extraordinarily tight-knit. She will stave him off, but
they never show any overt aggression to one another, regardless of his
predations on her offspring. Both parents will be moved, one way or
another, in about 1.5 weeks (the fry hatched about 1.5 weeks ago), and
we'll see how many have survived at that point. Given the smaller brood,
she has an easier time defending them, and spends less time collecting
strays in her mouth from afar and depositing them back in the school
(which is of course a culinary opportunity, to the male's eye).

Overall, I'm extremely happy with the success of this first try at breeding
Apistos... I guess I got something right:-)

Cheers,

Shawn