Re: Apistogramma Breeding Size

[Mike Jacobs <mfjacobs@geocities.com>]

Folks......

Something to think about.  Several months ago a member of our local club
went on a collecting trip to the Amazon....Rio Negro area.  He has since
left town for L.A. and left me with 75 or so fish he collected himself
on his trip.  The fish turned into a mixed bag of unsexed A.Aggies,
A.gibbiceps, probably A.pertensis, L. curviceps, festivum(spelling?), A.
???????? (smallish pretensis complex???)...and a bunch of nifty tetras. 
OBSERVATION:  All of the fish save one curviceps were absolute juvenile
fish.....I thought......one of the aggies, a male was showing some red
on the dorsal and caudal fins but at a TOTAL length of about 1
1/2"...max 2" anyone would say well he's just the first to bloom and the
others will start to "show" soon.  I had the fish in a 30
gallon....that's right.....75 fish in a 30 gallon....that's how small
these fish were.......a perfect mix....everyone was happy...no one was
getting hurt despite the almost constant bickering and displaying among
what probably will turn out to be the males.  Anyway there were two
female aggies that turned butter yellow.....I pulled the male aggie and
the two butter yellow aggis out thinking that well I have to start to
seperate these fish.....might as well start with the obvious.  I'm
thinking....too small to really breed but OK....I threw them in a 10
gallon tank and 4 days latter he spawned with both of the females
.....different places in the tank......and about 24 hours
difference....but both spawned.

Here's the point.......these fish are only as big as some of the caudal
fins of some of my "grown" aggies.......a slight exageration, but only
to make the point.  Vinny.....the guy that went on the trip..... say
that there were no adult fish ....what we would call adult....to be
had!  CONCLUSION: these fish will spawn MUCH earlier than at least I
think!!  MUCH earlier.....in fact, what I am calling a full blown adult
may well be almost "over-the-hill" as a wild fish.

Folks, I told Vinny the aggies spawned and he all but called me a
liar..... that's how small these fish were..........comments?????? 
Marco......what do you think?  You're out there in the wild!  Am I
cherishing these what may turn out to be OLD GRANDPA's???

I talk too much.........

Vinny took reading in the Amazon river tributaries....pH,
etc.......we'll talk later!!!

Mike