Re: Aggressive Apistos

[wrisch@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Lisa Wrischnik)]

Hello gang,
>
Tim asks, among other things:

> The question is how mean do
>these fish get durring and after spawning?
Also,

> I have moved the ram fry to a 20
>gal low to grow in. But what about the parents? Are they in danger? Will
>this end in death if I don't seperate them. What about other Apistos? I
>am at a loss as what to do.
>

I think that there are definitely apisto groups that get more agressive
than others, but it can be very pair-specific, at least in my experience.
The meanest fish I have seen so far are spawning A. panduro, following by
A. nijsseni. I lost a large pair of Crenicichla regani to A. panduro, and
when I had a pair of nijsseni spawn, they could easily dominate adult
discus in the tank with them.  Both species also seemed to really hate any
other member of the same species also present in the tank - these were
usually the first to go (even if there was little to no agression before
the spawning event). I had two spawning pairs of panduro "meet" after the
tank divider fell, and in less than 12 hours I had one gutted male, one
male with his jaws practically ripped off, one large female with NO fins
anywhere, and one tiny female with all the fry.

The problem comes with gauging the level of agression.  In the above case
with the panduro and the pikes, I didn't want the damn panduro to spawn, so
I kept them in water conditions that I thought would not induce them to
breed.  Over night I found a yellow female with eggs, and pikes with large
chunks removed from their hides (They didn't recover, either). I was pretty
pissed off, so I think if you have the room, the one thing that will make
you feel better is to move the Bolivians, just in case.  I never have the
spare tank space, though, so I have also taken plenty of chances and had it
work out, as well.

Gosh, wasn't THAT helpful..........

Do you have any idea what general group your "unnamed apistos" are in i.e.
cacatuoides complex, etc.? My advice might be a little more specific if I
had any notion what you have.

Anyway, good luck with the spawn, and I wish I could have been of more help.
Lisa