Re: A. borelli

[IDMiamiBob <IDMiamiBob@aol.com>]

Lisa writes:

<< I just discovered borelli fry in one of my tanks on Fri.  Cool!  But I
> have a few questions.  They are in a 10g tank w/ two females and two
< males and a Ancistrus sp.  My question is can I leave the fry in the
> 10g or should I move them?
 
I would say the Ancistrus would probably get them at night.  Also, a ten
gallon is a little small for the mother to be happy with that many other fish.
I would expect a turf war before long.

> I did manage to move 9 into a 20 g with some ornate rainbow fry (they are
still alive >as of Sun).  I thought I only saw 1 more fry with the mother.
Another question is >will she stay yellow if all the fry are gone?

IT depends on water parameters and how well "Conditioned" she is.
"Conditioning" depends a lot on diet.

> What is an average spawn size? (This was their first spawn-I've had them
since >they were about 1/2" long). 
Wild apistos tend to have larger spawns, about 40-60 at a time.  Once you get
to about F3's spawn sizes tend to be more around thirty.  Before EVERYONE
jumps on me here, let me suffix that by saying it varies a whole bunch from
female to female.

With some other cichlids (i.e. angels) tank raised fish tend to have larger
spawns than their wild cousins.
> I've had them a year.  How soon will she spawn again?
>>
That depends in part on the female, and in part on you.  With good water
conditions and food, it might be as soon as a week.  Vicky recently had a
spawn while the mother was still tending itty-bitty fry.

In short, the answer to all the above questions, is:  Maybe.  It depends. 
Apistos are so much more unique from indivdual to individual than other
cichlids, nothing can be cast in stone. Only generalities can be drawn, and
each of us finds our own approach that we are happy with, and which works
beccause of some uniqueness in our set-ups and our fish that is as-yet
undefined.

Bob Dixon