pucallpaensis update & questions

[plasticolor@guate.net]

A while ago I posted some questions regarding breeding set-ups for
Apistogrammoides.  Having more females than males, I tried the following
set-ups:
1 pair in a 2 gl. tank - 1 pair in a 4 gl. - 2 pairs in an 8 gl.- 1 Male :
5 Females in a 4 gl. - 1 Male : 6 Females in a 15 gl.
All tanks have a sand bottom, rocks with moss and ferns, slightly acid and
soft water.  There are free-swimming fry in 4 out of 5 tanks.  The only
female that lost her clutch was in the 1:5 4 gl. tank.  It was probably too
crowded.
As all tanks have little light, I didnīt use floating plants.  Instead, I
attached 2-4 film canisters with suction cups per tank, about 1"-2" below
the surface.  I wrapped a bunch of moss with a rubber band around each
canister and, except in the 15 gl. tank, the rest of the clutches were all
laid in the canisters.  All females transferred their larvae at least once
to another canister during the first week.
Brood care is almost exclusively carried out by females, I guess due to
lack of dithers and reduced tank size.  I found it was relatively easy to
provide conditions to breed these interesting dwarfs and I hope to keep
this colony going for a long time.  Thanks for all the tips.
Now the questions:
Most of the animals I keep are rather colorless, and only one male gets
close to the colors of the male in Roemerīs Book.  Is this related to
substrate color, or could this be a captive-bred strain showing the poor
colors of long-term captive breeding I see in local Rams ?
Is this species monogamous ?  Even in the tanks with a 1:5 ratio, there is
only one clutch.  I keep a group of A. eunotus
(2:6) and there are four females with fry.

Peter



-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com.
For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help,
email apisto-request@listbox.com.
Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!