Re: spawning?

[Frauley/Elson <fraulels@minet.ca>]

I think the points raised by Dr Kadar and Zeco are really interesting.
This is the first time this list has worked for me in a year or two.
This thread has unfolded as a good discussion.
I'd like to add something to go with Zeco's comment. I have an aquarium
with Canadian species. I'm at most 150m away from the habitat where I
caught these fish, and once a week or so, I wander down and watch
darters and shiners in their natural homes, after I watch them in a
tank. Darters (Etheotoma olmstedi in this case) are territorial fish,
which behave a bit like apistos.
I set my tank up in the Spring and planted it with collected plants in
May. The plants down at the canal have changed over to late summer
species, while my tank has less light hungry late Spring vegetation. The
fish are behaving much like late Spring fish. the behavior is very
natural, but the time scale is off. By now, the open areas favored by
these darters are weed-choked and filled with young predatory species.
The shiners (N heterolepis) are in smaller schools, and much less
visible. Only juvenile darters inhabit the old breeding territories. In
my tank, both species are active as they were when their habitat looked
like its aquarium version.
What does this have to do with Apistos? 
The wide range of fish behavior/habitat change in one short Canadian
summer stood up against dry seasons, rainy seasons, flooded forests, etc
makes me agree with Dr Kadar. We don't know much about Apistogramma,
really. We may though be able to amuse ourselves with seasonal
snapshots, if we use large enough tanks.
-Gary Elson


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