Apisto sp. "rotkeil" aggression

[Dan Gottsegen <dgotts@linex.com>]

I have a question regarding aggression in recently spawned apistos. I am
expecting perhaps a few "I told you so"s. A pair of A. sp "rotkeil" of
mine bred recently in a 10 gallon heavily planted tank. I had had some
serpae tetras in there who seemed to be staying away from both parents
and fry. However, weighing advice from kind and generous folk, I removed
the tetras before the female took out deadly aggression on them, also
thereby reducing the bioload for the kids (at least some of them) to
grow out, and thus providing "seed" fish to cycle a new 10 gallon tank
(to use for the apisto fry to grow out later). I left the male rotkeil
in with the mama and kids. Well, a week or so later I found the male
near death, upside down, wedged near a rock. My assumption is that the
female killed him as she and the fry are doing fine still. I now realize
I should have gotten him out of there. My question is: would leaving a
couple of dithers in with them have saved his life, or would the dithers
simply have met his fate before him? Sorry if this is such a neophyte
question. BTW, it seems as if I can see some sexual dimorphism in the
fry already. The largest are perhaps 6 or 7 mm. Is this possible? Some
of the fry are still about 3 or 4 mm. Would it be advisable to keep a
male of the group to breed to the mother (other than Oedipal concerns)
or would it weaken the stock, as it were?

On another topic, a quick question about A.agassizzi. What is the
minimum tank size for a breeding pair? Could they be kept in a 10
gallon? I have read that the males are quite territorial and require a
large area, and will breed with several females if given the
opportunity. If bred successfully in a 10 gallon, would one then remove
the male to protect him (as I should have done with the red-wedged
male)?

I must add also that I am finding string on the arrests in Brazil most
interestingand provocative. As a fish hobbyist who is involved as a
volunteer with another kind of biological field research (carefully
licensed and monitored by the USFWS, the NPS, etc., although we are
studying migratory populations that cross international borders) I find
the issues raised quite profound. And the nexus of hobbyist and
professional concerns, insights, and voices are a real benefit to the
depth of this mailing list.

-Dan G.






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