# apistogramma M/F agression



## Caius (Apr 17, 2005)

Hello,
I have a M/F pair of A. caucotuoides, the female is a little over an inch and the male is maybe 1.5". They've been in the tank about two weeks, and until today seemed to be getting on fine. Now, the male is chasing the female all over, she looks very pale and is hiding in the driftwood. Unfortunately, this was a "forced pair," I didn't do the buy several and keep the pair that forms method (I know, my bad).

What do you think of this? It doesn't look like spawning behavior to me, especially since the female is so pale - I think they're supposed to color up.

Tank stats:
29G, driftwood and heavily planted.
Ammonia, rates and rites all 0. pH 7.5 and temp 78.
Tankmates are cardinals and otos.

Thank you for any input,
Caius


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## sjlchgo (Mar 2, 2008)

I think you've answered your own question...lol. Add more fish and allow for a "natural pairing". This worked recently with my Salvini's. Suprisingly, it was 2 of the original 3 fish I had that paired up. The addition of more females prompted her to "step up her game" and grab her man! Good luck!!


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

In the fish worldâ€¦ males mature faster than females. So what I often see in grow outs is the male hits puberty and wants to explore this new idea he hasâ€¦ but the female isnâ€™t quite mature enough yet and doesnâ€™t want the male touching her like thatâ€¦ So she storms out and hides behind the filter intakeâ€¦

Iâ€™ve had many females die from both aggression and stress during this timeâ€¦

But most of the time they survive the month or two until she matures and has a little something-something to offer the maleâ€¦ and a pair has formedâ€¦

In my moderate experience with Apistos this is even more common with most species because the male gets so much bigger than the female. Thereâ€™s just not much a 1â€


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## DCguy (Mar 9, 2008)

This could be pre-spawning behavior. I have noticed that in many forced pairs the female is especially targeted in the days just before spawn. Also, at this time they tend to get a very silver/gray/green color. I wouldn't be too surprised if you have a spawn very soon.

As long as there are places where the female can hide to escape his aggression I would ride this out.

DC


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## Caius (Apr 17, 2005)

Thank you all for the input. I don't have a second tank, so I'm going to have to hope for the best. I did, however, manage to get a sinking pellet behind her driftwood and she did eat, so that's good. It's just tough to see her stressed....

I guess this is how multiple tank syndrome gets started!


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## sjlchgo (Mar 2, 2008)

You could also get some light diffuser and put a separator in the tank and see if she perks up.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

I suggest to ad 1 or 2 more females and add caves. PVC tubing works fine for me and the fish. A nice size for spawning site is 2 1/2 to 3 inch long 1 1/4 inch tube. For shelter for the female a 3 inch tube of 5/8 inch. To small for an adult male and large enough for the female. I also use the small diameter tubes in my tank with youngsters.


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## Caius (Apr 17, 2005)

Dutch:
Do you think a 29G is sufficient for multiple females, given enough caves? Currently I have two distinct piles of driftwood, one at either side of the tank, she seems to use them both.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

The females is not the problem. They do quarrel but don't need large territories. Thats diferent with multiple males!!!

She indeed uses them both to avoid the male. That is why I suggested additional caves. The more the better especially in small tanks.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I've put several trios (1M/2F) in 29 gal tanks and every time I ended up with a pair... Naturally I followed the common recommendations of offering several more caves than there were fish and breaking up territories, but it still never worked for me...

But my pairs in a 29 did well and spawned regularly...

I do admit though my experience was quite different than what common suggestions say "should" happen... But iit happened this way at least 3 times with 3 different young trios.


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## Caius (Apr 17, 2005)

Thank you all for the advice and info. As it stands, the female has found a couple of caves in the driftwood where the male can't get to her, and I've been able to sink a few pellets right next to her where she is able to get them. When she does come out, her color is looking much better than when I made the first post.

Dutch - the PVC is a good suggestion and I will remember it for the future, but I probably won't hurry as the male will still be small enough at this point to get in there too! I guess I'll also keep an eye out for aquarium safe silicone to cover them in sand.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

I covered some of the PVC caves with some flat stones or just put them behind driftwood so they won't be visible.


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