A note about apistos in general. They can be misleading when it comes to picking a pair; sometimes a male who is at the bottom of the aggression stakes chooses to stay incognito in order to avoid being beaten up. This means he does not show any secondary sexual characteristics such as bright colours and long finnage when he matures. This way he can be mistaken for a female. The strategy offers him an opportunity to "sneak" a fertilization of a spawn in another male's territory. A flaw in this strategy comes when the dominant male tries to court him, in the case where there is only a 'pair' this can lead to him being harassed and even killed. Not so good. When removed to a tank on his own, he will develop the long finnage and colouring of a mature male. I, and other dwarf cichlid keepers, have experienced this phenomenon with A. agassizii as well other species such as borellii. This reproductive strategy has been documented in other genera (e.g. salmon) and, whilst the likelihood of encountering the situation is low, it is something to watch out for. Yet another interesting facet of dwarf cichlid behaviour. Thanks Lauren.
@@christianleeperrr7641 Hello Christian. Sorry I cannot provide a link to the information I posted. This is because it stems from my tenure as Technical Editor of the British Cichlid Association, where I communicated with members who wrote up their experiences, exchanges of information with members of the Apistogramma Study Group and the American Cichlid Association. Also, I was a research technician at the University of London and carried out my own research programme on dwarf cichlids at that time, 1972-1992, before I moved to Africa. During this time I read all the available research literature, attended conferences and conducted experiments. One particular paper comes to mind, published in Nature ca 1982, which described the 'sneaky fucker' strategy in fishes, but not necessarily in dwarf cichlids. This behaviour was at that time well known in salmon, where small satellite males would sneak between spawning pairs and fertilize eggs. Their resemblance to females would afford them some protection from the dominant males. I cannot find this reference atm because it is amongst the hundreds of papers stored in my attic, and it would take a long time to sort through all the boxes. I first came across this problem of 'males in disguise' when collecting wild apistos from importers. I paired off some A. borellii for observation only to see the males beat the hell out of the females. This happened a number of times until I separated the injured fish out, only for them to develop into males. In isolation they had no competition, no female resources, so they expressed their secondary sexual characteristics: large size, bright colours, extended finnage. This phenomenon is not new and I'm sure there has been recent study on it, but I haven't kept up with developments in the field. I posted my comments to warn newcomers to dwarf cichlid keeping that this situation can arise and that some of their breeding failures may not be their fault.
This isn’t a “choice”. It’s an evolutionary strategy to assure that less dominant or colorful males pass their genetic material on. It happens in a ton of fish species.
@@kurt942003 Sorry about my 'choice' of words, but having worked on fish behaviour I have gotten used to seeing other workers use the term 'mate choice in ...' . However, this does appear to be a deliberate strategy, having seen this behaviour in at least 2 species of apistos in sequential broods. But we won't know for certain until someone unravels the genetics of breeding behavior in fishes. We cannot discount the possibility of late developer males being forced to make the best of a bad situation, which implies they are left with no choice, maybe due to pheromonal suppression from older, dominant males. Could be one of a suite of options in their repertoire.
I want a pair but my tank has large amaño shrimp and a pair of male red spotted gobies that are always sneaking up on fish . And some forktail rainbow fish. Not sure if these will kill the rainbows or the cardinal tetras i have .
Would a solitary apisto go with a small group of sparkling gourami’s? I desperately need a shrimp eater as my cherry shrimp colony reproduces way faster than I can sell or give away.
Thanks! If I'm honest I keep my apistos at 23-24 C, which is WAY cooler than most people seem to say, but they eat and breed and squabble and do all the other stuff apistos do, my male is 3 now and the female is coming up to 1 year old (replacement for an old girl who jumped out of my tank while I was rearranging the decor) and for the most part they have always been fine. So.... In my heart I think no they don't need as much heat as people say, but I'm not an expert and I wouldn't like to give bad advice, even if it works for me.
Hey! I would love to keep a pair of these fish in a 60x35 i have but I don't have another tank in the case that they breed or decide to fight. Will they be fine if i provide them with plenty of hiding spots and plants? If not can you suggest another apisto species that fits my situation?
Such good content in this video. Wondering if anyone can offer any help, I have two Apistos agassizii fire red (1 male, 1 female) who were introduced to my tank about 2 weeks ago. I have witnessed the male chasing the female on occasion, but on the most part they seem to be okay. However, the last couple of days, she has began to hover at the top of the tank and not moving much at all. The male will often follow and hover around, with no reaction from her. Is this stress? There are lots of hiding places in the bottom half of the tank, and although the male is territorial about his place in the tank, she seems too shy to find anywhere else.
Hey Camilla, sorry this is a late reply. My apistos are awful bullies to each other too, but the other way around - it's my male who gets bullied. The female will harass him until he just gives up trying to hide and hovers somewhere. They now live apart, and I only reintroduce him when I want to female to spawn, otherwise she would gladly bully him to death. Hopefully thing are going better with yours, best of luck!
Maybe, but not really. Apistos are not like Africans, and I take it that by "Africans" you mean Malawi mbuna. The males will become territorial and fights will occur, even in a big tank. You will be able to keep two species together, but they will have to be from different groups of species, e.g. agassizii and cacatuoides, so they don't overlap in body shape which triggers aggression. Plenty of hiding places, well spaced, with breaks in line of sight. Can be done but not easy.
Hole-in-the-head disease is usually treated with metronidazole (Flagyl), but I don't know what Lauren used. Other antibiotics and antibacterials are also used, but the choice will depend on the results of a swab test.
Great video there on one of my favourite species. I have kept and bred many Apistos. They are just the best parents and fascinating to watch. I agree with most of the information provided, but I have to point out when my beloved Tiger Barbs (best fish ever!) are getting bad press again. I have kept Apistos with Tigers successfully many times. I have a pair of Agassizii in a 160L at the moment and they are housed with a large-ish shoal of Tigers. That's the key to Tigers. Keep them in groups of 12 plus, and they are too preoccupied with themselves to even look at any other fish. I even have a large Angel in there too and he has been fine for over a year now. Fin perfect. The pair of apistos have spawned a few times. The fry never survive in there, but the pair live very happily with the barbs. Rules were made for breaking I suppose. Thanks for a great channel. I've watched all your videos now and I really enjoyed them. I look forward to seeing more soon.
Hey Jason. Yeah tigers are a bit of an easy target as they are so well known for being boisterous, but it sounds like you have got yours to a happy medium where they have each other to play with and not the other fish. I've been pretty hit and miss with them, though mine were green ones which I believe can be more temperamental, I kept them with neons absolutely fine, they got terrorised by my red tailed shark, and they nipped my apistos tails! All good fun though, tigers are certainly entertaining to keep :)
@@tinymenagerie I didn't know that about the green barbs. I'll look into that as I was thinking of adding some to the shoal, but I don't want to unbalance things. Thanks for that
MY little Cockatoo has been a proper little B!:@Ard. |Even bullying those that could kill him if they wished, but he stresses everyone out. He has shown sign of chilling out, so has got himself another week.
The best narration I have heard in any youtube vid! You should be doing Nat. Geo voice overs and narrations.
One of the best videos on this fish that I have found on YT. Well done.
Amazingly explained... ❤.. keep up the good work..
Great information, another reason to get more tanks! Fantastic species 🍀
A note about apistos in general. They can be misleading when it comes to picking a pair; sometimes a male who is at the bottom of the aggression stakes chooses to stay incognito in order to avoid being beaten up. This means he does not show any secondary sexual characteristics such as bright colours and long finnage when he matures. This way he can be mistaken for a female. The strategy offers him an opportunity to "sneak" a fertilization of a spawn in another male's territory. A flaw in this strategy comes when the dominant male tries to court him, in the case where there is only a 'pair' this can lead to him being harassed and even killed. Not so good. When removed to a tank on his own, he will develop the long finnage and colouring of a mature male. I, and other dwarf cichlid keepers, have experienced this phenomenon with A. agassizii as well other species such as borellii. This reproductive strategy has been documented in other genera (e.g. salmon) and, whilst the likelihood of encountering the situation is low, it is something to watch out for. Yet another interesting facet of dwarf cichlid behaviour. Thanks Lauren.
Can you
Provide a link so I can research this more ?
@@christianleeperrr7641 Hello Christian. Sorry I cannot provide a link to the information I posted. This is because it stems from my tenure as Technical Editor of the British Cichlid Association, where I communicated with members who wrote up their experiences, exchanges of information with members of the Apistogramma Study Group and the American Cichlid Association. Also, I was a research technician at the University of London and carried out my own research programme on dwarf cichlids at that time, 1972-1992, before I moved to Africa. During this time I read all the available research literature, attended conferences and conducted experiments. One particular paper comes to mind, published in Nature ca 1982, which described the 'sneaky fucker' strategy in fishes, but not necessarily in dwarf cichlids. This behaviour was at that time well known in salmon, where small satellite males would sneak between spawning pairs and fertilize eggs. Their resemblance to females would afford them some protection from the dominant males. I cannot find this reference atm because it is amongst the hundreds of papers stored in my attic, and it would take a long time to sort through all the boxes.
I first came across this problem of 'males in disguise' when collecting wild apistos from importers. I paired off some A. borellii for observation only to see the males beat the hell out of the females. This happened a number of times until I separated the injured fish out, only for them to develop into males. In isolation they had no competition, no female resources, so they expressed their secondary sexual characteristics: large size, bright colours, extended finnage. This phenomenon is not new and I'm sure there has been recent study on it, but I haven't kept up with developments in the field. I posted my comments to warn newcomers to dwarf cichlid keeping that this situation can arise and that some of their breeding failures may not be their fault.
This isn’t a “choice”. It’s an evolutionary strategy to assure that less dominant or colorful males pass their genetic material on. It happens in a ton of fish species.
@@kurt942003 Sorry about my 'choice' of words, but having worked on fish behaviour I have gotten used to seeing other workers use the term 'mate choice in ...' . However, this does appear to be a deliberate strategy, having seen this behaviour in at least 2 species of apistos in sequential broods. But we won't know for certain until someone unravels the genetics of breeding behavior in fishes. We cannot discount the possibility of late developer males being forced to make the best of a bad situation, which implies they are left with no choice, maybe due to pheromonal suppression from older, dominant males. Could be one of a suite of options in their repertoire.
Amazing video Lauren!!!!
Damn that's a soothing voice.
Very well presented! Thank you!
Thank you very much for a very interesting informative video
super nice i am going to get a pair of this as well cheers friend thanks
Terrific video, I learned alot!
Thanks for the nice informative video :) I just got a pair of these guys a few hours ago!
Fantastic presentation of these beautiful tiny cichlids🙂👍🏻 New sub thank you!💯⭐️
Channel is starting to grow nicely. Keep the videos coming!!!!
Thank you! very informative
Awesome video! Keep it up!
Wow great job
Good video, you have a nice voice.
Didn’t know they had teeth!! Was about to buy a pair for a tank with 150 fire red cherry shrimp. Maybe not then!
Their form looks a bit like a kribensis male. Beautiful
I want a pair but my tank has large amaño shrimp and a pair of male red spotted gobies that are always sneaking up on fish . And some forktail rainbow fish. Not sure if these will kill the rainbows or the cardinal tetras i have .
What is that dark speckled fish with the red fins?
Would a solitary apisto go with a small group of sparkling gourami’s? I desperately need a shrimp eater as my cherry shrimp colony reproduces way faster than I can sell or give away.
LOVE your videos!! I didn't even know this little fish existed! Do they have to be as warm as other Cichlids?
Thanks! If I'm honest I keep my apistos at 23-24 C, which is WAY cooler than most people seem to say, but they eat and breed and squabble and do all the other stuff apistos do, my male is 3 now and the female is coming up to 1 year old (replacement for an old girl who jumped out of my tank while I was rearranging the decor) and for the most part they have always been fine. So.... In my heart I think no they don't need as much heat as people say, but I'm not an expert and I wouldn't like to give bad advice, even if it works for me.
Do you know if I can keep one apistogramma in a tank with one blue electric goby?
Could you do a video on deworming fish?
Hey! I would love to keep a pair of these fish in a 60x35 i have but I don't have another tank in the case that they breed or decide to fight. Will they be fine if i provide them with plenty of hiding spots and plants? If not can you suggest another apisto species that fits my situation?
Great Videos!
How old will they be when they start to colour up ?
Can u make a vid of different strains of agasizii
i have a female apisto and she pretty aggressive towards paradise gourami.. I had to put the paradise in another tank
Whst ph is most suitable ?
Such good content in this video. Wondering if anyone can offer any help, I have two Apistos agassizii fire red (1 male, 1 female) who were introduced to my tank about 2 weeks ago. I have witnessed the male chasing the female on occasion, but on the most part they seem to be okay. However, the last couple of days, she has began to hover at the top of the tank and not moving much at all. The male will often follow and hover around, with no reaction from her. Is this stress? There are lots of hiding places in the bottom half of the tank, and although the male is territorial about his place in the tank, she seems too shy to find anywhere else.
Hey Camilla, sorry this is a late reply. My apistos are awful bullies to each other too, but the other way around - it's my male who gets bullied. The female will harass him until he just gives up trying to hide and hovers somewhere. They now live apart, and I only reintroduce him when I want to female to spawn, otherwise she would gladly bully him to death. Hopefully thing are going better with yours, best of luck!
Can apistos be kept in a large group like Africans because I have a 55 gallon and I want to fill it with apistos
Maybe, but not really. Apistos are not like Africans, and I take it that by "Africans" you mean Malawi mbuna. The males will become territorial and fights will occur, even in a big tank. You will be able to keep two species together, but they will have to be from different groups of species, e.g. agassizii and cacatuoides, so they don't overlap in body shape which triggers aggression. Plenty of hiding places, well spaced, with breaks in line of sight. Can be done but not easy.
My apistogrammas never ate my shrimp, I guess im lucky. I've had them a few months now. They just dont see them as food
What are you using for antibiotics
Hole-in-the-head disease is usually treated with metronidazole (Flagyl), but I don't know what Lauren used. Other antibiotics and antibacterials are also used, but the choice will depend on the results of a swab test.
Great video there on one of my favourite species. I have kept and bred many Apistos. They are just the best parents and fascinating to watch. I agree with most of the information provided, but I have to point out when my beloved Tiger Barbs (best fish ever!) are getting bad press again. I have kept Apistos with Tigers successfully many times. I have a pair of Agassizii in a 160L at the moment and they are housed with a large-ish shoal of Tigers. That's the key to Tigers. Keep them in groups of 12 plus, and they are too preoccupied with themselves to even look at any other fish. I even have a large Angel in there too and he has been fine for over a year now. Fin perfect. The pair of apistos have spawned a few times. The fry never survive in there, but the pair live very happily with the barbs. Rules were made for breaking I suppose. Thanks for a great channel. I've watched all your videos now and I really enjoyed them. I look forward to seeing more soon.
Hey Jason. Yeah tigers are a bit of an easy target as they are so well known for being boisterous, but it sounds like you have got yours to a happy medium where they have each other to play with and not the other fish. I've been pretty hit and miss with them, though mine were green ones which I believe can be more temperamental, I kept them with neons absolutely fine, they got terrorised by my red tailed shark, and they nipped my apistos tails! All good fun though, tigers are certainly entertaining to keep :)
@@tinymenagerie I didn't know that about the green barbs. I'll look into that as I was thinking of adding some to the shoal, but I don't want to unbalance things. Thanks for that
MY little Cockatoo has been a proper little B!:@Ard. |Even bullying those that could kill him if they wished, but he stresses everyone out. He has shown sign of chilling out, so has got himself another week.