Apisto Gendering

[biofish]

Hello!

About a week ago I bought my first pair of apisto’s. I’ve never had them before so while I did look it up, I relied a lot on the fish store employee to pick out one of each gender. And I just wanna double check. They are young- only like I wanna say an inch and a half long.

I was told that the one with the super red face is a male and the one with the dark black lines was the female.

 

[Naughts]

I was told that the one with the super red face is a male and the one with the dark black lines was the female.

That is correct.

The male will grow bigger than the female.

 

[Colin_T]

Theoretically the males get bigger and have more colour and longer more pointed fins. Females are generally a bit smaller, lack the colour of the males, have short rounded fins and are regularly yellow with a black dotted line along the body. However, young males can look like females. They look and act like females so they don't get killed by bigger males. If your fish are full grown, then you have a pr (1 male & 1 female). But if the female is really young (less than 1 inch), she might be an uncoloured male.

How does the male get along with the smaller possible female?
If they get along and the male doesn't flare at the smaller fish and constantly chase and intimidate it, then you probably have a pr.

 

[biofish]

How does the male get along with the smaller possible female?
If they get along and the male doesn't flare at the smaller fish and constantly chase and intimidate it, then you probably have a pr.

I think I do have a proper pair then! So far the possible female has been the braver of the two- taking more of an initiative to explore their new tank and the male has just kinda been following close behind her like a lost duckling. They swim separately now, but still occasionally loosely follow each other around, but I have yet to notice any aggressive behavior, no flaring or chasing. I’ll keep an eye on them just in case that changes as they get more comfortable.

Thank you both for your input

 

[biofish]

So this morning, the male seems to be chasing the female a bit more and vibrating in front of her, for lack of a better word. It looks like my guppies courting ritual, but just wanna make sure.

IMG_3301.mov

drive.google.com

Ignore the dusty back glass, a few days before I added them to the tank, I switched out pebble substrate for sand and forgot to wash the sand first, so the tank is still a bit dusty

 

[Naughts]

I've not sure, I've not seen that. I'd guess your boy has some growing to do, mine is stockier. Try feeding them up with live foods/ frozen food. And remember to provide a choice of 'caves'.

 

[biofish]

So after watching a few videos it does look like a courtship dance? Seems like either gender can do it? Not 100% certain though. He only does it after seeking out the other. Seems kinda early though, they’ve only had a week to settle and they still seem too small.

 

[biofish]

And remember to provide a choice of 'caves'.

I have two caves in there… but both have two entrances. I’m not sure if that’s okay? Or do they need a cave with only one entrance?

 

[Naughts]

I think a single entrance cave is less stressful as it is easier to defend.

I think it's natural to go through the motions when immature. It will help them decide to bond or not.

 

[anewbie]

Apistogramma uaupesi are sometime called 'red face'; never heard of 'super red face'; macs are sometime given weird names by sellers but that are simply macmasteri regardless of names. You need to figure out the species to understand the male/female behavior. Most species of apistogramma are polygamous - there is no courtship - a female in the male territory that is unwilling to breed will be chased away by the male - when she is willing to breed - she will have her own territory and after breeding she will chase the male away (her territory is usually a small territory in the male's territory) but the male will not help her with the brood. There are some pairing species - mostly in the nijjensi group - where the female picks a mate and they 'bond' for a period of time - in this case both parents will frequently work together.

This behavior is important to understand because an improper layed out aquarium with a pologaymous species will frequently result in dead male or dead female during the various breeding cycle.

Anyway i'm lousy at identifying the many different species so ask an expert if you care to identify the species. Once you know the species it might be easier to identify the male / female conclusively.

 

[biofish]

Apistogramma uaupesi are sometime called 'red face'; never heard of 'super red face'; macs are sometime given weird names by sellers but that are simply macmasteri regardless of names. You need to figure out the species to understand the male/female behavior. Most species of apistogramma are polygamous - there is no courtship - a female in the male territory that is unwilling to breed will be chased away by the male - when she is willing to breed - she will have her own territory and after breeding she will chase the male away (her territory is usually a small territory in the male's territory) but the male will not help her with the brood. There are some pairing species - mostly in the nijjensi group - where the female picks a mate and they 'bond' for a period of time - in this case both parents will frequently work together.

This behavior is important to understand because an improper layed out aquarium with a pologaymous species will frequently result in dead male or dead female during the various breeding cycle.

Anyway i'm lousy at identifying the many different species so ask an expert if you care to identify the species. Once you know the species it might be easier to identify the male / female conclusively.

The fish store tank had apisto viejita written in the tank! I’ll be sure to look them up

 

[biofish]

So far several sites say a single pair should be okay. The store was only selling them in pairs too- $50 for one male one female. I’ve tried buying only one of one gender/two of one gender on guppies with the same rules at that store and they don’t allow it. So I’m very glad they can be kept as a single pair

Another oopsie on my part assuming that the different colors were simply that- I made the same mistake two years ago with cories. I did research for cockatoo apistos but when we actually got to the store my siblings voted for the viejita instead. I can work with it though, the conditions aren’t too bad.

 

[anewbie]

The fish store tank had apisto viejita written in the tank! I’ll be sure to look them up

99% of the fishes label viejita are actually macs and given the 'super red face' naming i strongly suspect it is a mac. 'viejita' has become a favor 'colouring' of macs and using the term unfortunatley frequenlty confuses with true viejita which are a species. Having said this the behavior of the two is some what similar. As an opportunisitic polygamous (you know most males are like that if given the chance) the aggression between m/f is some what less than true polygamous like cockatoo.

 

[biofish]

99% of the fishes label viejita are actually macs and given the 'super red face' naming i strongly suspect it is a mac. 'viejita' has become a favor 'colouring' of macs and using the term unfortunatley frequenlty confuses with true viejita which are a species. Having said this the behavior of the two is some what similar. As an opportunisitic polygamous (you know most males are like that if given the chance) the aggression between m/f is some what less than true polygamous like cockatoo.

Thank you for sharing! I’ll research macs too just in case ᕙ(o‸o)ᕗ

 

[Colin_T]

The video shows the male displaying to the female. It could be territorial or breeding. I'm inclined to think it's breeding because he isn't chasing her trying to bite her. However, she wasn't interested in him so give them a couple of weeks and see what happens. Make sure they have lots of food and clean water.