Apistogramma make a female fighting?

[wtusa17]

I have a female apistogramma cacatuoides double red in my 20 gallon and I got a pair of orange flash today. My male orange flash and female double red are flairing at each other. The double red female has been in there for almost 3 weeks now.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Yes, they will fight and may not pair up even when you have a male and female

 

[wtusa17]

Yes, they will fight and may not pair up even when you have a male and female

Do you think the female is just defending her territory? I don’t want these 2 to pair up as I already have a orange flash pair.

 

[Colin_T]

The original female is telling the other fish to get out of her territory.

 

[wtusa17]

The original female is telling the other fish to get out of her territory.

Ok so it’s normal. Is this bad for the new fish?

 

[Colin_T]

It could be bad for the new fish and is stressful to the original inhabitant. After a few days they usually settle down but not always. Monitor them and hope they learn to get along.

If they continue to fight after a couple of days you will need to separate them.

Make sure the original female doesn't have eggs or babies.

 

[wtusa17]

It could be bad for the new fish and is stressful to the original inhabitant. After a few days they usually settle down but not always. Monitor them and hope they learn to get along.

If they continue to fight after a couple of days you will need to separate them.

Make sure the original female doesn't have eggs or babies.

Will do. Thanks

 

[Lajos_Detari]

I am not an expert in Apistogrammas but I heard that you can have a few females for a male.
But you must give each female her own space.

Provide a cave at each corner of the tank for each female.
Make sure you have at least 1 square foot of area(1 foot by 1 foot or 30cm x 30cm area) for each female.
Put a lot of tall plants/deco to separate the two areas.

Also, watch out when the female is starting to breed... She will become very aggressive.
Someone used to say this, "a breeding tank is not a community tank"...
You can search and read the internets information about what happened during the breeding time...

 

[wtusa17]

I am not an expert in Apistogrammas but I heard that you can have a few females for a male.
But you must give each female her own space.

Provide a cave at each corner of the tank for each female.
Make sure you have at least 1 square foot of area(1 foot by 1 foot or 30cm x 30cm area) for each female.
Put a lot of tall plants/deco to separate the two areas.

Also, watch out when the female is starting to breed... She will become very aggressive.
Someone used to say this, "a breeding tank is not a community tank"...
You can search and read the internets information about what happened during the breeding time...

Ok thanks. So a 20 y’all can work for 2 pairs technically?

 

[Essjay]

Not in a 20 gallon. One male will claim the whole tank as his territory and the other male will be severely bullied. In the wild with harem apistos, one male has a large territory and within that several females will have their own smaller territories.

Are you 100% sure the first female is a female?

 

[wtusa17]

Not in a 20 gallon. One male will claim the whole tank as his territory and the other male will be severely bullied. In the wild with harem apistos, one male has a large territory and within that several females will have their own smaller territories.

Are you 100% sure the first female is a female?

Ok. And yep. The first female is the size of the new male. Her mouth is smaller and her fins are not big.

 

[Essjay]

I once bought a male and female A cacatuoides from a breeder, not a fish store. They turned out to be 2 males. With this species, sub-dominant males can take on female appearance; they are called sleeper males. My two fooled the breeder. That's why I thought I'd better check

 

[wtusa17]

I once bought a male and female A cacatuoides from a breeder, not a fish store. They turned out to be 2 males. With this species, sub-dominant males can take on female appearance; they are called sleeper males. My two fooled the breeder. That's why I thought I'd better check

Ok. I don’t think it’s a male. Looks exactly as the google pics for a female and it’s as big as my other male which has the big flowy fins

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Ok thanks. So a 20 y’all can work for 2 pairs technically?

What I meant is the two female need at least 1 square foot each.
But if you have two pairs, you will need more space.

Also, they can be unpredicatable during breeding.
Some females may take over the whole tank.
Cichlids are very aggressive during breeding.

 

[wtusa17]

What I meant is the two female need at least 1 square foot each.
But if you have two pairs, you will need more space.

Also, they can be unpredicatable during breeding.
Some females may take over the whole tank.
Cichlids are very aggressive during breeding.

I know. My eba and polar convicts breed in the same tank and it’s a you know what show