Eating Fry

[ellamaesdad]

I have a breeding pair of apistogramma caetei and nine corydoras in a 125bar litre tank.The tank has a large amount of bogwood and leaf litter.Having bred and with the fry free swimming,the male kept trying to eat the babies.The female kept him at bay but within one week all the fry were gone.I asked the question on another website as to why he was doing this.The answer i was given was to get rid of all the corydoras,as it was probably them eating the fry.Is this possible against a very vigilant mother.

 

[This Old Spouse]

It's possible. But I think it's more likely the male apisto. The mother can't watch all the fry all the time.

 

[Mowbz]

+1 Doubt it would be the Corys, buts they would probably only take one if the chance came, i doubt they would be actively pursuing fry, unless they havent been fed.

My bet is also on the male apisto. Corys are off the hook

 

[Tizer]

Agreed! New to parenting Apistos getting the hang of it....or not...as the case might be.

 

[Harlequins]

If the fry were resting on the floor the corys might have a snack, but wouldn't hunt them out...

 

[ellamaesdad]

What i forgot to mention was that i have two female caetei in the tank.To my eyes the male paired up with one female but spawned with the other.She then had fry and he spent most of his time harassing her and trying to take over the spawning site.It was like he had an affair and then tried to destroy all evidence.If the corydoras went near the fry they were chased away by the female.Thats why i found it hard to believe that it was the corydoras taking the fry.