Two questions Re: a. cacatuoides

[gwand]

I have two pairs of a. cacatuoides in two separate well planted tanks. One tank also has 12 Glowlight tetras and the other pair are by themselves. I only see the females out swimming once every few weeks. Is that normal behavior? Are they fearful of the males? Second issue. I offer food every other day. You would think the fish would bolt for it like my many other species that are all in other tanks. I feed frozen blood worms, live black worms, high quality pellets and flakes. I rarely see them eat. I have been breeding these guys since last October so this is not new behavior. They must be eating because they look healthy and the food is off the substrate by the next morning usually. Ideas? Thanks.

 

[anewbie]

I have two pairs of a. cacatuoides in two separate well planted tanks. One tank also has 12 Glowlight tetras and the other pair are by themselves. I only see the females out swimming once every few weeks. Is that normal behavior? Are they fearful of the males? Second issue. I offer food every other day. You would think the fish would bolt for it like my many other species that are all in other tanks. I feed frozen blood worms, live black worms, high quality pellets and flakes. I rarely see them eat. I have been breeding these guys since last October so this is not new behavior. They must be eating because they look healthy and the food is off the substrate by the next morning usually. Ideas? Thanks.

First the worms are very bad for cockatoo; if you want to give them a treat try live bbs (baby brine shrimp); or frozen shrimp - long term feeding of worms esp blood worms will shorten their life span.

The male and female will never be friends; he will chase her when she doesn't want to breed and when she has eggs or frys she might chase him (though this is depending on individuals and is more true with other species of apistogramma); I have about 10 species of apistogramma right now (d39, elizabeth, winkelfleck, sp bluketa, ladisalo, wolli, nijjensi, sp inspira, nobertii) ok only 8 - the visiblitty depends on different factors but frequently the male is more likely to hide than the female. With the a. wolli both sexes hide, with the nijjensi neither sex hide, d39 when adjusted neither hide, ladisalo the male mostly hides, sp bluketa no one hides, sp inspira mostly don't hide any longer, elizabeth male doesn['t hide.

In general the male seems more prone to hide but i can't tell you in the end what determines if they hide or don't - i know a long time keeper of wolli was very surprise that mine were hiding but after 18 months they still mostly hide. For 6 months i didn't even know for sure if i had a male it never showed itself.

Anyway you get the picture - i can't find any rhyme or reason with regards to dither or aquarium layout what determines the behavior but i highly recommend nijjensi as a readily available species that is quite attactive - though it is more aggressive than cockatoo and requires softer water if you wish to breed. There is only one colour form of nijjensi:

male i had many years ago - can't find the picture of the one i currently have.

 

[GaryE]

To me, it's odd. The only things that could explain behaviour that cryptic would be too small a tank, or a really belligerent male. But two of them?

Photos of the layout might help.

Glowlights wouldn't be my choice as companions, as they are too low down in the water column. Ideally, a "dither" fish should stay closer to the surface, reassuring the dwarf Cichlid that birds aren't about.

I never had the slightest issue with bloodworms. They have fibre and are nutritious - Apistos bred with them. They aren't even worms, but insect larvae. If you heavily feed whiteworms, a fatty live food, you can have problems. But even they are good as occasional conditioning treats.

Puzzling.

 

[gwand]

The lights are off in the tank until tomorrow. I will take a picture tomorrow morning. I don’t want to alter their routine. They are in 20 gallon long tanks.

What dither fish do you recommend? The water GH is 115 ppm.

 

[GaryE]

I always liked 20 gallon longs. Is there any rock or wood in there?

For surface fish, there are a lot and they should be fish you like. I used to like having beckfordi pencils with Apistos.

 

[gwand]

I always liked 20 gallon longs. Is there any rock or wood in there?

For surface fish, there are a lot and they should be fish you like. I used to like having beckfordi pencils with Apistos.

Yes. Rock, cholla and plants, mostly swords.

 

[GaryE]

What a dwarf sees from its cave opening, it owns. I use chemically stable rocks in my Central African breeding tanks. I like to create 3 zones. Each has a cave that looks out to ... a wall. It can be chunky driftwood, but rock is cheaper to set up. I always have at least one more cave than I have cave spawners.

I also give myself a clear view of the door of every cave.

There are times when my pairs look like best friends, and times when they really don't. But as every corrupt politician or longterm Cichlid breeder knows, hate creates bonds. If those fish have a fish they feel threatens their interests, they'll band together to run them off. Beckfords are good because they escape, don't seem too stressed and don't eat Apisto fry anyway. The Cichlids keep a wary eye on the shoalers, and that lets them prosper in a tank way smaller than their ideal natural habitat.

I once used a surface killie from South America as a surface distraction, and discovered they had the most fascinating pack hunting strategy I have ever seen in a tank. It was spectacular, and they are 40 cacatuoides. Interestingly, cacatuoides were a fish from their natural range. Oops.

Choose better than that!

 

[anewbie]

For dithers i prefer n. marylin, epesi (expensive) or beckford - in a pinch kubotai rasbora work well as they stay at the surface and are fairly active. I also use morse code tetra - around the size of a small ember tetra that stay mid tank to surface. Most of my apsito are now in 65s or 29s but i did keep the bluketa in a 20 long the first year and the young d39 are currently in a 20 long. I really don't find the behavior that odd for domestic cockatoo - my favorite hardscape is driftwood that has bends et all and curve on the bottom to allow for caves.

With the a wolli one female i will frequently see when i feed them as well as a few of the frys that have gotten used to me but the other female i'm looking to see once every 2 or 3 months.

 

[Colin_T]

Need pictures of both tanks so we can see how they look.

If fish are shy and hiding it's usually caused by something. A lot of issues occur when people have fish tanks in their bedroom and only go in there occasionally. The fish stress out whenever you enter and they hide. Fish tanks are best located in areas with lots of people moving around them. Then the fish get used to movement and don't hide.
Fish tanks that are close to the ground will also cause fish to hide more. Tanks that are 3-5ft above the ground are in the most viewable height for people and the fish.

The fish should be fed several times a day if you plan on breeding them.

 

[gwand]

Here is a photo of one of the tanks. The two tanks are nearly identical. They both have three coconut caves. They are over three feet off the floor and in my office which is frequently occupied. It is the females that are hiding.

 

[anewbie]

Here is a photo of one of the tanks. The two tanks are nearly identical. They both have three coconut caves. They are over three feet off the floor and in my office which is frequently occupied. It is the females that are hiding.
View attachment 369157

Way too open; no decent hiding areas. At the very least you could add some large (5+ inches) leaves for them to hide under.

 

[Innesfan]

My concern about suggesting top-dwellers as dithers to you, as has been done, is that your tanks are uncovered--if I recall correctly--and top-dwellers are more likely to jump especially in a smaller tank and if there's a perceived threat beneath them.

That said, regarding the Nannostomus that have been put forth, it is true that all Nannostomus will seek the upper stratum of the water column in a tank containing species larger than themselves. There is debate as to how stressful that might be for them. But absent that situation, all but two species will occupy all levels of the aquarium. The two Nannostomus species known thus far that are nearly exclusively top-dwellers are, N, eques and N. espei. As @anewbie stated, N. espei is expensive--currently about $25 a pop--so that leaves N. eques which is relatively easy to find and fascinating to own.

Other options in other genera are the various hatchets (but you will definitely need a cover) which rarely stray from the top, and a less geographically correct possibiltiy, the charming Emerald Eye Rasbora, Brevibora dorsiocelata.

 

[gwand]

My concern about suggesting top-dwellers as dithers to you, as has been done, is that your tanks are uncovered--if I recall correctly--and top-dwellers are more likely to jump especially in a smaller tank and if there's a perceived threat beneath them.

That said, regarding the Nannostomus that have been put forth, it is true that all Nannostomus will seek the upper stratum of the water column in a tank containing species larger than themselves. There is debate as to how stressful that might be for them. But absent that situation, all but two species will occupy all levels of the aquarium. The two Nannostomus species known thus far that are nearly exclusively top-dwellers are, N, eques and N. espei. As @anewbie stated, N. espei is expensive--currently about $25 a pop--so that leaves N. eques which is relatively easy to find and fascinating to own.

Other options in other genera are the various hatchets (but you will defineitley need a cover) which rarely stray from the top, and a less geographically correct possibiltiy, the charming Emerald Eye Rasbora, Brevibora dorsiocelata.

Thanks for the excellent recommendations. My other 20 long is covered. I’m going to cover this one given your advice.

 

[anewbie]

My concern about suggesting top-dwellers as dithers to you, as has been done, is that your tanks are uncovered--if I recall correctly--and top-dwellers are more likely to jump especially in a smaller tank and if there's a perceived threat beneath them.

That said, regarding the Nannostomus that have been put forth, it is true that all Nannostomus will seek the upper stratum of the water column in a tank containing species larger than themselves. There is debate as to how stressful that might be for them. But absent that situation, all but two species will occupy all levels of the aquarium. The two Nannostomus species known thus far that are nearly exclusively top-dwellers are, N, eques and N. espei. As @anewbie stated, N. espei is expensive--currently about $25 a pop--so that leaves N. eques which is relatively easy to find and fascinating to own.

Other options in other genera are the various hatchets (but you will defineitley need a cover) which rarely stray from the top, and a less geographically correct possibiltiy, the charming Emerald Eye Rasbora, Brevibora dorsiocelata.

I would not go with emerld eye rasbora; while i like them quite a bit and have two schools one in a 29 and one in a 100; i find the 29 just too small for them. They are larger fishes that are fairly active. The kubotai rasbora is approx 2/3 to 1/2 the size and at least in my 40 (without a lid) have not jumped out. I do have a small school of epesi in the 40 and they also have not jumped out.

The marlyin i have do stay in the upper 1/3 and i have not see them go to the bottom like epesi which are very aggressive eaters.

 

[Innesfan]

The marlyin i have do stay in the upper 1/3 and i have not see them go to the bottom like epesi which are very aggressive eaters.

Different set-ups with differing occupants make for different behavioral dynamics. My N. marilynae are currently in with what I call "the tinies"--the truly miniature N. anduzei and N. minimus-- the two smallest members of the genus known so far. Both under an inch. And the diminutive N. marilynae, the largest of the three species, can be seen exploring every nook and cranny of the tank, high, low, front, back etc.