Super chuffed! Got a pair of Apistogramma Agasizzis today!!

@PappaBear no problem im no expert either but googles our friend lol ,there are guys with aqualogs on tasa im sure one of them can help us out with an id,@Sean J and @Big G how bout some help ,i know u guys are are apisto junkees!

 

Hi Guys,

I breed the A aggasizzi on a regular basis (see previous posts for pics) and will have some youngsters soon for sale again. I come up to Joburg ever so often and have brought along fishes for interested persons, so you can place your reservation.....

I have the aqualog books of the dwarf cichlids which is actually not all that good, but I have a book from the German magazine, DATZ, which is better and it is in English and German. It can be ordered on the internet from the book publishers.

I also want to mention that you guys should not get too excited about all the dwarfs, for example the A macmasteri are much more aggressive, but there are others which are much more peaceful and actually more colourful. Then there are of course also the superspecial ones which are super difficult to keep, such as Dicrossus filamentosus, checkerboard cichlids (I have some.... and want to get them to breed again) see also my previous posts on TASA.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Thanks for the input Prof!

What is the actual definition/classification of a dwarf cichlid? Apisto's / Rams / Checkerboards / ?

 

Apistogramma's are indeed a wonderful genus, but as the Prof says, certain species are much more difficult to keep than others, and some have far higher aggresion traits than others. Agassizi and Cacatuoides seem to be the easiest to keep, and have relatively mild tempraments, but will still fight if they come across their own kind, especially if the tank is too small, with too few visual boundaries to contain more than a pair (or one male and multiple females). Certain species of Apisto become a greater problem, because the females are actually more aggresive than the males, and will seek out and kill ALL other females (and sometimes males) within what they consider to be their territory.

Anyways, getting sidetracked.... With regards to a specific colour form, its very hard to be clear without knowing exactly which supplier they came from, but I could probably make an educated guess as to their origin? If they are indeed from this particular supplier, then they are most likely a strain known as 'Red tail - Blue body', but without clearer pictures, this is only a guess. The reason I think this is due to the thin white seam running round the periphery of the Caudal fin. But, there are that many colour forms available nowadays, some of which are very similar to one another, that it is near impossible to clearly identify its strain. All you need to be certain of is that its an A. Agassizii. Its not a 'Tefe' or 'Netz' variant, but a straight A. Agassizi derivative.

Hope that helps, and hasn't added any confusion? I'm not having the clearest of days today!

Regards
G!

 

@Dirk Bellstedt,prof i just googled Dicrossus filamentosus ,thats one stunning fish ,im placing my order for those in advance please,extra please! i saw some videos on dwarfs via the aquatv site you linked us too for the altums and there is some are serious aggressive behaviour in the vids.im glad you cleared up mcmasteri aggression because they were next on my hit list.
i dont have any books here but does anyone know which types are available to south africa and of those which are the least aggressive? i know we dont get choice like germany or europe and the states but im sure some are available to us.

 

So I've had my apistos, just the male and female, for about 2 weeks now, and it seems they have spawned! Or are in the process atleast.

The male have turned very aggressive the last couple of days, and the female became more reclusive. Today I noticed her under a piece of driftwood, upside down, looks like laying eggs against the roof of the "driftwood cave".

If this is indeed the case, I am very lucky to get a pair out of just one male and female purchased! But now I have somewhat of a tank shortage!!! As my angels currently share their tank, so I doubt if any will survive....