A. baenschi spawn pics

[steph]

Since gingerbeer is always going on about photos ;) I thought I would finally try posting some. These were taken on 9 Jan so the fry are still quite small, you have to hunt a bit to find them against the log background

Pick of the male doesnt do him justice, but I get horrible glare on the front of the tank all the time.

[Robdog]

Definitely one of the best looking apisto's going around. Well done Steph.
He looks like an "elderly" fella but obviously still keen to get amongst the girls ;)

[TW]

Very nice. The females of that species are very nice.

[gingerbeer01]

Beautiful Steph - a fish I have always wanted.

[steph]

Definitely one of the best looking apisto's going around. Well done Steph.
He looks like an "elderly" fella but obviously still keen to get amongst the girls ;)

Hi Rob

They are definately 'elderly' I just looked up my records and I got them from Thomas as juveniles in May2008 !! (I think I better keep some fry for me!) The male has fabulous fin extentions especially on the dorsal, they are quite soft and flowing - maybe a combover ;)

Now Ive had some success with the pics I will try for one with the fins extended.

Cheers

Steph

[Robdog]

I think I had some from the original wild batch that would've been the parents of your fish and they were stunners. If the generations are correct then your pair should be F1?? :?

Have they spawned for you as a pair on their own or are there other dither fish in there too??

[steph]

Hi Rob

Yes you are correct, Thomas had the wild caught and these are F1's, male and females are from different parents so the F2 generation are good, but I think Ill be on the hunt for some new blood soon.

The A. baenschi are currently in a 100cm tank, there is 1M and 2F, an A. agassizi tefe M and some dithers, 2 pencil fish and 2 small tetras.

In my previous tank both females were spawning at the same time but I had a lot of bigger fish in there as well so the fry survival rate was zero :( I have at least 12 of the current spawn and mum is still doing her thing, although the fry are getting far more adventurous now. They are about 7mm and starting to look like little fish not bellies with tails.

The dominant female is quite aggressive but its definately the sub dominant female that gets chased the hardest of any of the other fish. I dont have as much plant cover in this tank as the last one so thats probably why the second female isnt as happy. She doesnt seem to chase the male at all, he is allowed fairly close to the fry

steph

[Robdog]

I have a bit of a different e male couldn't care experience with mine. My male couldn't care less about his kids and continues to roam the tank and chase after other women. This is the first time I've bred in anything other than a pair situation so I'm quite suprised by his lack of interest.

If anyone out there has the Dwarf Cichlid Atlas 2 it would be interesting to know what it says about the baenschi as it was obviously discovered after the Atlas 1 was printed.

[Hassles]

....the breeding of the "Inca"-dwarf cichlid is repeatedly successful for different keepers under very different conditions. Moreover, the breeders' yeilds are often strongly dependent upon water chemistry. Fewer off-spring reach the free-swimming stage in moderately hard and only slightly acid water than in very soft and highly acis "blackwater".


...for maintenance of this dwarf cichlid the water in the aquarium should be very soft and if possible slightly acidified with humins (1 - 5 dGH, <150 uS/cm, pH 4.5 - 5.5) temp,24 - 26C

HTH

[Robdog]

....the breeding of the "Inca"-dwarf cichlid is repeatedly successful for different keepers under very different conditions.

Cheers Hassles. I have to say I was hoping for a more definitive answer from the dwarf bible but :ug

[Hassles]

It was late, plus in the 2nd volume the information on this specie covers many pages. I would have been up half the night tryin' to type that in. I shall make attempts to offer further elaborations when time permits.

take care 'till then

[Robdog]

Nah not your fault mate.;) It seems that spawning the baenschi just isn't black and white like the book seems to say with other species.
I guess everyones experiences will be different depending on how differently they have their tanks setup

[gingerbeer01]

I have found that fish often don;t read the same books as I do.

V2 is not as good as V1 - but still a worth while read for the addict - GO buy it Rob

[Robdog]

I think I'll wait another 5-6 years for Volume 3 to come out. ;)

...and I'd only be getting it to read about the baenschi anyway

[Hassles]

Hey Steph

how about placing a post at the dwarf cichlid photo pages and put in a link to the images above.

take care