discus afraid of apistos?

[anti-generic]

i have a pair of apistogramma pulchras in my 4ft planted tank
i have ample rocks and caves for them to nest and recently the female has turned yellow.

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=139&Itemid=44

at the same time the male has also become alot more aggressive and territorial. im not particularly concerned with this behaviour as i think its natural.

but something odd that has occured is my discus are all squeezing to the opposite side of the tank.

i have 10 discus all together and all of them are much larger than the apisto.

can breeding apistos become so territorial that they can scare off my entire school of discus?

has anyone seen something like this b4?

can this become a problem in the long run?

any info is greatly appreciated.


Eric

[Merrilyn]

I think your apistos may be getting ready to spawn. Tough little guys those dwarf cichlids. Can you give them a tank of their own with some dither fish. (Zebra Danios make good dither fish, quick and not too bright. The male will take his aggression out on the danios instead of his mate LOL)

Discus are only tough with their own kind. Even small aggressive fish will intimidate them.

[kevkoi]

Apistogramma pulchra.... wow, u sure u got that right?

I haven't seen these on any wholesale list here before. Did you buy them as A.pulchra?

Apistogramma agassizi "double red" look similar.
http://digilander.libero.it/basins/Apistogramma_agassizii_1.JPG

[anti-generic]

now that u've mentioned it kev..
i dunno..

they didnt label them at the LFS that i brought them..
and i brought a pair for $16 BARGAIN!!!

maybe u can tell me what they are.

[kevkoi]

I'm pretty sure Apistogramma agassizi.

[anti-generic]

i thought A.agassizi has a spear shaped tail?

[Fishpimpin73]

Looks like A. Agassizi to me also.

But I have been wrong b4 :wink:

If they ARE Agassizi then nine times out of ten these are from a local breeder or hobbyist that sold them to the LFS where you got them.

That would explain the lack of tail definition, and the price :wink:

Depending on how far from the tree these guys fall.

You could potentially breed some really nice specimens out of them.

And YES they could scare your dinner plates.

I have seen and heard several accounts of wild apistos driving off fishies MUCH bigger than them.

Even my hybrid Y/G Cacs would chase the larger P. Taeniatus "Ndonga" around thier 55g tank.