A. agassizii “Tefe”

[Ben]

I bit the bullet and spent a weeks wages on a pair of wild Aggies "Tefe"!
:shock:
They have settled in well for wilds but are extremely shy!

This was the best photo i could get of the male.

:D

[Th0mas]

Nice male, good size and colour.

Are these SLS stock?

I got some "Tefe redback" (not SLS), smaller size and still developing their colour at the moment. One of the pair has wigglers (3 days old), so they're definitely breedable.

Pity this pair are located in a tank which the flash creates too much reflection off the wall. Will have to wait for the fry to come out before any decent photos can be taken.

Thomas.

[Robdog]

He looks great Ben. Looks like he's got quite a big meal to get through too! :shock:

[Ben]

Are these SLS stock?

No.

Keep us posted on how yours go Thomas!

Thanks for your feedback,

regards
Ben

[Th0mas]

Before Rob mention on his big meal - I was wonder what on earth is that clump of thing under him.

That's a lot of worm for an apisto :shock: If mine sees this photo, they'll protest.

Thomas.

[Ben]

LOL, I buy 1/2 kilo of blackworms every 2 weeks...:lol:

i wonder why..... :shock:

[Th0mas]

LOL, I buy 1/2 kilo of blackworms every 2 weeks...:lol:

i wonder why..... :shock:

Your dietary supplement?? :mrgreen:

I also wonder what to do with 1/2 kilo of BS egg myself. Was worried the missus will use it for cooking :roll:

[Noddy65]

Does anyone know what the 'tefe' are like from Bay fish or other commercial suppliers?

I can get a pair for $100 but am wondering what the quality is like.

Mike

[Noddy65]

They are 'German bred' whatever that means..
Mike

[Th0mas]

According to some literatures (can't remember which one), the "Tefe" is potentially different species from the agassizi as it does not produce fertile youngs (or eggs - cannot remember) with normal agassizi.

And mine weren't from Bay - they've haven't importing apisto for a long time now (from my knowledge, unless they've changed recently).

Thomas.

[fishgeek]

tefe comment is in datz book

german fish in the uk anyway seem to be of decent quality, then again just because someone says it is something doesn't make it so

seems the prices for you guys are way high so i would be inclined to ask for photo's of the actual fish with the understanding that you may return it if it isn't what they showed you

or just wait fr ben to breed his :)

[Noddy65]

I could wait but I live 3000 km away from Ben and Thomas...it would cost about $70 just to send them over here...

Ive sent an email to the supplier, it would be nice to see the fish but he's a wholesaler middleman so doent keep the stock, just gets them in and passes them on.

Mike

[Th0mas]

Everything with the name of apistogramma costs heaps down here, the main reason might be the lack of interest/volume.

Additionally the cost of frieght (as we're so far away from the rest of the world) and the increase of oil price doesn't help.

Unless locally bred stock becomes better in quality, otherwise we'll have to rely on the expensive import for something decent.

Thomas.

[Th0mas]

Here's an attempt to take a few shots of mine.

Photo of dad and mum with kids (at different angle). The male is still very young and just starting to show his pattern, hopefully it would get better as he age.

Thomas.

[Ben]

Thomas, they are great pics mate!! i have tried a few times to get better ones of mine and its very hard as they are rather shy!

Are you using any dither fish with them?

Keep us posted with the fry and once again thanks for the pics!

Cheers
Ben

[Th0mas]

Mate,

The key to take good shots with these fish is - patient. I spent 30 minutes just to get enough of decent shots, then go through then on the computer to find those that are sharpest. These shots are without any enhancement, but taken at different angles.

They're in a "honeymoon" suite all by themselve. No dither at all, just a semi-floating piece of Amazon sword in one end of the tank (didn't bother potting it up, only place it in to give them a bit more hiding spot when mum chase dad out).

The fry are still very small, and aren't able to take on BBS yet. Comparing to baenschi fry, they're happily chasing around BBS on their first day of free swimmer.

Cheers,
Thomas.

[Ben]

I have only had these Tefe's for a week and already a spawn! :shock:

Lets see how they go, but as its thier first.... i guess infertile. Will keep everyone updated.

Bad pics of them, so i guess you will have to take my word there is eggs.

Not sure what everyone else feeds thier Apisto's but i make sure there is a constant supply of food. Most of it is live blackworms.

Ben

[Ben]

mmmm......

maybe i should add that i have a catappa leaf in with them!

Miracle leaf perhaps.....

[Th0mas]

Congratulation Ben! Hope your will last the distance (as mine didn't). One of the parent is a fry picker and the batch reduce in numbers over time. All disappeared on Monday morning :cry:

Now I'll wait for the next attempt, and I'll leave a night light on over-night.

Thomas.

[Th0mas]

Speaking of the devil - the second pair has spawned today in the adjacent tank.

Let's hope this second pair is better parent.

Thomas.

[Th0mas]

As usual - first spawn didn't make it. Will have to be more patient.....

So far the aggie Tefe isn't too bad, comparing to macmasteri and "Rio Mamore" where they keeps on loosing eggs.

Thomas.

[wickedglass]

Im currently having a lot of success with my aga double-red fry. two spawns and both times the eggs got eeaten (presumably) and on the third spawn I removed the eggs from the parents and hatched them seperately. all except 5 eggs hatched and the fry are surviving so far on helpings of green water, fry powder food and strained hard-boiled egg yolk. I've lost a couple of fry due to hydra in the tank ... sad and yet awesome to see something weenie like a hydra, which is about half the size of the tiny fry, stuffing itself with one (extrapolate giant sea anemone eating a whale twice its size). anyway, wiped and syphoned all the hydra off the glass, keeping an eye on them and hoping they don't come back until the fry are too big for them to guzzle down.

[Th0mas]

Hey Ben,

Any update with the spawn?

I've managed to find the male of the first pair with two Tefe females (younger and smaller) and toss them with him allowing him to choose.

After one week of settling in, the male spawned with the two females, in the same tank, in the same pot, on the same day (last Thursday) - what a lucky fellow. I can only see a small number of eggs from the location of pot so I cannot tell who's first and whether the second female got rid of the first's egg.

Next I noticed (after I got home from work and realised what has happened) is the two female are fighting for the custody of the pot, of course size does matter and the slightly bigger female won that battle in no time while the smaller one retreat into the bush.

Over the weekend, I noticed the smaller female will sneak around the mouth of the pot and have a peek inside - of course she was chased out by the guarding female.

Yesterday, egg hatched. And to my surprise, there are two obvious batches. One has a deeper red and another is more dull in colour. So the second female didn't rid of the first's egg - but taken full posession of them.

So far after 1 day, the guarding female has been doing a great job while the smaller one was hanging around and watch her fry in "Nanny's" care.

Now I'm curious if the smaller female may pick on the young one - I've read from another board where baenschi females in the same tank guarding fry will steal/exchange fry from other female. Perhaps this may happen.

Thomas.