The Krib
Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids
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The Krib
Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids
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Taenicara candidiContents:
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Photo by Ken Laidlaw
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Hi Jan I had T. candidi last year and managed to breed them. They required pH < 5 for the eggs to hatch in my tanks. I only got males so I lost the species (it has been terribly short-lived for me). However, I spoke to two other dwarf cichlidiots who have spawned this species and they didn't need special water (pH around neutral) to be successful. I don't know why there's a difference, maybe it's two different populations of T. candidi that has different requirements. As for aggression, mine were aggressive towards each other but not to other cichlids. They are beautiful fish and I kick myself everyday for losing them. //Fredrik Ljungberg -- Fredrik.Ljungberg-at-saab.se Saab Ab Flutter and Loads Department voice +46 13 18 54 60, fax +46 13 18 33 63 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Hi everybody,
The 28th of march I bought 4 Taenicara candidi's (2 males, 2 females). I've had them before about 15 years ago with good breeding results, allthough they seemed to be kind of difficult (according to the litterature).
A copple of days ago I noticed that one of the females layed eggs in the roof of a cave. The eggs will not hatch i'm affraid because I know that the water is'nt appropriat prepared for these animals (pH about 6.5, they need 5 or less!!! according to my axperience!)
But there's another thing that's kind of different according to the litterarture.
I read that the candidi's need a lot of space, much more than apisto's and that the males are very aggressive to each other.
In my case: The candidi's are in a temporary tank, because my nursery isn't finnished yet (I hope this week everything will be ready). The tank is about 40" long, 10" wide and 5" high, the tank was orriginaly used for the first month for spawn.
With the candidi's there are 2 Apistogramma sp.mamore and everything, even after egg-laying is doing fine.
Ofcourse, the males candidi do fight, but not extremely. They teaze eachother when they meet but that's all.
The female with eggs show no yellow color like apisto's but they are white with a black line across the body, compareble to the normal color.
Today, just a view eggs survived but I have a good coupple and now i Know that they are 100% healthy. Hoping for better results in the near future (I'll keep you informed!)
Everybody who had some info about candidi's: Please: mail let me know, because it's a species that is kind of rear (at least: in Holland) and I want to be sure to keep them the following period and I will try to make them more common in my area because everybody with a little experiense shoult try this wonderfull fish which is, in my oppinion, one of the most beautifull dwarfs,
Greeting Jan Busser
------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Steve I've been raising this fish for quite some time and have a "colony" of them. They are sensitive to water changes. They like the water more acidic than some of the other dwarfs. I keep mine in pH about 4.5 -5.0. I have had success by keeping them crowded like African cichlids. If there are only a few fish in the tank, the dominant male may kill all the other fish. Over all, they are not too difficult to spawn and raise. Tom ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Taeniacara candidi is a very charming little fish. I prefer to use very soft water about 30 microsiemens less then 1DH and very acidic Ph 4.5. It is important to use a whole lot of cover like floating plants and java moss to decrease their shyness and make them feel more secure. The male is very aggresive when courting so I reccomend using a larger tank if possable although i use 10 and 5 gallon tanks with succes as long as they are densely planted. The female makes an excellent mother and she moves up and down like a see saw to call her young. One of the best part about these little guy is that they can be sexualy mature in as little as 4 months so you can go through a few generations in one year. Good luck. David Sanchez ---Steve wrote: > > Any advice, words of warning, interesting experiences with this fish? I > might be getting some and would like any words of wisdom that anybody has. > > Steve > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. > For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, > email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. > Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"! > _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free -at-yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Hi Steve, I'm on my 3rd generation or so of these fish. At first, I was told to be very cautious about water changes (i.e. keep the temp. identical) but over time I relaxed a little and have never had any probelems. I stopped pHing my water as well, but they get primarily DI H2O with a touch of tap to warm it up and provide a few ppm, and then I add blackwater extract (either Tetra or Kent; they don't add in any buffering capacity like H2O's of the World). I currently have two tanks of fry growing out, one tank has about 1/2 DI + 1/2 tap, and the other is totally local tap (which runs about 100-180 ppm). I have had females try to spawn in the "tap tank", but to no avail, so I do believe that they need the water to be very soft for egg/fry viability. I agree with Tom that they can be very mean, but I have had 1-2 pairs in 10 gal tanks do just fine - as usual, it just depends on the compatibility of the pair. I have also had a few annihilations, so do what Tom says, be cautious and keep them in a large group if you can. Mine are also lousy parents (though my starter pairs were actually worse parents than their offspring, which seems a bit counterintuitive to me). I would reccommend taking away the parents after the fry have been free-swimming for about a week. I have noticed that after a few spawns they seem to rapidly "poop out" in that department, as well. (Any comments on this, Tom?). Good luck with them, and if I think of anything else I'll let you know, Lisa ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto-at-majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request-at-majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Jay Cohen wrote: > > If they mate again, I would like to watch them raise the fry, but I'd > also be willing to remove the fry if chances are she would eat them > again. Any help would be appreciated. > Thanks, > Jay I bred mine in conditions similar to David Sanchez description. I have, however, heard of people breeding them in more normal water so pH<5 and very soft water isn't always required, sort of reminiscent to A. gibbiceps, which seems to come in two breeding-flavours as well. As David said, they are excellent parents. I always let them tend the fry (or used to since I don't keep them anymore) and it usually ended with the male guarding the old fry while the female had a new clutch. I never observed them eating the offspring unless conditions were less than perfect, which in my case was pH>5. Good luck Fredrik L. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
Hi, My friend had bred these fish in a small tank which housed just the pair. There was plenty of cover in the form of flowerpots and java moss. The first time they eggs disappeared, the second time success. I think the crucial thing is the water conditions. It is essential to provide very low hardness and pH (~5), this is what worked for Ian. They are not an easy fish to breed so keep trying. They are worth a tank on there own as even if they hatch and become free-swimming the other fish will eat them if they get the chance. The fry grow quite quickly but he now only has about five remaining from a small initial spawn. Ken. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com. For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help, email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com. Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!
My experiences agree pretty much with what David wrote. Really soft, acidic (pH less than 5) and quite warm worked for me. I started out with 5 juveniles, turned out to be 3+2 which soon was 1+2 in a 150-liter tank (40 gal). Heavily planted but with fairly dim lighting. When the conditions were right they turned out to be quite easy to breed. Took care of the spawn impeccably, no problems wse. I also have friends who have bred them in more neutral, but still soft water. My guess is that it has to be to different populations living under different conditions in the wild (mine were originally wild caught, of the red variety if there really is a difference). Does anyone know of a paper or a source for the change in Genus to Apistogramma? /Fredrik
Searching the Web reveals pretty little. I did however look at the Cichlid-L archives and Kullander recommends sticking to Taeniacara as the genus until Apistogramma is further examined. Check this link out for Dr. Kullander's answer to Mike Wise's question: http://listserv.nrm.se/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0008&L=cichlid-l&P=R927 Fredrik
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This page was last updated 16 February 2002 | ||
