Apistogramma agassizii "Rio Tefe" - fry!

[PaleoFishGirl]

Some of you may remember that I was having some problems with a new 10g setup a while back, with the kH being through the roof, etc.  I was worried about adding softwater fishes, but I guess I shouldn't have been.

I got a beautiful pair of Rio Tefe's from babble & succinctfish a few weeks ago and I already have fry! They are so cute - kind of like little teeny pufferfish. So far I have counted 7 but they are really hard to see.  The Beckford's pencilfish are doing fine as well, but I never did see any fry (I think it likely that they are eating the eggs and/or fry).

Here are some photos of the Rio Tefe's.  I took a bunch tonight because the female holds still a lot better now that she's looking after her babies.  The male, not so much, but I'm working on it (the first picture is horrid and my glass is super dirty, my apologies):

Click to see larger photos

[garnpet]

You certainly have a nack for getting fish to breed.  Perhaps you should startup your own business selling Rainbows and Dwarf Cichlids!   

[babblefish1960]

Oh so pretty, lovely little fish, the babies look scrumptious too. What sort of camera are you using? Hopefully they will grow up big and force you into a serious bout of multiple tank syndrome.

[artw]

wow those are really cute!  congrats on the fries PFG!

[babblefish1960]

Are there any more pictures of these miniature cuties? I can see them better in your photographs than in person.

[PaleoFishGirl]

I'll see what I can do

[zapisto]

nice
congratz
they are beautifull

[PaleoFishGirl]

I added another picture above as per request.  They are growing so fast!

[babblefish1960]

Very nice, they seem like happy fish, and the pencils are nice too, have you managed to sneak in any more photographs? They are so cute, it should be fascinating to watch them grow. You certainly do have a knack.

[PaleoFishGirl]

I thought I'd update anyone who was interested.

Before I noticed the fry, I saw the female engaging in a strange behaviour.  She was in her coconut cave but every 30 seconds or so would pop out with a piece of fluorite in her mouth and deposit it a short distance from the mouth of the cave, creating a pile similar to the one outside of a gopher hole.

Last week I noticed that the female had reverted from her bright yellow to some more subdued colors not unlike those of the male.  I looked around for the fry and couldn't find any so I assumed they had been eaten by something (the pencilfish, or one or both parents are really the only options). 

I came home from work this evening to see the female bright yellow again.  This time, she is building her fluorite berm right up against the entrance to her coconut cave! She can hardly squeeze herself through the opening, leading me to think that a) the male has already been in the cave and b) she doesn't want *anything* getting at her fry this time!

It was so cool to watch that I took a video.  I condensed this down from about 10 minutes of video time. (I added it to YouTube at 10pm so it might not be available right away - come back later, it's worth it!)

For those who don't want to watch, here are a couple of photos:

Click to see larger photos

[babblefish1960]

Video says I can't watch, must be too early.

Pictures are cute though, should be fascinating to watch.

[PaleoFishGirl]

The video is up now...

[beowulf]

Very nice one of these days my poor Incas will breed when I have time to spend on them...

[garnpet]

I think I need to get myself one of those coconut condos.  The flower pots are just not doing it for mine.

[babblefish1960]

Actually, with fish, it's when you don't have the time that they decide to have a batch of puppies, they seem to know.

Nice video, it works fine now, such neat behaviour, is she still barricading herself in there?
Oh yes, and the female has turned out to be quite the beautiful fish, what a good mum she is too.

You must be so careful with coconuts though garnpet, they are fire after all.

[succinctfish]

aahhh...she's so smart and pretty.  I am so proud of her, to see her go from a tiny little baby to her new home in her lovely tank is so rewarding    You've done a wonderful job providing for her needs.  She's obviously a happy little fish.

[babblefish1960]

Has the little girl gone and done anything that could be construed as being in the family way?

She was so fixated on tidying up her coconut that it would be interesting to know if she has her little flock with her as yet.

[RedFish]

Great video - I am getting becoming quite fascinated with dwarf cichlids now - very cool to see your girl in motherly action!

[NjOyRiD]

ohhhso cute! gratz

[PaleoFishGirl]

Nothing really to update, but thanks for looking!
The berm was knocked over the next morning, probably by the MTS as they dig through the substrate pretty good.  She's still bright yellow and doesn't stray too far from her coconut house, but I haven't seen any fry as yet.