# apistogramma baenschi babies



## Hack02 (Jul 2, 2008)

Wow I'm over the moon about this as this was my first attempt to ever breed any type of fish.

Any tips/help are appreciated. My plan was to keep them in the 10g tank for now, and then move them to their own grow out tank. In the tank they are in it's Ma and PA, 2 otto cats and 3 black tetras. How long should I leave them with the parents?

Mom on watch


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## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

well i never breeded apistogramma baenschi before. but like cichlids they should be great parents

i have 2 GBR and they will take care of the youngs for about 2 weekish. then they would eat the smallers ones to prep. for the next batch.
it'll be great if you have a seperate tank for them 
they seem really healthy btw, provide them with hiding place 

by anychance are you going to sell some ? 
pm if you are


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

I don't understand how some of you folks can get 2mm fry in sharp focus. I rarely get 2" fish in sharp focus  

That's fantastic that you bred those.


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## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

he might be using a micro lens


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## Hack02 (Jul 2, 2008)

aln said:


> he might be using a micro lens


Cannon powershot A710 (7.1 mp). I put it right against the tank and use the auto focus. Can only get decent pictures for about 6 inches into the tank.

Lucky she pick the flowerpot in the front and not one of the 2 in the back.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

A good thing to feed them is hikari first bites, in water, shake, suck up in syringe, squirt at babies. 

Still can't believe you got such sharp pictures.


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## Byronicle (Apr 18, 2009)

what i did for my kribs is i would pulverize my flakes by putting them in a container and using a spoon to smush them, then i mixed it with water, got a turkey basker and squirt.

i would move the black tetras they are pretty fast and might nab a baby or two 

and i would eventually move the fry possibly into just one of those floating breeder traps or something because what happened to my kribs was when the babies got older and started to go on their own, the parents ate them 

but its up to you


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Byronicle said:


> what i did for my kribs is i would pulverize my flakes by putting them in a container and using a spoon to smush them, then i mixed it with water, got a turkey basker and squirt.
> 
> i would move the black tetras they are pretty fast and might nab a baby or two
> 
> ...


^
+1

Also once they reach a size where they can eat it, which won't be long, adding baby brine shrimp (BBS-- can get frozen) and daphnia (also frozen) from a high quality brand is a good idea. Turkey baster/syringe takes care of all of it.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

Congrats on the spawn


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## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

well thats pretty cool


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

I 2nd the congrats on your fry. You keeping them in RO water? whats the ph?


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## Hack02 (Jul 2, 2008)

TBemba said:


> I 2nd the congrats on your fry. You keeping them in RO water? whats the ph?


Thanks,

Half RO/Half tap, PH is 6, TDS is around 250 (mainly from tannins in the driftwood)


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Leave them with the female for a couple of weeks - remove the male if he looks like he is looking to court the female again. Or you can remove him just to be safe. I'd also remove the tetra's, as they will 100% eat the fry if they get a chance.

BBS works the best, but if you feed a flake or something "soft", the female will chew it up and spit it out for the fry to eat.

Remove them to their own tank once they start wandering off on their own. In the meantime, she will herd them around and protect them.

Congrats!


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## bcarlos (Nov 19, 2009)

Congrats! As long as there are lots of hiding places, you're fine to let the fry be in the tank with their parents. Crushed flakes, detritus and even the bacteria on a mature sponge filter will keep their bellies full.


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## cichlidsnorth (Dec 2, 2009)

congrats on the spawn!! I take a mixtuie of flakes and pellets and put them in a pepper grinder that I keep for fry feeding. The pepper grinder seems to grind the food into fry bite size peices.


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## Hack02 (Jul 2, 2008)

Guys thanks for all the help. I've got the first bites going along with finely crushed flake. I'm going to let the first spawn play out till next weekend and go from there. So far no pblms with Dad or the tetras, between the pots, wood, plants and leaf litter there's many places to hide, althoug mom is doing a great job watching over them so far.


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## KnaveTO (May 13, 2007)

Congrats... you will have to keep us informed as to how things go... and more pics too LOL


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## Zack (Feb 13, 2010)

Hey I would be very interested in some fry/babies/juvies if you were selling them.  I currently breed N. Leleupi, kribs, and ABN plecos. ANd have much tank space for them as I have several tanks. Let me know! Either pm or reply to this post!
Thanks


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## Hack02 (Jul 2, 2008)

Hey Zack and others. Once they get old enough I'll be selling them as I don't have tank space for all of these. I'm not sure how fast they grow but I'll keep things updated as they grow (hopefully I don't screw this up)


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## Zack (Feb 13, 2010)

Alright no problem just keep me posted as I am very interested, I would love to try to breed these guys eventually. So all the best and if they dont make it  well at least you know they will breed again  
How big are they currently? The same as in the pic? And do you have any idea of price you would sell a few for say 2-4. Maybe more


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## Zack (Feb 13, 2010)

And might I add what great fish they are as the parents look amazing!


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## Hack02 (Jul 2, 2008)

I've got 4 fry out of the parents tank so far into a seperate 10g. There's still some in with the parents but they're proving to be a challenge to extract (downside of too man hiding spots)


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## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

What do you feed the fry?


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## Hack02 (Jul 2, 2008)

matti2uude said:


> What do you feed the fry?


Hikari First bites, some finely crushed flake and once a week frozen daphnia. First bites is pretty common and many use baby brine shrimp as well


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