Apistogramma trifasciata
by Don Kinyon
From Delta Tale, Vol. 33, #2, Potomac Valley Aquarium Society
Aquarticles
This is one of the most beautiful of the Apistogramma. I’ve said that
before, and meant it. But this one really is. Described by Eigenmann and Kennedy in 1903,
this is truly a gorgeous fish. It’s one of the thin-lipped species, and grows to 2
3/4 inches (male) and 2 1/4 inches (female). Though the wild
specimens I have seen aren’t quite as brightly colored as the fish I am working with,
they are nearly as attractive. Most are collected from the Rio Paraguay. The males have so
much color that one would suspect them to be a dyed fish sometimes found in pet shops. A
healthy male will show a body color of bright metallic blue, which is also found on the
dorsal, anal and ventral fins. The upper portion of the dorsal fin is orange/red and the
first three or four spines are elongated and show more separation than the rest. There is
a black eye-stripe, but it’s not as noticeable as in most species. Fish from some
locations show orange or red head markings, but mine were almost solid blue. There is
little or no coloration in the tail. The females are pale yellow or brown with a dark
lateral stripe, and bright yellow when spawning or during brood care.
I obtained a pair of these fish from a friend who has worked with the species for some
time. The fish were out in front most of the time from the very first; I hate having an
outstanding fish that’s always hiding under a filter or piece of driftwood. The tank
was a homemade fifteen-gallon; longer and more narrow than the commercial ones. Two fairly
large sponge filters accomplished filtration, and there were several pieces of driftwood
for cover. There were several differently shaped clay pots for them to use as spawning
sites, and some Java Fern to add more shade and cover. The tank was filled with collected
rainwater: pH of 6.1 and hardness near 0 and kept at a temperature of 80 degrees. I had no
trouble getting these fish to eat. They readily took live foods including daphnia,
mosquito larva, white worms, black worms, and chopped earthworms. Frozen foods of
bloodworms, beef heart, and brine shrimp, along with several brands of flake and
freeze-dried foods were taken almost as well. Water changes were usually performed once a
week, at about 40 percent with rainwater.
Within a week, the fish, or at least the female fish, started to show signs of spawning
behavior. The female turned a brighter yellow, and pursued the male whenever he ventured
into her end of the tank. She had chosen a medium-sized clay pot as her spawning site, and
continually tried to entice the male to it. The male would flare his fins, turn sideways,
wag his tail in typical Apisto fashion, and flee as fast as he could whenever they got
close to her clay pot. This went on for several weeks, until one day I noticed the female
in the pot not paying much attention to the male, who just looked too proud of himself
patrolling the perimeter of the tank. I carefully lifted the pot a little and tipped it so
I could see the inside. This didn’t please the female, who was now a much brighter
yellow, at all; she was busy guarding thirty or so pink and red eggs. The male didn’t
seem to be in any danger, and didn’t seem interested in getting near the eggs, so I
left him in the breeding tank. The female came out to eat, but that was all. She rarely
paid any attention to the male now, just left him to cruise the area around the spawning
site.
In just under a week, the mother and fry first ventured out of the flowerpot. It looked
like about twenty-five of the eggs hatched into young Apistogramma, about
three-sixteenths of an inch long. They followed the mother fish very closely, and would
dive for cover at any disturbance, even the male fish, if he passed too near. Now it
seemed like the health of the father fish may be a little at risk, so I removed him to
another tank, but not before his tail fin took a beating. I never saw the female attack,
but from the reaction of the male every time she came near, it was a safe bet that she did
the damage.
From the very start, the fry ate newly hatched brine shrimp with gusto, and grew
accordingly. They still followed the mother for several weeks, but with no disturbances
other than regular feedings and my occasional peeping, they grew more and more comfortable
without the female’s protection. By the end of the third week, they paid little
attention to the female, even though she frantically tried to keep the brood together. To
save her all the aggravation, I removed her from the fry.
Other than brine shrimp and occasionally micro worms, the fry seem to like to graze on
the algae that grows on most everything in the tank (I grow the best algae in town).
I’ve seen other species do this, but not nearly as frequently. By the time the mother
was removed, they were eating sifted daphnia and ground-up flake foods, and were
over three-eighths of an inch long. By week six they would eat anything the adult fish
ate, only more finely chopped or ground, and acted much like the adults. By the time the
fish were two months old, they were well over one half inch in total length, and very
active. At this writing the fry are now the parents, and the cycle starts over again. Like
many Apistogramma, the sex ratio of the brood is determined by pH, temperature,
and probably other factors. Something must have been a bit off with the conditions I set
up this time, because the mix turned out about 70:30 in favor of males.
As colorful as the males are, I’m not complaining.
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