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Ryti Reefs Page, Macomb Township, MI (2026)

01/01/2022

Article on Apistogramma agassizi

By Phillip James Ryti
Apistogramma agassizii
In the past year my favorite tropical fish genus has become Apistogramma . Over 70 species are included in this genus of which 48 species have been described. I have found that most dwarf cichlids are not commonly found in the standard pet shops. With the exception of the Pelvicachromis pulcher or possibly Microgeophagus ramirezi, the common Krib or Ram, respectively. Thankfully though, a few good stores carry these beautiful gems, one of which is Anchor Bay Aquarium in New Baltimore. This is a great place to find some of the more rare apistos offered for sale such as: A. eunotus, A. juruensis, A. norberti or the new A. sp. "Panderini". Occasionally, local hobbyists keep pairs of apistos for breeding, and offer fry for sale. Members of your cichlid club may have gone collecting in the Great Amazon. Ask around, sometimes you can get your hands on some beautiful specimens.
I obtained a beautiful pair of Apistogramma agassizii from a local hobbyist back in October, 1996. The female was ripe and round, approximately 2 inches in length. She had a distinct bronze, yellow body, with a dark lateral band from her mouth to her caudal peduncle. The male was however far different from his partner except for the similar horizontal stripe on its body. His body appeared elongated and slender in form. He was nearly four inches long including his lanceolate caudal fin. According to Aqualog- South American Cichlids II, these two closely resemble the Apistogramma agassizii "BLUETAIL". However, my male had a yellowish belly and a bluish speckled body with orange and blue caudal fins with a streamer extension.
The couple were introduced to an established fourteen-gallon aquarium. The tank conditions are similar to those found in the wild. The temperature was 80 degrees Fahrenheit, a PH of 6.8, and a hardness of 14 ppm. The gravel in the tank was dark fine natural stone. Floating water sprite and java fern were put into the tank. A small piece of Amazon driftwood with an Anubias barteri also helped to give the tank a natural look. Two overturned flowerpots with notched corners out of the rims were put into place with slate and round black stones nearby.
For the first week, the male was quite dominant, though not aggressive to the point of hurting her. With plenty of retreats, she was able to find safety if his advances were too strong. I offered flake food which was ignored. Being that the pair were wild, and had previously spawned together, real life feeding had to be simulated. Live daphnia, white worms, and newly hatched brine shrimp were given to them. They attacked the new style of food. Anything that moved was the trick. To increase spawning chances Tetra Blackwater Extract was added to the tank during the second week. When evaporation claimed water, it was replaced slowly with R.O. water. Using these two methods, I hoped to copy the rainy season in the wild and drop the hardness of the water.
The female began to guard one of the flowerpots. If she would venture away from it the male would chase her back in the cave. I then knew that spawning was imminent. A few days later the male seemed to have disappeared. He could not be seen anywhere. I thought that he must have jumped out of the tank. At this point, I was about to give up on the pair. The next day he still was not seen in the tank. I searched the carpet and behind the tank but could not find a carcass. With the use of a flashlight, I searched every crevice and crack I could see. Low and behold a reflection from under a rock caught my eye. Totally disappointed, I grabbed my net to remove his remains. I moved the rock and to my surprise "awoke" him. He moved slowly to the top corner of the tank. The only apparent damage he had was to his caudal fin. His body was still in pretty good shape. When the female saw him out in the open it became obvious to me why he had buried himself under the rocks in the first place. She commenced to give him another of a string of beatings. Needless to say, he was immediately transferred to a 5-gallon tank for some recuperation time.
I did not see the pair go through the spawning ritual. But I hoped that her actions meant that it had happened. With the male safe in his own tank my attention was again placed on the female. I watched her every move for the next half hour or so. When I moved close to the tank to inspect, she would flare her gills at me through the tank glass. Within a short time, making me quite happy, she began to shoal around a group of 50 or so fry. What a great way to end the day.
The fry were fed whiteworms and newly hatched brine shrimp. Within a month's time they were already 1/4" long.
This was my first experience with breeding Apistogramma. What a great experience it has been. Although the apistos are small they are still cichlids. Their actions taught me that. If you ever decide to breed the agassizii or any other of its genus, I recommend that my experience teaches that we must respect its needs for space during spawning. Not doing so almost cost me a pair of spawning fish.

01/01/2022

Article on Apistogramma borelli

Apistogramma borellii
Description
This week's Apistogramma is a real gem. It can be found in creeks and tributaries in southern Brazil (Rio Paraguay, Mato Grosso), lower Rio Parana basins in Paraguay and northern Argentina. These areas represent some of the southernmost regions in which Apistos are found. There are two different color variations that occur together in the wild according to the Linke & Staeck book on Dwarf Cichlids of South America. Males of yellow color morph have a yellow head and chest with a blue body. The other morph is blue but will have red dots on its face. The specimens with intense blue and bright red stripes and spots are found further to the north. The yellow are found more to the southern range, but no color forms are completely isolated. Both can be found together in their range. So called “super males”, have been selectively bred for their intense blue coloration. These were developed in Germany. They are sold as Apistogramma sp. “Opal”. It is a domestic aquarium strain. They apparently were line bred to reduce the amount of yellow on the body. Males can reach about 2 inches and females about 1 and a half inches.

Care for borelli
I would recommend buying reverse osmosis water or running your own unit. Soft water is key to spawning and egg development in many of these South American fishes. Peat moss can help too but can be messy. I like to use peat in a nylon sock if needed. The water will develop an amber color. I would not use pH down as it can cause pH swings which will kill your fish. A lesson I learned early on from Kurt Zadnik, if you have soft water first the Lower pH will follow.
Be sure to do water changes, higher nitrate levels can bring them to their demise. A varied diet of quality flake finely crushed, live worms, daphnia and Artemia nauplii.

Setup for fish
I put two females and 1 male borellii in a 15 gallon tank. 4 clay flowerpots are scattered about the bottom. Fine sand should be present in this aquarium. The parents will dig pits to move their young around the aquarium. A large portion of the tank was covered with java moss and najas grass. Driftwood also was used for cover and grazing sites. My city's tap water had a pH around 7. A few young Apistogramma sp. "Schwarsaum" fry are used as dither fish as I had several at the time. Pencilfish, or another type of small tetras would be ideal. Corydoras are good tankmates as well but if your fish spawn they may eat the fry and thus should be removed.

Preparing for spawn
Lowering the pH and the hardness is key. Do this gradually. One needs to simulate the rainy season to spark breeding behavior. Hardness and conductivity in nature get very low. One method I have used that works great for triggering a spawn is as follows. I learned this from Mike Zebrowski. Bring the fish you want to spawn into condition by feeding live foods. Black worms and Artemia nauplii seem to work best for conditioning. After one week, drop the water down in the tank by 5 gallons. I used a 15 gallon for most of my Apistogramma and Westies. I keep the temperature around 80 Fahrenheit. Next, I would I.V. drip reverse osmosis water into the tank overnight. The pH was about 6 and the hardness was less than 10ppm. This simulated the rain very well and the slightly cooler water started spawning. I imagine that many other fish could benefit from this method. Think like a fish. What do they need?

References
Linke, Horst, Staeck, Dr. Wolfgang; 1994; Cichlids I: Dwarf Cichlids; Tetra Press
Hans J. Mayland, Dieter Bork; 1997; South American Dwarf Cichlids; Verlag: A.C.S. GmbH, Germany
Romer, Uwe; 2001; Baensch/Mergus Cichlid Atlas, Vol. 1; Mergus Verlag
Written by Phillip Ryti

01/01/2022

Article I wrote

Apistogramma norberti
Apistogramma norberti was my first Apisto, as they are affectionately known by their keepers. A. norgerti was much more common in the late 80's and early 90's before the A. panduro craze and the "Orange Flash" varieties. A. norberti are easy to keep, maintain a nice color and body type.
My biggest recommendation with Apistos is to buy at least 2 pairs or in groups of 6 juveniles. Too many times I have lost one of the pair and found it near impossible to get a replacement. Sometimes this is due to limited or seasonal availability. The most interesting thing about this fish for me is I was able to pick from a tank of wild caught animals and in that group was a single albino. I wish I had a picture of it as I have never seen any albino Apistogramma since.
As far as general care, I raised mine in water with a neutral pH. And a temperature of 78 F. They were housed with a few corydoras and tetras. The tank was a 29 gallon, 40 inches long. Fine gravel was used for substrate. A few flat and round stores were used for decor. No plants were used. Some clay flowerpots for spawning sites with a notch out of the rim. I was unable to breed mine which I believe was mainly due to my mistakes. I was lowering pH via drops to induce spawning but ignored the softness. This resulted in swinging pH. Which didn’t work well with these animals. Later I learned how to use reverse osmosis water to obtain just the right water parameters. Softness is key. pH will follow.
My feeding strategy was simple; I fed different flake foods and frozen brine shrimp. With the enormous variety of foods available today, you should be able to provide these small cichlids with appropriate protein. In nature they eat benthic invertebrates, so the best foods are derived from insect larvae or are insect larvae.
It will be my privilege to write each week about these interesting dwarf cichlids. Until the next time, share your experiences with A. norberti.
Phillip James Ryti