Breeding Fact Sheet No. 35

Apistogramma Agassizi - Steindachner 1875

Apistogramma Agassizi originates from South America & is commonly found wide spread throughout Brazil & Peru.

Their natural habitat is soft & slightly acidic water, however they will happily live in neutral water. Ideal conditions for breeding are a temperature of 24 to 26 °C with a pH around 6.5 & a general hardness of around 4dH.

The main differences between the sexes are that the male is larger than the female. The male is far more brightly coloured than the female, with elongated dorsal, ventral & anal fins. Available in many different colour variations. The female is more drab & yellow in colour.

An adult male can reach a size of around 3 to 3.5 inches long, with the female around 2 inches. To achieve breeding condition, Agassizis should be fed a varied diet with occasional high protein foods such as bloodworm or brine shrimp.

The tanks set up should consist of a fine gravel substrate with some bogwood & plants for shelter. Small pots are ideal to serve as caves for spawning sites.

The female stays close to the spawn site, cleaning & guarding the eggs & continues to guard & care for the fry, while the male guards a larger territory.

The fry hatch after around four days, they will not need food for another two days or so, as they will live & grow off of their yolk sack until they become free swimming & can actively take & seek out food.

Fry can be fed on microworm or liquid fry food & eventually will be big enough to take newly hatched brine shrimp after another week or two.

© Vincent Balman, 2007. This fact sheet may not be reproduced in any form without the permission of the author.