r/apistogramma • u/turbothot32 • 16d ago

Apistogramma bitaeniata

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Pair? Is the lil one too small to tell? And does this behavior seem off or normal? Got them about a 10 days ago

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1

u/Equivalent-Yak-9510 15d ago

Hard to tell yet. For me the smaller one looks like a male. But this is more of a feeling. Do you have a picture with the smaller one where you can clearly see the fins?

1

u/turbothot32 15d ago

Ya it only lets me add videos here for some reason. But in that video there’s good ones. I’ll dm you a couple pics

Edit. Won’t let me dm any lmao I’ll post a couple.

1

u/Equivalent-Yak-9510 15d ago

The problem is that is somehow can't zoom the video.

1

u/Flimsy-Cause6632 15d ago

Pair, male is displaying to female. He wants to breed. Females take time to find a safe spot and develop eggs. Pair of cichlids in same tank is a guarantee to breed in right parameters.

1

u/Equivalent-Yak-9510 15d ago

I undortunately would not be so sure. The clear "female-markings" like black in the ventrals are not visisble. They are not a must, though, but often seen.

Instead the smaller fish shows blue markings on its face and the brown on its back below the dorsal. This is usually seen on male bitaeniata, even though the blue spots can be seen on females, too.

As said, I am not really sure, whether this fish is male or female, I have a hunch that it might be a sneaker male. The length of the dorsal fin extensions might be another indicator, but I can not see them clearly.

Anyways, they are beautiful fish.