Sourcing a Pair
Buy young pairs (5-6 months old) from breeders. Avoid wild-caught for first attempts.
Pair will form naturally in a 30-gallon tank with multiple females. Or buy a known compatible pair.
Triggering Spawn
Warm water (80-82°F), soft water (TDS under 100), pH 6.5.
Live or frozen foods — bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia.
Provide cave: half coconut shell or small clay pot. Female chooses and cleans it.
Spawning Day
Female lays 50-200 eggs in cave. Male fertilizes from outside the cave.
Female guards eggs alone. Eggs hatch in 3-4 days. Free-swimming fry by day 6-7.
Fry Care
First food: baby brine shrimp (BBS), microworms, vinegar eels. Feed multiple times daily.
Mother leads fry as a group. Both parents may co-parent depending on species.
- ✦Don't separate fry from parents — apistos are excellent parents
- ✦Soft water is the breeding key — RO water mixed with mineralizer works
- ✦After 6 weeks, separate fry to grow-out tank