29 gallon apisto setup

[cubsfan]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum...

I recently purchased a 29 gallon long (30" long x 18.75" tall x 12" deep). I would love to set up this tank as a heavily planted community tank with a harem of apistos as the centerpiece of the tank. I will not be setting up the tank for about 6-8 months, so I have plenty of time to work out the details.

What type of apistos would be good for this type of tank? I will be living in a new place at the time I set up the tank, so I don't know what the water quality will be like. I have never kept dwarf cichlids before, so please take that into account when making suggestions.

As far as tankmates, I was hoping for something along the lines of the following:

assortment of tetras (neons, lemons, serpaes)
4 dwarf sunset gouramis
6-8 cory cats
3-4 otto cats
2-3 kuhli loaches
a few freshwater shrimp of some kind

Would this kind of set up be overstocked? I want the fish to have plenty of room. I have a python, so frequent water changes are not an issue. Anyway, any advice and help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all of the help.

 

[Neil]

cubsfan,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

What type of apistos would be good for this type of tank? I will be living in a new place at the time I set up the tank, so I don't know what the water quality will be like. I have never kept dwarf cichlids before, so please take that into account when making suggestions.

You may need to choose the type of apisto, not only in relation to what you like, but also to what is available to you. Cacatuoides would be my first choice, as they can be very attractive, active and personable, and work well in a harem (1 male/2 or maybe 3 fems in a 29) situation. You could also look into borellii. There are many others, but those are good starts to see if you like the looks.

assortment of tetras (neons, lemons, serpaes)
4 dwarf sunset gouramis
6-8 cory cats
3-4 otto cats
2-3 kuhli loaches
a few freshwater shrimp of some kind

Would this kind of set up be overstocked? I want the fish to have plenty of room.

No, not really overstocked, but there won't be plenty of room. I don't think that you will need that many corys. In general, you have quite a few ground-dwelling fish there. If you are looking for breeding of your Apistogramma, they will find it difficult to protect their young in that tank.

I have a python, so frequent water changes are not an issue.

Excellent! That is a pretty important tool. Water changes can be modified, depending on how heavily planted your tank is, but that makes life a heck of alot easier. For long-term health, Apistogramma truely benefit from regular exchanges of water.

Good luck,
Neil

 

[cubsfan]

Thanks for all of the info Neil...

So I will plan on cutting down the number of corys that I plan to eventually have in the tank. Do serpae tetras get along with the other fish I have listed? I know that they get large for a tetra, but am not sure of their aggressiveness.

Thanks again for the excellent information.

 

[Neil]

I am not sure about serpae tetras specifically, but they are probably reasonable. However, your tank is starting to get pretty crowded!

Neil

 

[cubsfan]

I am no longer going to include the loaches, the gouramis, and I will be cutting the number of corys and otos down significantly. Hopefully, this will make for plenty of room for the future inhabitants of the tank.

I was also considering getting a pair of keyholes instead of the apistos. Does anyone have any experience with these fish, and are they safe to keep with small tetras like neons or cardinals? Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[M0oN]

Keyhole and ram dwarf's are the most peaceful of the species, you should have no trouble keeping them with other peaceful fish, if anything I'd be worried about other fish harassing them...