29g trifasciata tank

[Mert55y]

Hello, im setting up a 29 gallon breeding tank for apistogramma trifasciata. Its 81x36x40cm, should i keep a pair in this or a harem? If i could keep a harem how big should it be? I cant find a good answer on the internet. And should i add pencilfish as ditherfish?

 

[Eugene09]

Hello, you can keep a breeding pair but probably no mare apistogrammas. And with that size tank you can probably keep some schooling fish but the apistos will get agressive to other fish when they start breeding and spawning so it might not be a good idea to keep fish the apistos can eat or kill easily. For example neon tetras. But fast fish like danios will be fine since they can escape the apitsos if needed.

 

[MacZ]

Its 81x36x40cm, should i keep a pair in this or a harem?

In that size a trio could work. Males require 60cm diameterfor their territory, females 30cm. You will need good structure with lines of sight broken on ground level, so the fish can evade each other.

And should i add pencilfish as ditherfish?

That's at your discretion. Not a must nor a no-go.

With that tank size be aware that it's always better to have a second tank (60-80 liters) to separate the fish at any point should aggressions build up too much. Even with good structure this can happen.

 

[Mert55y]

In that size a trio could work. Males require 60cm diameterfor their territory, females 30cm. You will need good structure with lines of sight broken on ground level, so the fish can evade each other.


That's at your discretion. Not a must nor a no-go.

With that tank size be aware that it's always better to have a second tank (60-80 liters) to separate the fish at any point should aggressions build up too much. Even with good structure this can happen.

I have a spare tank so ill be fine thanks for the help

 

[Andy452]

If you do go for pencilfish as dither fish try to get Nannostomus Marginatus as these dont pray on eggs, the bekfords variety have been reported to eat eggs on occasion

 

[Iormungand21]

I would agree that a trio sounds very reasonable. I successfully breed trifasciata in a standard aqueon 10gallon as a pair without issue. Also have tested and confirmed it is too small for a trio (pretty obviously, but I have enough tanks to test things for science).

I would say 10 gallon is too small for them to raise the fry together. I ended up removing the male a couple weeks after the fry were free swimming as they were harassing each other fairly often. He actually just went home yesterday!