72 Gallon Community Stocking Ideas with Apisto - Males only?

[superstein61]

Hi, I am setting up a new 72 gallon tank and am interested in some stocking ideas from you.

I will have in the tank half a dozen small clown loaches, a couple bristlenose pleco's, a dozen Rummynose Tetra's and maybe 6 to 9 Cardinal Tetra's.

Now I am also thinking about 2 pearl Gourami's and some dwarf cichlids to round out the tank.

My first question - how many and what type of dwarf cichlids what you suggest as a good fit in this mix (I should add my first thoughts were some mix of 2 of the following - Cacutoides, Borelli, Trifasciata , Viejita II or Blue Rams )

My second question - I am not really interested in breeding any Apisto's, but like the color and behavior they could bring to the tank. If I went with say Cacutoides and Borelli's - could I put a 1 or 2 males of each in the tank? IE is there any harm in not having a male / female pair other than no spawning?

Or for instance would a single male Cacutoide say be too disruptive with a M/F pair of Borelli's?

Or would 2 males of the same species constantly harass one another?

Thanks

 

[tjudy]

I think that you will get more enjoyment in a group of fish of the same species, both males and females. Even if you have not desire to raise fry, letting them breed in the tank can be a lot of fun to watch. The females of most apistos are very striking... more so than the males IMO... when they are breeding. I would pick maybe two species and get atrio of each.

 

[Neil]

superstein61,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

My first question - how many and what type of dwarf cichlids what you suggest as a good fit in this mix (I should add my first thoughts were some mix of 2 of the following - Cacutoides, Borelli, Trifasciata , Viejita II or Blue Rams )

Any of these would be fine in that large of a tank.

My second question - I am not really interested in breeding any Apisto's, but like the color and behavior they could bring to the tank. If I went with say Cacutoides and Borelli's - could I put a 1 or 2 males of each in the tank? IE is there any harm in not having a male / female pair other than no spawning?

It is OK to just have males in the tank. With space, they will co-exist well together. But, I am in total agreement with Ted here. You will be missing alot if you don't have pairs or groups. Just because you don't want to breed now, doesn't mean that you won't soon. And the amount of behavioral issues that you will be missing not having pairs is great!

Neil

 

[vancat]

I've got a M&F cacatuoides in a 72 G planted tank with rummys, plecos, mollies, etc. I just wanted to state here that the apistos QUICKLY became the favorite fish soon after arriving. The male is such a peacock and the female is simply beautiful. Their antics are a lot of fun to watch. they haven't bred yet, but the male is busy showing off in a grand way to the little female. One of the coolest things is, the smart female comes right to your hand when feeding, grabbing the choicest goodies almost from our fingertips.

COOL FISH!!!!

 

[superstein61]

Thanks for the input. Actually one reason for asking about keeping just male Apisto's of a certain species is I am not sure right now at least I have a local source that can provide me a female. ( I realize I could get one shipped - but shipping just one is prohibitively expensive.)

What if I added now say a pair of Rams or Borellis, and maybe a single male Vietja or Cacutoide - and later, when I can find a female - add that. Will adding the female later cause problems in getting her in the tank without much harassment

 

[Eva32181]

I had a pair of rams and a single male cacatuoides in my 55 gallon tank. Everytime the rams would breed, the cac would eat the eggs, and the rams got very territorial. The cac would chase the female ram, then the male ram would come over and chase him . . . not too many nipped fins, but I don't think those fish were happy to live so close together. Now I have the rams in their own breeding tank.

 

[Scooter]

Hey superstein. I have an SA community tank (75g) as well and you can keep multiple males w/o serious problems. You're always going to have some chasing and threatening, but that's the nature of cichlids. I keep four different species of dwarves in my community tank and, even though there is regular chasing, no one gets singled out and picked on. The most beligerent is one of my male agassizis, who just doesn't seem to like anyone and is an equal opportunity irritant. Of course, it is important to have pleny of hiding places in the form of rock and wood (or clay pots, pvc, or whatever).

 

[superstein61]

OK, thanks for the ideas and input everyone