A.cacatuoides in with rams

[degrassi]

Can you keep a A.cacatuoides and a blue ram together in a 15gal planted tank? Or is it too small for both? I would like to have one male A.cacatuoides and a ram. Will there be fighting?

 

[GulfCoastAquarian]

I'd like to know this same thing. Except my tank is a heavily planted 55 gallon tank. There's nothing more frustrating than watching two beautiful fish mercilessly chasing each other around the tank. I hope to keep males of each species.

 

[farm41]

Should be no problems in the 55g, but every fish has it's own personality. I have rams apisto's and discus in a 75 with no problems at all.

I have had cacs and rams together in my heavily planted 60g and they were fine.

I have a pair of rams spawning in a 20L and have a lone female cac in there that doesn't cause too much trouble.

 

[degrassi]

so would they do weel together in a 15gal?

 

[farm41]

I think in that small of tank the male cac could get pretty rough on the rams.

My choice would be just the rams in the 15g.

 

[johninfrance]

If the 15 gallon is the only tank they could go in, you might be able to have both if you have enough plants and hiding places.

 

[Neil]

degrassi,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Your original question was about 1 male ram and 1 male cacatuoides in a well-structured 15g aquarium. There is always a concern about an individually mean fish that just won't tolerate others in his tank, but that is kind of an exception. Taking away the main incentive for territoriality and reproductive drive (a female), these 2 fish will probably co-exist Ok together. I have seen a number of rams that become as mean as apistos. The key here would be to put them in at the same time. It also would hurt to have a few tetras and/or cories, etc. in there. A 15g. isn't real big, so you need to keep an eye out for true aggressive outbursts, but what you are likely to get is minor.
However, I think that you would be well advised to use your 15g. for a pair of rams or cacatuoides. You will see a far greater range of interesting thing to watch. JMO.
Neil

 

[degrassi]

ok I think i'll stick to just Apisto. cacatuoides. i have read things that say they are best kept with a bunch of femlaes since they don't form true pairs.

if i get a male and female will the male pick on her too much?

 

[aspen]

the trick is to provide the female a place to go where the male can't see her directly, and not just a cave. they like to spawn in a cave, but say, in a wide open tank, he can see her and he may go after her. if there is a place for her to go where she can't be seen, then this will deter him. put some things in there, where she can hide out when she wants to. that's what i try to do.

rick

 

[degrassi]

what about if i went witha pair of rams? do the males chase the famles around too much? What would be the best ph for the rams? I can get mine down to about 7.0 kh5 with peat,is this good enough.

I can't decide between just the rams or apistos? but i do like that both sexes are colored nicely in the rams.

 

[aspen]

the rams will chase each other around too. rams were my first dwarf, and still my favourite. they will hand feed, if you take the time, and they are really nice- like little puppies. ph 7.0 would be fine, mixing with r/o to gh 4, kh 2 or softer, would be optimum for breeding, but i can keep my rams easily in my water- gh8, kh 4, ph 7.8 and have actually raised a few spawns in it. very small spawns, mind you.

rick

 

[degrassi]

well thanks for all the help. I guess i will have to jsut go down to the LFS and see which one i like best in person or ehich is the most healthy looking.

 

[GulfCoastAquarian]

At least your local fish store carries them. Mine don't even really know what a Dwarf Cichlid is. I wish I could find a breeder with a few hours of the New Orleans area. I don't want to pay $20 for fish plus $35 for air freight. $55 is a lot of money for fish!

 

[Max]

Hi All,
One thing I haven't seen mentioned in this thread is the difference in temperature requirements for both species.
M.ramirezi prefers much warmer temps than A.cacatuoides.
Rams should be kept at around 80 Deg or higher. A.cacatuoides prefer temps around 76 Deg. Actually this is the temperature range for most Apistogramma species. Higher temps will reduce the live acceptancy of your A.cacatuoides because they will accelerate it's metabolism. I do keep Rams and Apistos together occasionally. The Rams always win when an Apisto gets in their breeding territory. It's the other way around when a Ram get's near an Apisto female with fry. It's not a pretty sight :lol:
Just my 2 cents
Max