A. mendezi

[frodejo]

Hi everyone.
One of the lfs here has A. mendezi for only 12 USD each, and that’s the price I have to pay for a species like A. cacatuiodes here in Norway.
I’m thinking of buying some of them, but the only tank I can have them in is a small 20-gallon tank. Will this be sufficient for a trio of A. mendezi? Is this an aggressive species that needs a lot of space?
Can anyone share their experience with A. mendezi with me?
By the way, the water in this tank is pH 5-5,5 and gH=5. I think the water has to be softer… Right?

Frode

 

[Z Man]

Frode,
I had Mendezi a few years back and placed 2 pair in a 10 gallon long. It is 8" (20cm) deep instead of the normal 10" (25). I placed 4 pots and lots of Java moss with them. Both females spawned at opposite ends of the tank at about the same time. Then came my mistake, I left everybody in together. One day each female was guarding fry, next day one female had them all, next day all the fish were dead. Fry and all adults. I don't check pH but the hardness was 30ppm TDS. They are a beautiful species and that tail is fantastic during breeding. Good luck. I whish I could find some more around here. "We all learn from our mistakes." Z-Man

 

[frodejo]

What would you do different if you could do it again? Remove the male?
I’ll get the fish today, and I’m really looking forward to that…
My only concern is that they are wild-caught, and I have some really nice Ancistrus hoplogenys (white seem Ancistrus) in that aquarium, so I hope that the Apistos don’t carry any diseases. I don’t have any quarantine tanks right now…

Frode

 

[Z Man]

I would put just 1 pair in a 20 long with lots more hiding places and spawning caves. I would also remove the eggs just as they start to wiggle. They were doing so well at the time that I figured everything would be all right. I'll take my friend "Big John's" advice which is, "The first one is mine, the rest is your's". It's been about 3 or 4 years now and seeing that you found them I hope they may be getting over here soon.