Adding cockatoos...

[gibboinfuerte]

I have a 450l tank and would love to add a pair of apistogramma cacatuoides. My stock is as follows-
2 breeding pairs of blue rams (I currently have about 50 2-week-old fry growing out in a separate tank).
1 male krib
1 angelfish
5 panda corys
3 ancistrus
The ph is 6.4 and the water parameters are otherwise perfectly set up for my beloved rams. My only concern would be how the krib and the new cockatoos would get along as I assume they will naturally occupy the same space. The tank as it is is very peaceful with very little squabbling between the rams at breeding time. The krib was aggressive when I had another male krib in there (I thought I had a pair) but is very easy-going now that I have removed the other male. I know that space-wise I have ample room in my tank for two new additions, but don´t really want to cause a "territory war" by adding unsuitable tank-mates. Anyone have kribs and cacatuoides together?

 

[Mike Wise]

First, welcome to the forum. This isn't my idea of an ideal community tank. Since you don't (shouldn't) expect breeding, you could try it. I would expect some territorial fights and would expect the Krib to be the winner. If it were my community, I would remove the Krib and add a couple of male cocatoos (they are prettier than females).

 

[wethumbs]

Have you seen the 'super-red' cacatuoides? The females are just as nice as the males. The only difference is the shorter fins. I saw a group of 50 at a local wholesaler and I thought they were all males. I had to look really close to see the females.

 

[gibboinfuerte]

Thanks for your advice, Mike. I´m reluctant to remove the krib as he is super-happy where he is and the tank is very peaceful as it stands. I just fancied adding a bit of variety and thought the cockatoos seemed like a viable option as they are often cited as very peaceful dwarf cichlids. Maybe I´ll just add a couple more pairs of rams from my nursery tank when they grow out a bit more. Or are there any alternative dwarf cichlids which could fit in there. Is it a bit sad that I don´t want to take my kribensis to the fish shop and leave him there?

 

[sasikan]

check this page, this guy has cacatuoides and rams together. http://dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php

 

[gibboinfuerte]

Thanks! Those set-ups are beautiful. Given me some great ideas for my own. For the moment, though, I think I´ll stick with my rams and plant out my tank a bit more before I decide what to do apistogramma-wise...

 

[Apistomaster]

Kribs and Angels aren't good tank mates for any Apistos you hope to breed.
It's been a few years since i last raised any A. cacatuoides but the last time I did I was surprised at how colorful my females were.
Here is a photo which shows representative specimens from a brood of about 150.
The male was a triple red and the female was a white/gold.

 

[gibboinfuerte]

Oh well, it seems the general consensus is notto add any cockatoos at this time. I will keep my set-up as primarily a ram tank for the foreseeable future. Maybe some day I will think about the cacatuoides again if I ever get rid of the krib. Apistomaster- would the angelfish pose a problem? It seems very peaceful toward all the other tank inhabitants, I wouldn´t have thought there´d be any problem there. Oh, and those juveniles are beautiful, btw, exactly the reason I was keen to get some in!!!!!

 

[Apistomaster]

If you mean are angelfish OK as in a community tank with some Cockatoo dwarf cichlids then the answer is yes but if you wish to breed any Dwarf Cichlid either give them their own breeding tank and maybe use some Nannostomus eques Pencilfish as dither fish although I have never bothered to keep any other fish in my A. cacatuoides breeding set ups.