apisto starter

[cichlad]

Hi Everyone,
I've bred a lot of African cichlids, but this is my first attempt at raising south americans and I seek your help. The set up is as follows:
The tank is 140 gallons, so about 6 feet long, with undergravel filters - 3 plates, each with a power head. An external wet-dry, and an extra powerhead that drives a CO2 diffuser. The CO2 is from a regulated tank. The current PH is about 7.0 and the temperature is maintained at 80 degrees. I've planted half the tank with various swords and java ferns etc. and it is doing well. The other half of the tank is gravel only(on top of the UG filter plates) and I've set up a series of caves using PVC pipes and petrified wood arrangements.

Currently I only have a few guppies and mollies etc. in the tank to condition it. I would like to start with the Apistos. I like the Oranges, the double and triple reds, basically anything with a bit of color. I seek your advice on the setup itself and on what kind and how many Apistos for a sustainable eco system. Anything else you would recommend in the tank?

Also, where would you recommend getting some apistos?

Appreciate your expertise.

thanks

DG

 

[Nitro87]

Hi Cichlad,
as I'm from Germany, i unfortunatly can't tell you where to get Apistogrammas for your tank, but maybe some advice could help.

The kind of colour you are speaking about sounds like you are searching for Apistogramma cacatuoides.

140 gallons should be about 500 litres.
If there are enough roots and plants in your tank and if it is devided in several areas with caves, then it should be possible to keep two male and maybe 6 female Apistogramma cacatuoides in it.

Try to keep the territories equal and let them be seperated by dense vegetation like vallisneria or a great peace of wood or something else.

The pH may be around 6,5, the water should be soft, around 6°dGH. If you use CO2 fertilization, you should have really much plants. The Apistogramma like much oxygen.

The temperature is also good with 75 degrees.

With the Apistos you may keep around 50 small tetras (less than 5cm) and some small corydoras.
Also some otocinclus would do well.
You should not try with bigger fish.
With Apistogramma you also should try to keep your tank somewhat emptier due to better water quality and less stress.

If the Apistogrammas do well for some month, you should try to keep some blue rams or bolivian rams.
2 or 3 pairs should be ok for that volume.

They are much more fragile than the Apistogramma catatoides, so you should wait a while to be sure the tank and water is ok. Learned it by error.

You should absolutely not try to keep the guppies and mollies with the Apistogramma. They are very stressing. Learned it by error, too.

Hope I was helpful.

Greatings

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with Nitro for the most part. If you plan to mix color strains of A. cacatuoides together, you need to realize that the different color strain will mix and you'll end up with some odd colored fish. If you want it self-sustaining, then pick 1 color strain only - or a couple of different, but compatable species. If breeding isn't important, then there is no need for the less colorful females. Just use males. If you aren't interested in Rams, another good alternative would be dwarf acaras like Laetacara dorsigera, L. curviceps, or L. sp. Buckelkopf.

 

[viejo]

I agree with Nitro for the most part. If you plan to mix color strains of A. cacatuoides together, you need to realize that the different color strain will mix and you'll end up with some odd colored fish. If you want it self-sustaining, then pick 1 color strain only - or a couple of different, but compatable species. If breeding isn't important, then there is no need for the less colorful females. Just use males. If you aren't interested in Rams, another good alternative would be dwarf acaras like Laetacara dorsigera, L. curviceps, or L. sp. Buckelkopf.

Hi Mike,
Do you happen to have any true curviceps these days?...

 

[cichlad]

Thank you

Dear Nitro, Mike,
Thank you both for your detailed responses. I will take your advise and just stick with two males and six females of one species. I'll get rid of all the conditioning fish I have in there now. I have set up caves using PVC pipes under petrified rocks. Hopefully these will work out as domain anchor points.
I appreciate your help very much.

Thanks
Cichlad

 

[Mike Wise]

Hi Mike,
Do you happen to have any true curviceps these days?...

Yes, I do. I just put my last 5 young adults from wild caught fish in a breeding tank. I also have 2 large (3½-4"/9-10cm TL!) wild caught males, too. They are in "retirement". I bought them at the last Atlanta ACA Convention. When was that? 1984?

 

[viejo]

Yes, I do. I just put my last 5 young adults from wild caught fish in a breeding tank. I also have 2 large (3½-4"/9-10cm TL!) wild caught males, too. They are in "retirement". I bought them at the last Atlanta ACA Convention. When was that? 1984?

Great! I'll get back with you in the Spring, you should have ample fry by then..

 

[amazon dee]

amazon dee

Hi,
I am also relatively new to appistogrammas.

I have had my tank 12 months and inially started the same way as you but did not remove my platys Lesson learnt, but expensive as I lost a pair of maccas. I recently lost my 2nd appisto, a caccatoide, due to a disease on his body.

Now with a fully set up tank and 3 bolian butterflys, a blue ram and some cardinals I am going to add 4 appisto aggazzi.
I have been trying for 6 months to get maccasteri but they are like hens teeth in Adelaide Australia. I have to travel from central Australia just to pick up fish.

Is there anyone who knows more about agazzi as I do not wish to loose these. i have found so far that the appistgramma varietys are all so different in personality.

My tank is 220litres, has plenty of driftwood and rock caves some java moss and a plant (name unknown) on a log. The rest of the tank has plastic plant.
My temp is generally 25-26. Ph 7
I have water changes down to pat now and have never had ammonia, nitite or nitrate spikes.
Is there anything I need to know that isnt in the books?

Dee

 

[georgedv]

I use platys for dithers/target fish w/ my apistos and west africans and they seem to be ok. Is there something I sould know or keep an eye on?

g

 

[Apistomaster]

I guess I am something of a traditionalist when it comes to keeping dwarf Cichlids in that I try to follow a biotope approach and choose companion fish that also are likely to be found in the same habitat but present little threat to the fry. Basically, that would include some of the following; small Tetras, small Corydoras like C.hastatus, and a small young Ancistrus species#3 or Otocinclus for SA Dwarfs. I have much less experience with Westies except my obligatory Kribensis phase but there are some I would like to try and would choose a dwarf barb species and the clean up crew might still have to include Corys/Ancistrus/Otos because it is so hard to find West African analogs here. I have found that at least with large Corydoras sterbai, that they will eat Apistogramma fry that have been free swimming seven days before I combined them. It only took about one night for them to find and eat most of the fry overnight.

Most of the live bearers are potential fry eaters and do better in harder water and higher pH. Mollies are a fish I always use some marine salt with so they are automatically incompatible. Small species like Endlers are better choices among the livebearers as dwarf cichlid dithers. So much for my two cents.