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Apistogramma tank-mates

Neil

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1,583
Location
Sacramento, Ca.
What fish are all of you keeping with Apistogramma species? Have you had better luck with keeping apistos with dithers or target fish in the tank, or just the pair? How about groups instead of pairs?
 
W

Wiley

Guest
I keep mostly pairs but sometimes I use tetra or white clouds for dithers. I also will put another cichlid in the tank sometimes to get them really in the mood. Oherwise they spend too much time beating each other up.
 

Neil

New Member
Messages
1,583
Location
Sacramento, Ca.
Wiley,
I have done the same thing many-a-time. If you have more than one tank close to each other the fish often actually defend the territory and get into the parenting mode without the blood and guts :twisted:
I have used a male of the same species for a target and it seems to bring about the most profound parenting response by both the other fish, but he usually doesn't have a very good time. Neil
 

Cichlids1

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
240
Location
Central Ohio
Do to limits in space and money, my apistos get all kinds of company. Mostly other cichlids, an occassional tetra or pencilfish. I try to mix and match them. Same temperments, close conditions, different complexes. Even have 4 tanks with West African's (Pelvicacromis taeniatus) as tank mates. Trying them with the aggie "Alenquer" now. See if a larger fish will put the damper on their aggression. I also have my "Frustration" tank with 5 A. gephyra and 4 D. filamentosa. All spawn once a month like clockwork. Haven't seen as much as a wiggler out of any of them. But, that is another topic and another post 8)
 

jowens

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
88
Location
Boston, MA
Hi Guys - first post here.

I like keeping my Apistos with Rams. The Rams are wimpy, but just cichlid-ish enough to deal with the harassment my Apistos (1 pair Agassizzi, 1 pair cacatuoides) like to dish out. There's kind of a low-grade territoriality that goes on with my Apistos setting the boundaries and the Rams doing best they can to avoid getting picked on. The Rams, incidentally, appear quite strong and healthy for all the guff they put up with. They seem to cope by hanging out in the middle of the water column...only angering the Apistos when the venture to the bottom.

I also house my Apistos with killifish. F. Gardneri does fairly well, though they sometimes get picked on because they share the bottom of the tank with the Apistos. Gardneri enjoy hiding in thick plants, however, and will generally find places that Apistos don't visit. An even better choice would be the surface dwelling killies. E. Chaperi and Yellow panchax, which are interesting and colorful surface-only fish who eat like horses and breed easily, go great with Apistos. They inhabit the top of the water column and simply don't have occasion to get into tiffs with the Apistos.

The overall effect in my big comminity tank is a "layered" tank, with Apistos and gardneri inhabiting the bottom, Rams inhabiting the middle water column, and surface killies inhabiting the upper column. It seems to work great. Other fish that seem to do fine include neons, cardinals, and even mollies...who seem to go relatively unnotices by my Apistos.
 

Neil

New Member
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1,583
Location
Sacramento, Ca.
I love the idea of keeping killies with apistos. I have done it before and it usually works out pretty well. The one problem that I have had is that my tanks are open and killies are excellent jumpers. I learned that the hard way. But with a little precaution, the benefits can be great. There are some spectacular looking killies.
Apistogramma species, in general, are fairly rare species and not easy to come by. So are most of the killifish species. But if you are going to put in the effort to acquire and maintain apistos, then you probably have the desire to put some pretty interesting fish with them. I have always wanted to try some of the dwarf Rainbow species from New Zealand - I think they are psuedomogil :?: species. Lots of them are soft-water fish and also would stay higher in the water column. Anybody ever try these?
 

jowens

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
88
Location
Boston, MA
More on killies and Apistos

Two "can't miss" killies for the Apisto tank...

One of the best killies you can keep with Apistos (as long as you're not going too too low with your pH) is the Golden Wonder killifish (Aplocheilus Lineatus):

http://mx.geocities.com/mexfishweb/page.html

The Golden wonder is an exceptionally large, hearty, and peaceful killi that grows to be 4.5" long. They have a reputation as a particularly tough fish so they very well could tolerate lower pH's if brought along slowly. They inhabit only the surface layer of the tank, hovering there in typical killi fashion waiting for food. They will eat anything. They are bottom/plant spawners and can be easily bred in 10 gallon tanks...very prolific egg layers for killies. They live for 4+ years. In my tank they simply live in a different world (surface vs. bottom) from the Apistos and have no cause to interact whatsoever. A beautifully colored fish.

Epiplatys Chaperi is another excellent killi for Apisto tanks:

http://shene.killi.net/Epiplatys/chaperiAngona.jpg

Another tough and rugged killi, Chaperi are hard to kill and eat like horses. They don't get quite as long as Golden Wonders (about 3.5" max), but they get rather fat, with elongated bodies resembling a good-sized human index finger. Like Golden Wonders, Chaperi hover exclusively near the surface. They are mop spawners who breed easily, though they're not as prolific as Golden Wonders. They "hover" a lot like most killies, but males will also chase females around quite a bit...don't seem to hurt them. E. Chaperi does not appear sensitive to bright light, can tolerate a wide range of temperatures, and will eat a variety of freeze dried, frozen and flake foods. They are a mouth with fins, so feeding time can be fun.

Both of these fish will jump (particularly the G. Wonder), so don't place them in uncovered tanks.
 
R

Ron Gretz

Guest
My Apisto Tank Mates

I am relatively new to Apistos, but here is what I have. 5 Apistogramma Agassizii (1 male 4 female) and 3 other unidentified Apistogrammas. All 8 of these fish are in a community aquarium (30 gal tank) with a mix assortment of tetras (approximately 2 dozen), 4 loaches and 5 gouramis. The Apistogrammas in general tend to hide in the rock caves I built in the tank (cichlid nature) in the morning and throughout the day, but towards evening, come out and mix with the other fish. During feeding, they tend to be very "polite" towards the other fish, even when feeding frozen food like plankton or bloodworms or shrimp pellets (which they seem to really like over the frozen food). I also have 5 gold rams, but they are in a separate 10 gal tank at the moment in an attempt to get them to spawn.
 

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