Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis care & personality, any info?

[blucenere]

Hi everybody,
i am interested in keeping a trio of Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis.
It hit me the fact that they are the smallest dwarf cichlids (do you have other experiences?), with the male around 4,5cm and the female 3cm.
The info about them are really few, http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Apistogrammoides_pucallpaensis.php
Does anyone keep them?
Are they aggressive?
How do you see the cohabitation of a trio of Apistogrammoides with 12 Hyphessobricon amandae (3cm max) in an heavely planted tank 60x30 cm (63L)?

 

[Bart Hazes]

I keep H. amandae (ember tetra) in slightly larger tanks (60x50x20cm), one with a pair of A. sp. Abacaxis and another with a pair of A. eremnopyge. Both pairs are guarding fry. I see no altercations between the apistogramma and the ember tetra. Their size and the fact that they spend most of their time in the upper half of the tank probably helps. I've had two batches of them and in both cases I lost a few in the first 2 weeks which is unusual. So I wonder if they are a bit more fragile than other tetras. I personally prefer Axelrodia riesei so over time will be switching to them as my main dither.

As to A. pucallpaensis, I don't have experience with them but they are believed to be a true Apistogramma and a member of the Regani lineage. So assume them to behave like apistos. A trio is probably fine until they start breeding and then the non-breeding female will likely need to find a good home elsewhere.

 

[regani]

I have kept and bred them a few years ago. I kept them I pairs with some pencil fish in a fairly densely planted/decorated tank the same dimension as yours. They were not particularly aggressive (for an apisto) and tended well to their fry. I am not sure if the tetras will pose a thread because of the smaller size of the pucallpaensis compared to other apistos.
When they bred the female laid her eggs in a tiny clay pot. The water was about 120uS and pH 5.5.
Hope that helps.

 

[Mike Wise]

The most difficult problem with Ap. pucallpaensis is the size of newly freeswimming fry. They are so small that they can't easily eat eat newly hatched BBS nor microworms. They need infusoria for the first few days. They are easier to feed in a long-established tank with a lot of Java Moss, where microorganisms live.

 

[regani]

Good point, Mike. The tank I bred them in was indeed a well established tank. I add leaves to my tanks and add new ones over time as the old ones fall apart. I never completely clear out the mulm that that generates. If it gets too much I just clear out some areas, maybe half in total.
All apisto fry seem to enjoy foraging in this and the adults always sift through it as well.

 

[blucenere]

My idea is a Walstad tank, with plenty of mulm and decaying leaves.
I will start with a dry start, and then add rotifer, cyclops, daphnia, moina, Hyalella azteca, Physella acuta and bloodworms (from a reliable source, germs-free) before adding fishes

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

My idea is a Walstad tank, with plenty of mulm and decaying leaves.
I will start with a dry start, and then add rotifer, cyclops, daphnia, moina, Hyalella azteca, Physella acuta and bloodworms (from a reliable source, germs-free) before adding fishes

I didn't have much joy with Hyalella azteca, I think they need harder water. If you can find them <"Asellus aquaticus and Crangonyx pseudogracilis"> do the same job.

Bloodworms (Chironomidae) are the aquatic larvae of a non-biting midge, so you can't culture them in the tank, but you can culture Black-worms (Lumbriculus variegatus).

I have cultures of Black-worms, Asellus and Crangonyx in the UK, so I might be able to post some to Germany when it gets a bit warmer.

cheers Darrel

 

[blucenere]

pardon i meant blackworms

 

[Drayden Farci]

I keep H. amandae (ember tetra) in slightly larger tanks (60x50x20cm), one with a pair of A. sp. Abacaxis and another with a pair of A. eremnopyge. Both pairs are guarding fry. I see no altercations between the apistogramma and the ember tetra. Their size and the fact that they spend most of their time in the upper half of the tank probably helps. I've had two batches of them and in both cases I lost a few in the first 2 weeks which is unusual. So I wonder if they are a bit more fragile than other tetras. I personally prefer Axelrodia riesei so over time will be switching to them as my main dither.

As to A. pucallpaensis, I don't have experience with them but they are believed to be a true Apistogramma and a member of the Regani lineage. So assume them to behave like apistos. A trio is probably fine until they start breeding and then the non-breeding female will likely need to find a good home elsewhere.

Sorry to post off topic, but I was curious if you've kept A. riesei before and how they behave for you? In stores, they appear to be very shy fish (understandably!) and don't move too much. They also tend to hang out around the tank rather than in one shoal or school.