Apistos for warm water

[HaakonH]

I'm setting up a new large Amazon tank, and since I'll keep the water quite warm (28-30 C), I was wondering about good Apisto alternatives for such high temperatures. I've kept Apistos under various temperature conditions before, but the ones I'm putting in this tank I'm planning to keep there permanently, so they have to really thrive under such conditions. Any rare species recommendations would be nice

 

[blueblue]

I'm setting up a new large Amazon tank, and since I'll keep the water quite warm (28-30 C), I was wondering about good Apisto alternatives for such high temperatures. I've kept Apistos under various temperature conditions before, but the ones I'm putting in this tank I'm planning to keep there permanently, so they have to really thrive under such conditions. Any rare species recommendations would be nice

30C is not really too high for most apistos (except, e.g., Borellii which
prefers cooler water). In South East Asia, where the
temperature easily get over 30C, most apistos are kept and bred in
warm water (30C +)... Among the apistos that I kept, I find that
diplo, and Paucisquamis do live very well in warm water. As these species are
quite slow in development, warm water can speed up their growth rate...

 

[KenL]

Will they suffer a shortened lifespan like killis do if kept in warm water?

 

[apistoireland]

yes they will but drop your temperature by 1-2 degrees C and they will last longer. Do you intend to keep them with discus? Really the only reason I can see to keep them in such high temperatures. I keep rams and A. agazzisi with discus and have never had any problems.

 

[apistoireland]

I was referring about the drop in temperature over night. Sorry for the messy reply. If you are keeping them with discus the lower temperature during the night will cause the discus no problem

 

[HaakonH]

Thanx for your replies people. I won't be setting up the tank for Discus to begin with, but I might add some on a later occasion. I will keep various catfishes (a.o. Hypancistrus species which prefers warm water) and some larger Cichlids, like Mesonauta insignis. The tank will be 7-800 liters so there will be a lot of space for some dwarfcichlids to enjoy Diplotaenia is surely a hot tip, and the same goes for paucisquamis. I'm considering several of the more exclusive Rio Negro species (mendezi as well as the two mentioned), but I'd like to try something which I haven't had before, like i.e. pulchra, sp."Vielfleck" or perhaps sp."Breitbinden" due to it's possible size. i imagine they would look good in such a tank!

 

[apistoireland]

I am not quite sure if I would go for Mesonauta species. They grow around 20-25 cm are a bit on the biggish side to keep with dwarf chichlids. It might work but I have seen Mesonauta eat fully grown cardinal tetras so some of the smaller apisto species could turn out to be a handy snack. I would also not keep Mesonautas in water above 28 degrees (26 degrees is actually better) and the hypoancistrus need water temperatues above 28 degrees only if you are planning to breed them which is better done in a seperate tank anyway.

 

[HaakonH]

Thanx for your views! I've yet to decide which species to select, I might give up Apistos this time in favour of some other dwarves. But it's hard to leave out Apistos in such a tank...

I'm absolutely going to keep some warmth-loving pl*cos as these are among my fav fishes, and I wish to provide them with as optimal conditions as possible. Therefore the temperature in the tank will be about 28 C, and I'm sure the Mesonautas will do well. Sure, I've seen them consume a fish or two before, so I'll take that into consideration when choosing tankmates. Anyway I'm starting with young specimens and will let them grow up in the tank. I'm also considering some Biotodoma wavrini which I received a week ago. As this project unfolds I'm gonna try getting some pics taken for you all to see.

 

[apistoireland]

you could try any species from the macmasteri group. I keep A. hongsloi with discus and that is working out ok. And since they are a bit on the bigger side when it comes to apistos you shouldn't have any poblrms with predation either