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[Hobbyist84]

Hello,

I am new to apistos but have had both freshwater and saltwater aquariums my whole life.

I thought I saw guides or something by the different types of apistos for keeping and for breeding. I am looking to start a 20 gallon long tank this week with a sponge from another tank and to get some apistos in next week or the week after so I can be sure everything is stable. I plan to keep the bin a pair as a species only tank. Can someone help me find a guide in here that gives me tank parameters (including if they are different for each type), best plants, best substrate, best food and maybe a feeding schedule, etc.? I have fed previous ish bbs, daphnia, grindal worms, white worms, black worms, frozen food, flake, and pellets in the past.

I am still trying to decide on which type to begin with and want to keep them and then breed them down the line. So information on breeding is great too, even though I don’t plan to do so for a while. I plan to do this as a hobbyist and for fun, not to make profit.

Thank you!

 

[MacZ]

I would like to invite you to research here on the forum for yourself, while I give you a very important information:

best plants, best substrate, best food

There is no "best". Plants: Whatever you can get to grow. Substrate: Any fine sand will do. No blasting sand, though!, Food: A wide variety is "best".

It's easier to tell you what to avoid. Stay away from bloodworms (red mosquito larvae) unless you can make sure they are not from contaminated waters and if frozen the freezing chain is unbroken. These things have killed many Apistos and still nobody really knows why. So just avoid them to make sure. Also avoid dry foods with high grain, starch or fish meal content. Insect larvae and crustacean based dry foods are better. In the end, dry foods shouldn't be the staple.

tank parameters (including if they are different for each type)

You mean water parameters? As soft as possible (and yes, GH/KH 0 is possible) and pH between 5 and 6. The number of species that can't go below pH 5 is marginal.

I am still trying to decide on which type to begin with and want to keep them and then breed them down the line.

I advise to stay away from domestic breeds. Bad genetics make most of them all but hardy. Classic beginner: A. borellii. They don't require super soft and acidic conditions and are relatively peaceful.

Be aware: Whichever species you get, once they start breeding they will breed without a break until the female drops dead. And for aggression and population control reasons you should always have a second tank to separate them.

If you first want to get your hands wet in just keeping them, rather go for a single male with a group of Nannostomus or small tetras and research breeding while you get a hold of water parameters, feeding and so on.

I am looking to start a 20 gallon long tank this week with a sponge from another tank and to get some apistos in next week or the week after so I can be sure everything is stable.

Most here will advice to add Apistogramma only to a seasoned tank. Meaning 6-10 months after setup. I would at least wait 2 months too.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Welcome to Apistogramma forums. An established sponge is a great start.

What @MacZ says really, have a look at the links in: <"https://apistogramma.com/forum/threads/maturing-an-aquarium.25797/#post-128211">.

Basically you can maintain water quality a lot more easily in an established tank, with plenty of plants.

Cheers Darrel

 

[Mike Wise]

Have you checked out this site: https://dwarfcichlid.com ? Bob has been keeping dwarf cichlids for decades and has a lot of good basic information.

 

[MacZ]

Oh, the site is back online again! It wasn't available for a while.

 

[anewbie]

Oh, the site is back online again! It wasn't available for a while.

It is better than other. I forget Bob's name here on the forum but he has done a really good job. The only negative is i don't think he is keeping much these days so the newer species are excluded.

 

[rasmusW]

Have you checked out this site: https://dwarfcichlid.com ? Bob has been keeping dwarf cichlids for decades and has a lot of good basic information.

Forgot about that one too..
I’ll add it to the useful links thread..

-r

 

[Hobbyist84]

I would like to invite you to research here on the forum for yourself, while I give you a very important information:


There is no "best". Plants: Whatever you can get to grow. Substrate: Any fine sand will do. No blasting sand, though!, Food: A wide variety is "best".

It's easier to tell you what to avoid. Stay away from bloodworms (red mosquito larvae) unless you can make sure they are not from contaminated waters and if frozen the freezing chain is unbroken. These things have killed many Apistos and still nobody really knows why. So just avoid them to make sure. Also avoid dry foods with high grain, starch or fish meal content. Insect larvae and crustacean based dry foods are better. In the end, dry foods shouldn't be the staple.


You mean water parameters? As soft as possible (and yes, GH/KH 0 is possible) and pH between 5 and 6. The number of species that can't go below pH 5 is marginal.


I advise to stay away from domestic breeds. Bad genetics make most of them all but hardy. Classic beginner: A. borellii. They don't require super soft and acidic conditions and are relatively peaceful.

Be aware: Whichever species you get, once they start breeding they will breed without a break until the female drops dead. And for aggression and population control reasons you should always have a second tank to separate them.

If you first want to get your hands wet in just keeping them, rather go for a single male with a group of Nannostomus or small tetras and research breeding while you get a hold of water parameters, feeding and so on.


Most here will advice to add Apistogramma only to a seasoned tank. Meaning 6-10 months after setup. I would at least wait 2 months too.

Thank you. All good advice.

 

[Hobbyist84]

Hi all,
Welcome to Apistogramma forums. An established sponge is a great start.

What @MacZ says really, have a look at the links in: <"https://apistogramma.com/forum/threads/maturing-an-aquarium.25797/#post-128211">.

Basically you can maintain water quality a lot more easily in an established tank, with plenty of plants.

Cheers Darrel

That makes sense. I have quite a few plants in other aquariums and need to thin them out so was planning to pull some of them and use them. I figure that and a sponge filter and I was actually planning on pulling some sand from an established tank to help seed the new sand too. It should be pretty established fairly quickly, I believe. Like I said, I have had fish my whole life, just not apistos. Am I thinking of this the right way or am I missing something?

 

[Hobbyist84]

Have you checked out this site: https://dwarfcichlid.com ? Bob has been keeping dwarf cichlids for decades and has a lot of good basic information.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

 

[anewbie]

Two of my very soft aquariums with plants for some ideas:
(approx 22 inches of a 48 inch long aquarium)

a 29

These two are from the same 29:

This is from a 100 (48inch x 24 inch)

--
The two are the same 20 long (30inch x 12 inch):

Some of the plants that do well with very soft acidic water:
frogbit, aponogeton crispus, buces, anubias, java fern, nana val, val, echinodorus (esp big bear) which can fill a 29, ...

All of the above aquariums have been setup for over a year - so the plants are quite established.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

That makes sense. I have quite a few plants in other aquariums and need to thin them out so was planning to pull some of them and use them. I figure that and a sponge filter and I was actually planning on pulling some sand from an established tank to help seed the new sand too. It should be pretty established fairly quickly, I believe. Like I said, I have had fish my whole life, just not apistos. Am I thinking of this the right way or am I missing something?

That sounds perfect. The main difference I've found with Apistogramma spp. from "standard fish" is that tend to be fairly unforgiving of any loss of water quality, inappropriate feeding, or suboptimal habitat.

Cheers Darrel