Cacatouoides

[Ghostfeather]

I have my 50g ready to go,and have a trio of Cacatouoides coming in.
Is it a good idea to keep dither fish in with them?
Thanks
Bill

 

[uberape]

I think it depends if your breeding them in there. If your not I doubt it matters, my cacatuoides have always been pretty confident fish as long there is hiding places and maybe a few floating plants. but fifty g is pretty big for 3 cacatuoides, so I would add pencil fish, hatchets or something.

 

[Neptune's Neighborhood]

Dithers are always a good idea, unless you can't perform adequate quarantine procedures. If breeding, be sure to pick something that won't overwhelm the breeding fish, is fast enough to get away and hangs out in a different part of the tank. Pencils are perfect. Plecos are not.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I like Pencils as dithers as well, but if you want a cheap easily available dither Black Neon Tetra (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) are good as well.

Have a look at this thread: <http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/index.php?threads/dither-fish.12712/>

cheers Darrel

 

[Ghostfeather]

I think it depends if your breeding them in there. If your not I doubt it matters, my cacatuoides have always been pretty confident fish as long there is hiding places and maybe a few floating plants. but fifty g is pretty big for 3 cacatuoides, so I would add pencil fish, hatchets or something.

I just figured it would give them a pretty big territory and eliminate any squabbling.
I have a good size piece of driftwood in the center and 2 caves on each side.
A very low bio-load and plenty of room for fry to live in.
I will try Black Neons for dither fish.
Thanks for the replys!
Bill

 

[Ghostfeather]

I think it depends if your breeding them in there. If your not I doubt it matters, my cacatuoides have always been pretty confident fish as long there is hiding places and maybe a few floating plants. but fifty g is pretty big for 3 cacatuoides, so I would add pencil fish, hatchets or something.

Yes,I plan on breeding.
Bill

 

[uberape]

if your going for black neons i would go for black phantom tetra, they are much more amusing to watch and they only really care about their group and your feeding. I think cacatuiodes wouldn't have much problems with them.

 

[Neptune's Neighborhood]

I really like Nannostomus beckfordi with my cacatuoides, throw some hornwort on the top and you'll get both species breeding in the same tank..

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I like both of them as fish. I've never tried Black Phantom Tetras with Apistogramma, but I would be wary of Beckford's Pencil as a dither, as they are both more bottom orientated than Black Neons or the other Pencils. The problem with most Tetras (and Beckford's Pencil) is that they will hunt fry at the bottom of the tank.

Tetras like Neons and Pristellas are really efficient fry predators.

cheers Darrel

 

[Neptune's Neighborhood]

I've had more trouble with Nannostomus marginatus (dwarf pencilfish) hunting fry than my Beckford's. It's really defendant on the fish personalities, I think. I had one P pulcher pair that could fend off 3 tiger barbs and another pair that had to have serpae tetra. Above all, the key is to not have too many dithers, as breeders may become overwhelmed or overpowered by a smart attack.

 

[sasikan]

i also had kribs raise large amounts of fry s and pushing adult angels in a corner