Can I keep A. borelli and ~8 Nannostomus marginatus in 64l (16 gal)? in

[flori]

Hi there, hope you're all doing well.
A week ago I received a nice pair of A. borelli to put in my 64l (16 gal) tank (60x30x36cm, 23x12x14in) and the two have settled in nicely.

I was wondering if I could add around 8 Nannostomus marginatus or if that would be too much? Would the N. marginatus be aggressively trying to predate on the borelli fry?

I've kept a pair of borelli in a 90l tank with 15 green neons and the borellis were horribly stressed by trying to defend their fry against the neons, which in the end they didn't succeed in. The borellis fell ill which I attribute to the stress, so I definitely want to avoid that kind of situation.

Attached is a pic of the tank.
Att

 

[Ben Rhau]

I have a trio of apisto with 5 nannostomus marginatus in a 20 long. I would think you are fine from a bioload perspective, but having additional fish in a breeder does tend to complicate things like feeding and capture. My marginatus do not active predate fry. In fact, they tend to get banished to the other side of the tank when there are fry around. That said, if any fry happen to wander their way, they will get eaten.

 

[Drayden Farci]

Yes, they will be fine. Nannostomus have tiny mouths and I doubt they would be able to bother the fry.

 

[Mike Wise]

Neons of all types are fry predators; dwarf pencils not usually. I personally would try it with no qualms in my tanks.

 

[flori]

Thanks, this sounds good. I won't put a Nannostomus in front of a court for looking the wrong way at some fry, I just want to not have full-on warfare against the Apistos and their fry like the Neons did. Also have another tank that I could move the Nannostomus in should things not work out.
Thanks for your input guys

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

Beautiful tank and fish!
You should be just fine. I know ive seen some breeders recommend to have Nannostomus marginatus with the apisto pair/fry as it makes the parent /s more protective while there being no major threat to the fry.

 

[flori]

Beautiful tank and fish!
You should be just fine. I know ive seen some breeders recommend to have Nannostomus marginatus with the apisto pair/fry as it makes the parent /s more protective while there being no major threat to the fry.

Thanks! I've put in 8 Nannostomus marginatus 18 days ago, unfortunately 4 already died. They were super aggressive towards each other and bullied the seemingly weakest fish until it died. I put in a lot of Limnophila sessiliflora which seemed to ease the situation quite a bit.

The A. borelii female brought out fry today, about 30-35 I'd estimate. She's aware of the N. marginatus when they swim by, but not overly concerned, and the N. marginatus aren't interested at all, so that's all good

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

Congrats on the fry!
A. Borelli fry are one of the slowest growing fry so you may have to grow them out for some time.

 

[flori]

Congrats on the fry!
A. Borelli fry are one of the slowest growing fry so you may have to grow them out for some time.

Seems like I don't have to worry about that for now. The male launched an all out attack and ate all the fry! I'm quite puzzled to be honest, why would he do that? Next time I see eggs, he'll have to move to another tank.

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

Seems like I don't have to worry about that for now. The male launched an all out attack and ate all the fry! I'm quite puzzled to be honest, why would he do that? Next time I see eggs, he'll have to move to another tank.

That isn't uncommon. It depends on how bonded the pair are.

 

[flori]

That isn't uncommon. It depends on how bonded the pair are.

I see, thanks for the info!

 

[Mike Wise]

A. borellii (and most apistos) do not form bonded pairs. What you describe is unusual - but not unknown - for this species. Females are usually exceptional parents and protect fry from other fish. My guess is that something just didn't work out this time. It could be environmental, nutritional (adults or fry), or behavioral (inexperience brooding fry). I'd give the adults a couple of more attempts before disturbing the tank trying to remove the male. I've always found patience commonly leads to success.

 

[DwarfCichlidLvr]

A. borellii (and most apistos) do not form bonded pairs. What you describe is unusual - but not unknown - for this species. Females are usually exceptional parents and protect fry from other fish. My guess is that something just didn't work out this time. It could be environmental, nutritional (adults or fry), or behavioral (inexperience brooding fry). I'd give the adults a couple of more attempts before disturbing the tank trying to remove the male. I've always found patience commonly leads to success.

True. However I have seen many exceptions.