Can my two different apistos thrive together?

[apistonewbie]

To preface this convo, I've got a 40-gal breeder tank with 3 emerald corys, 2 albino corys, 1 fairy cory, 3 ghost shrimp, a young bristle nose pleco, 2 young t-bar cichlids, and a pair of Apistogramma cacatuoides. The male cacatuoides, Tony, and the female, Pebble, will sometimes mess with the t bars, but not much compared to when they were first introduced. I recently added a pair of Apistogramma macmasteri, and Tony has been chasing them a lot, often curving his body before pursuing them. While I figure this could possibly be just establishing boundaries and dominance, I wanted to post on here to see what the experts thought on if they can work it out and live together.

 

[MacZ]

No offence, the tank is lacking structure. From a dwarf cichlid keeper's point of view it's a barren tank without any possible territory boundaries.
The behaviour you observed will not stop until the A. macmasteri are removed or dead from stress. You can read up on dwarf cichlids with catfish here on the forum, just use the search.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Welcome to Apistogramma.com, this is going to sound a bit negative, but you obviously love your fish and this will save a lot of heart-ache in the longer term.

I've got a 40-gal breeder tank with 3 emerald corys, 2 albino corys, 1 fairy cory, 3 ghost shrimp, a young bristle nose pleco, 2 young t-bar cichlids, and a pair of Apistogramma cacatuoides. The male cacatuoides, Tony, and the female, Pebble, will sometimes mess with the t bars, but not much compared to when they were first introduced. I recently added a pair of Apistogramma macmasteri

Can you re-home the T-bar Cichlids (Amatitlania sajica)? They aren't really suitable tank mates as they grow and the same really applies the Ancistrus and the Corydoras spp.

And the same really applies to your two species of Apistogramma, they aren't going to get along in the longer term and if either of the pairs spawn, there maybe some damage to the other tank inhabitants.

cheers Darrel

 

[apistonewbie]

Hi all,
Welcome to Apistogramma.com, this is going to sound a bit negative, but you obviously love your fish and this will save a lot of heart-ache in the longer term.

Can you re-home the T-bar Cichlids (Amatitlania sajica)? They aren't really suitable tank mates as they grow and the same really applies the Ancistrus and the Corydoras spp.

And the same really applies to your two species of Apistogramma, they aren't going to get along in the longer term and if either of the pairs spawn, there maybe some damage to the other tank inhabitants.

cheers Darrel

Hey Darrel, thanks for all the info! This tank is one that a roommate and I share, so might not have been enough thought in preparing the cohabitation limits. I've used a site called AqAdvisor for tank planning, and it seems to say that corys and the pleco will be fine with the apistos, is that trustworthy info?

 

[apistonewbie]

No offence, the tank is lacking structure. From a dwarf cichlid keeper's point of view it's a barren tank without any possible territory boundaries.
The behaviour you observed will not stop until the A. macmasteri are removed or dead from stress. You can read up on dwarf cichlids with catfish here on the forum, just use the search.

Hey MacZ, would adding more structure lead to them being able to cohabitate or are we beyond that point?

 

[MacZ]

Hey MacZ, would adding more structure lead to them being able to cohabitate or are we beyond that point?

Not at all, I'm very much with Darrel. What you have there is, really no offence, what we call a fish stew in Germany.

 

[apistonewbie]

Not at all, I'm very much with Darrel. What you have there is, really no offence, what we call a fish stew in Germany.

Good to know, if the macmasteri were to be moved to a separate tank, would the set up for this one work?

 

[apistonewbie]

Good to know, if the macmasteri were to be moved to a separate tank, would the set up for this one work?

Or would moving Tony and Pebble to a breeding set up also be a solution?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I've used a site called AqAdvisor for tank planning, and it seems to say that corys and the pleco will be fine with the apistos, is that trustworthy info?

Not really.
That is a lot of fish.

The Ancistrus will be active at night and disturb your cichlids. The problem with the Corydoras spp. is really if your cichlids breed, but you may find problems with harassment even when they aren't breeding. Other bottom dwelling fish rarely go well with Apistogramma.

Also your gravel isn't ideal for either Apistogramma or Corydoras, sand would be much better.

Cheers Darrel

 

[apistonewbie]

Hi all,

Not really.
That is a lot of fish.

The Ancistrus will be active at night and disturb your cichlids. The problem with the Corydoras spp. is really if your cichlids breed, but you may find problems with harassment even when they aren't breeding. Other bottom dwelling fish rarely go well with Apistogramma.

Also your gravel isn't ideal for either Apistogramma or Corydoras, sand would be much better.

Cheers Darrel

Hey Darrel,
Thanks again for responding! For the sake of the fish then, along with my interest in having the cacatoidues breeding, it sounds like it might be best to move them a tank with sand, some dithers, and a different species of catfish, is that correct? If so what size tank would you recommend?

 

[anewbie]

Hey Darrel,
Thanks again for responding! For the sake of the fish then, along with my interest in having the cacatoidues breeding, it sounds like it might be best to move them a tank with sand, some dithers, and a different species of catfish, is that correct? If so what size tank would you recommend?

Why a catfish ?

 

[MacZ]

If you want to breed, forego on catfish completely. As per Mike Wise's Mantra: A breeding tank is not a community tank and vice versa.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

For the sake of the fish then, along with my interest in having the cacatoidues breeding, it sounds like it might be best to move them a tank with sand, some dithers,

I had mine in a 2' (60 cm) tank with Black-neon Tetra (H. herbertaxelrodi) that worked fine, but I keep <"very weedy"> tanks <"https://apistogramma.com/forum/threads/cory-and-apistogramma.21451/#post-100781">.

and a different species of catfish,

The only catfish I've had in the tanks with successfully breeding Apistogramma have been Otocinclus sp., and the dwarf Gastrodermus (Corydoras) hastatus and G. pygmaeus. I didn't get very good fry survival with the two dwarf "Corydoras" species, possibly because they are competitors for very small food items.

cheers Darrel