Can you keep a pair of apisto alone?

[Jessail]

Greetings
I have a 20 gallons long and I know it’s really borderline for a pair of apistogramma cacatuoid.
Because of that, I have been struggling to find suitable tank mates for them. I was hoping for cpd but heard a lot of caution against the idea.
So I was wondering - is it ok to keep the pair alone in the aquarium or will that affect their happiness and behavior?
Thank you!

 

[MacZ]

is it ok to keep the pair alone in the aquarium or will that affect their happiness and behavior?

You can sure do that. That's how most people keep them for breeding. Usually fish of any species ignore other species except when breeding or in a predator-prey-relationship. So there is no reason to think keeping them in a species-only tank would be detrimental.

 

[Rycraft]

Greetings
I have a 20 gallons long and I know it’s really borderline for a pair of apistogramma cacatuoid.
Because of that, I have been struggling to find suitable tank mates for them. I was hoping for cpd but heard a lot of caution against the idea.
So I was wondering - is it ok to keep the pair alone in the aquarium or will that affect their happiness and behavior?
Thank you!

As mentioned above they will be fine alone. If you decide to add a dither fish to make them feel more comfortable I would not recommend CPDs. They are very timid and would not make a great tank mate for Apistogramma. I would recommend a less timid fish like smaller tetra varieties. I have mine with a school of 14 ember tetras and they work quite well together. The Embers are not at all intimidated by the occasional flares of dominance and have no issues during feeding time.

 

[julila]

Greetings
I have a 20 gallons long and I know it’s really borderline for a pair of apistogramma cacatuoid.
Because of that, I have been struggling to find suitable tank mates for them. I was hoping for cpd but heard a lot of caution against the idea.
So I was wondering - is it ok to keep the pair alone in the aquarium or will that affect their happiness and behavior?
Thank you!

Hi, how your apistos feeling now?