community apistogramma tank?

[joller]

hey guys, in about a months time i'm hoping to shuffle some fish around and set up a 4x2x2 tank for my apisto's, the tank would only be filled up half way and i hope to grow some emersed plants around the back and sides

i'm still pretty new to apistos and was wondering how well difference species would co-inhabbit the tank, the stocklist will be
2 male baenschi's 2 female baenschis
1 male aggasizzi 2 female aggasizzi
1 male borelli 1 female borelli

would these different species have the ability to hybridise?

and species i'm interested in getting are panduros and bitaeniatas, would these species also co-inhabit the tank?
or should i stick to my currrent species only in 2 foot tanks set up?

 

[Gwendal]

I would not put 2 males of baenschi.
How many liters the aquarium is?¿





1 saludo

 

[Linus_Cello]

Hopefully Mike will weigh in, but the more different the apistos look from each other, the more likely there will be "community harmony" (but then again, considering the size of your tank, this may be ok). I worry that the baenschis may be too close to the borelli, but I've never had baenschi's, so I will defer to someone else with experience in them. A. panduros are in the nijesseni group, like baenschi's, so this could be probelmatic. On hybridization, I also defer to someone else.

Also, if you have dwarf cichlids that prefer different environs, then they may more likely co-habitat peacefully. See http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php (box on A. cacauotoides and dwarf ram).

I'm curious, what emersed plants are you planning to use? You borelli will probably appreciate them.

 

[Mike Wise]

If properly aquascaped, I have no problem with the numbers and species for a 4x2x2 (foot?) tank (approx 120 US gallons/460 l) - except the A. borellii. This species probably would not survive with the much larger, more aggressive A. baenschi. All of the species are sufficiently different that it is very unlikely that they could successfully cross.

 

[joller]

thanks for all the input, i guess i do have plenty of back up tanks if anything goes bad, maybe i will keep the borelli's seperate, at the moment the baenschis are still the same size as the borelli's (2cm) and are quite anxious and not coming out, whereas the borellis are alot ore confident in their tank

yes its 4x2x2 foot (but will only be about 200L filled up half way), emersed plants will probably be mosses, javas ferns and anubias but i may find a few other suitable plants in the garden, the scape will include lots of driftwood and hopefully a carpet of chain swords

yes i am worried that if i got panduro it could cross with baenschi, and bitaeniata could cross with aggasizzi?

i would like to have the breeding in this tank so maybe i should keep similar species out of the mix

 

[Linus_Cello]

What about amazon swords? Too much light? They can grow emersed.

 

[Mike Wise]

The bottom surface area is more important than volume (depth of tank) for apistos. If you want to breed your apistos, I strongly suggest keeping only 1 species in the aquarium. A community tank makes a poor breeding tank. Instead of several different species, try more specimens of the same species. You should have better success - and no problem knowing which fry belong to which species.

 

[joller]

i didn't know amazon swords could grow emersed, i will give them a try also

i've kept and bred many cichlids before just not apistos, i thought maybe given enough relative space they could defend their fry better

 

[Linus_Cello]

Actually, a lot of "aquatic plants" are commercially grown emersed. That way, there is no algae and less snails.