Fish acquisition dilemma

[Scooter]

I think I already know what I'm going to do, but I thought I'd share this problem with you and see what choice you'd make. I've got a single male Crenicichla compressiceps being held for me at my lfs. I'm waiting for another shipment of them to come in so I can get a female to have a breeding pair. In any case, I've got an opportunity to pick up some some nice A. cacatuoides and/or some good looking A. borellii juvies as well as some A. bitaeniata juvies. Here's the dilemma. I only have a single 10g qt tank available at the moment. The dwarf pike has to go in there. But I also plan to pick up some Apistos mentioned above and I'm not sure which ones or how many. And they have to go in the 10g with the pike if I get them. This is a good problem to have. Let's hear what you'd do if you were in my shoes.

 

[Drakken]

For a 10g tank you should put in 1 dwarf cichlid only.

I have a bow front 7g tank that has a foot print almost the same as a 10g. I put 1 male and 1 female A. cacatuoides in the tank. I had to take the male out because he "owned" the whole tank. He is now in my 35g hex tank and is much happier. The female is very happy on her own and if I add anything to that tank it will be something small like a few Neon Tetras or Harlequin Rasboras.


It's hard to resist the temptation when you see really nice fish at the LFS but be sure you do what is right for the fish first. I highly suggest that you wait to get another tank for any more cichlids. I learned this leason at the expense of 4 beautiful Rams as I watched them all die over the course of a week (see my thread on this .

On that note... The A. cacatuoide is a great fish. Both of mine are full of personality and add a lot of fun in my tanks.

 

[Scooter]

Hey Drakken. Thanks for the info. Though I don't entirely agree with the one dwarf cichlid for a 10g assertion you make, I do agree with you that you have to be careful when keeping conspecifics in tight quarters. I will also say that dwarfs (like most cichlids) have unique personalities and being conservative in housing them typically saves fish lives and money. Anyway, I may just breakdown and set up another qt tank to keep the species separated in the event I pick up several.

 

[Neil]

Scooter,
C. compressiceps would be my first choice, but there are a few things to throw into the decision.
1) These are a fairly aggressive fish. If you have not worked with pikes before or are a little unfamiliar with aggression management in a small tank, these guys might really test you.
2) They are sometimes quite difficult to sex, so you need to really be sure of what you are getting when buying a partner.
3) Even if you do know what you are looking at, it is not a sure thing that the LFS will get in anything but the same sex they are holding for you.
So, you may want to get one of the other pairs of Apistogramma for the ten and then go with the flow when the other compressiceps come in. you can always set up another tank for them.
I have bred compressiceps numerous times in a 15g., but several times I had to seperate the pair for a month to allow the female caudal fin (which was bitten off almost to the peduncle) to grow back. They can be some pretty mean little pikes :twisted:
Neil

 

[Scooter]

Hi Neil. As always, thanks for the input. Looks like I'm going to go ahead and put the compressiceps in the 10 and pick up some of the cacatouides. The cacs won't go in the 10, but will go straight to the 75g. I would rather have a few borelliis, but it's too close to Christmas thus my budget is smaller this month