Hello from a new apistos keeper

[Alex 1999]

Hey guys! I am new to cichlids in general, and more specifically apistos, I currently have 2 apistos cockatoos, a pair I believe but now that I have looked around a bit I am paranoid that my female is really a male, but I'll address that in a later post. I have a 125 gallon tank that is my main tank, and then a 20 gallon that I keep around for qt, as well as a 15 gallon for the same purpose. My stock for the 125 is 6 angels, approx 15 guppies, about 30 corys, 10 kuhli loaches, 3 neon dwarf rainbows, I will be adding more, but the store only had 3, and lastly my pair of cockatoo apistos. So thats me and my fish!

 

[Bart Hazes]

Welcome Alex! Young female apistos that turn out to be males is a common issue. Either have a good long look at them in the store, including behaviour, before buying or get a group of fish and hopefully there will at least be a few of each sex (but I've had groups up to 8 that were all male or all female). Stick to obvious pairs if you can't deal with the uncertainty. In a tank that size you could also keep more than one pair, or a male with 2-3 females.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, Alex, and welcome to the Forum!