Hello from New Zealand

[Mk11wagn]

Hello,

Some Background...

Have had various fish for about 5 years now
have recently shifted house and had to downsize from a 750L community tank to a 320L tank subsequently all i am left with fishwise is about 6 Sterbai Cories and 8 Rummynose and a half hearted planted tank.....
have had my eye on Apistos for a few months now and am ready to sort my tank out and get some! whoohoo!

they (apistos) are rather difficult to come across in NZ and would like to hear from anyone who is breeding them in NZ and hopefully get myself a little harem of these awesome fish

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!!

 

[Mike Wise]

Welcome! I will give you some experience from my 40 years of keeping and breeding apistos. Apistos make great community fish in a planted tank, but if you expect to breed them together with cories and rummies, then you'll probably be disappointed.

 

[Mk11wagn]

Hi Mike, I would like to get a few and see how things go with them for a start before I have a go at breeding them......

Hoping to get my tank better set up this weekend and then go on a hunt for some fish...

Any suggestions on what apistos to start with.... I'm probably only going to be able to afford a pair at this point and maybe add another in a month or two.... It's winter here and the shops don't like importing much during the cold months as they say they lose too many in transport... So I might just have to start with whatever I can get my hands on at this stage

Any suggestions would be awesome

 

[Mike Wise]

Most people start with a domestic color strain of A. cacatuoides or A. borellii, but there are so many species/form (~ 400 at last count!) that it's hard to say what you would like.

 

[Mk11wagn]

what are these guys?

 

[Mk11wagn]

 

[Mk11wagn]

 

[TCMontium]

Two fish in the first photo are some species of Hemichromis. Second has a sick A. cacatuoides (above) and a (I guess?) A. macmasteri (below). Third pic is a pair of A. cacatuoides (if the one that "is" a male isn't actually a very colorful female).