hi everybody

[blucenere]

Hi everybody, I am Sergio, i come from Sicily but i live in Germany and i love dwarf cichlids (i think the most beautiful are the striped females...).
I am currently starting a 60*30 cm tank, 63L (sorry but i use only International System of Units).
I am following Walstad method with a dry start.

Plants:
Alternanthera reineckii Mini
Ceratophyllum demersum foxtail
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Echinodorus reni
Helanthium tenellum
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Limnobium laevigatum
Myriophyllum mattogrossense
Staurogyne repens
Taxiphyllum barbieri

After the dry start i will start by populating the aquarium with invertabrates and the final guests will be
12 Hyphessobricon Amandae
and a pair or trio of dwarf cichlids.
Which cichlids is the big question, i want them small (apistogrammoides?) and to be able to live happily in such a small aquarium (unfortunately i cannot get something bigger)
I hope you can help me finding the right guests

Best regards to everyone
Sergio

 

[gerald]

Welome Sergio -- You'll want a cichlid species that does well with moderate hardness and neutral pH, to keep your plants happy, so no obligate blackwater species. Apisto borellii, trifasciata, panduro, steel-blue, "regani" (using that name loosely), Microgeophagus, Dicrossus, ...? (Some of these come from blackwater acidic habitats in nature, but are adaptable and live just fine in moderate pH/hardness).

I hope the Walstad method works OK with your metric units, since she's American ...

 

[Bart Hazes]

My first thought was also borellii. It is one the smaller side of apistos and reasonably tolerant regarding water parameters and temperature. I would keep it at a pair in a tank that size, or get a trio to form a pair and then sell the non-paired female.
I have and like H. amandae but like Axelrodia riesei even better. If you haven't looked at that one then maybe check them out. Best of luck in setting up your tank.

 

[Tlindsey]

Hi everybody, I am Sergio, i come from Sicily but i live in Germany and i love dwarf cichlids (i think the most beautiful are the striped females...).
I am currently starting a 60*30 cm tank, 63L (sorry but i use only International System of Units).
I am following Walstad method with a dry start.

Plants:
Alternanthera reineckii Mini
Ceratophyllum demersum foxtail
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Echinodorus reni
Helanthium tenellum
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
Limnobium laevigatum
Myriophyllum mattogrossense
Staurogyne repens
Taxiphyllum barbieri

After the dry start i will start by populating the aquarium with invertabrates and the final guests will be
12 Hyphessobricon Amandae
and a pair or trio of dwarf cichlids.
Which cichlids is the big question, i want them small (apistogrammoides?) and to be able to live happily in such a small aquarium (unfortunately i cannot get something bigger)
I hope you can help me finding the right guests

Best regards to everyone
Sergio

Welcome aboard

 

[blucenere]

thanks everybody

you kind of got me!

Apistogramma borellii Opal/red mask (is it the same?)
Apistogramma trifasciata, blu version, A204 / Pantanal (is it the same?)
Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis

are my top list.
I would love a trio (is it possible that borellii is more for couple than trio?)...of course if you think that a 60x30 is able to host them
with all my limits, i want them to be happy and not killing each other

I have and like H. amandae but like Axelrodia riesei even better. If you haven't looked at that one then maybe check them out. Best of luck in setting up your tank.

i did not know them! thanks for the suggestions. I now discovered even the Axelrodia stigmatias (it looks even a bit prettier to me)
I love small fishes
But to be honest i still prefer the Hyphessobricon Amandae, 1st they are more schooling, while the Axelrodia apparently are more shoaling (seriouslyfish), 2nd by shape and 3rd they are always at my LFS

I hope the Walstad method works OK with your metric units, since she's American ...

yes i know....you cannot immagine how painfull it was for me to read a scientific work that is not using the internation scientific metric units...

PS gerald, i love elassoma they are amazing, if the male was like dwarf cichlids females, getting yellow in mating mode, they would be in my top list!

 

[blucenere]

if the male was like dwarf cichlids females, getting yellow in mating mode, they would be in my top list!

if the *female was like dwarf cichlids females, getting yellow in mating modeand having parental care....

 

[gerald]

Unfortunately no - Elassoma females are plain speckled brown and tan, and neither sex shows any parental care. The male defends the spawning area, but pays no attention to the eggs, and the fry scatter away from the nest area immediately after hatching. They are also not very responsive toward people (unlike cichlids), spend a lot of time hidden among the plants, and won't usually eat any type of dry food. But they're still pretty cool fish, for those that have the patience to appreciate them.