How Many Apistogramma In 200L?

[Sai]

Hello all,

I have recently redone my tank and would like to invest in some apistos, moving away from larger cichlids which will be rehomed along with the other fish in here. I am interested mainly in 'Vejita Gold' (although I'm aware it's probably macmasteri, but I don't mind). I have seen a pair for sale but I am also keen on the standard colour 'red throat' too. Would it be acceptable to keep both pairs in the tank or is this a bad idea? I am a little exhausted of dealing with aggression so wouldn't want to have to rehome somewhere down the line. I am also curious what can be kept with these? I am thinking of cardinal tetra and a pleco, maybe corydoras, and perhaps some rainbow fish too; are any of these a bad idea? Finally, I have a giant african shrimp in the tank which will not be rehomed; would this be okay in with them?

Tank is 200L, 100cm long x 40cm deep, 45cm high (aprox.), GH is 8, KH is 10, and PH is 7.0 during the day and 7.6 at night due to co2. I've currently got a cacatuoides in here who's over a year old now but he will be rehomed.

 

[anewbie]

I would stick to white water fishes given your hardness. cockatoo, borelli and similar. I think given how the tank is laid out i would limit to a harem breeder with 1 male and 2 or 3 females. You could possibly have two different groups of paired species but it might be a bit of risk. One could imagine one pair in front and another in the back of course you would not get much viewing pleasure from the ones in the back.

 

[Mike Wise]

The first question you need to ask yourself is if you want to try breeding apistos in this tank or is it just a community. If a community, then it should be ok if all species are relatively non-aggressive. If you ever want to breed your apistos, then this is one of the worse combinations of fish possible.