Ideas for a beginner

[Boserup]

Santa brought a nice entry-level R.O. system for Christmas. With that I dare give apistos another try - after my initial failure. I'm thinking for R.O. in the winter and rainwater the rest of the year. I'll re-setup the tanks in an apistofriendly style during the holidays. Sand, lot's of wood and leaflitter + plants. But keep in mind, I'm still a beginner in this game.

Species-wise I'm looking for one(1!) species. I'm interested in keeping apistos that can display their natural behaviour in the tank(s). One male is not what I'm into. "Production" of a lot of fry neither. Breeding behaviour is definitely something I'd be interested in - but not raising hundreds of fry. Pair forming or harem-style behavior could both be interesting I think.

Tank wise I have two tanks: A 70 Gallon display tank currently with tetras and Corys (footpriont: 100cm*50cm). And a 30 Gallon (80cm*35cm) that could work as a breeder or species tank. Gonna pick up a 15 Gallon for quarentine, when I find a cheap one locally.

There are lots of apistos to choose from at local fish stores at the moment (and I'm sure I can find others at local breeders). But what species would be ideal for me?

• Beginner
• R.O./rainwater (preferably mixed with tap water at least in the big tank)
• Interested in natural intra-species behaviour

Some of the locally available species:
Apistogramma kullanderi f1
Apistogramma panduro F1
Apistogramma sp rio Tefe F1
apistogramma trifasciata
Apistogramma cf. ortegai ex. sp. “Pebas” F1
Apistogramma sp. “Alto-Tapiche” F1
Apistogramma sp borellii Opal
Apistogramma atahualpa f1
Apistogramma sp. hongsloi
Apistogramma sp. Viejeta II
Apistogramma baenschi (wc)
+ different agazzisi & Cacatuides colorfull strains
But also:
Wild caught Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Nannacara aureocephalus “Rio Armontabo” f1
nannacara aureocephalus rio kaw
Laetacara flamannellus f1

 

[MacZ]

But what species would be ideal for me?

• Beginner
• R.O./rainwater (preferably mixed with tap water at least in the big tank)
• Interested in natural intra-species behaviour

Some of the locally available species:
Apistogramma kullanderi f1
Apistogramma panduro F1
Apistogramma sp rio Tefe F1
apistogramma trifasciata
Apistogramma cf. ortegai ex. sp. “Pebas” F1
Apistogramma sp. “Alto-Tapiche” F1
Apistogramma sp borellii Opal
Apistogramma atahualpa f1
Apistogramma sp. hongsloi
Apistogramma sp. Viejeta II
Apistogramma baenschi (wc)
+ different agazzisi & Cacatuides colorfull strains
But also:
Wild caught Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Nannacara aureocephalus “Rio Armontabo” f1
nannacara aureocephalus rio kaw
Laetacara flamannellus f1

My recommendations are marked bold. My main factor for these choices is you being a beginner. Going by the hardware alone you have free reign, an RO unit makes all of them possible.

Apistogramma kullanderi f1

If I'm not mistaken, they are quite easy to maintain, so with confirmation by others those would also be an option.

+ different agazzisi & Cacatuides colorfull strains

Stay clear of domestic forms of these two. Overbred to the max. Autoimmune problems due to inbreeding and deformities lead to short life expectancies and permanent health problems. (As you have experienced already.)

 

[Boserup]

Okay. Update time.

Ended up buying Borellis. They seem happy, spawned immediately (within hours of them entering the tank). Freeswimming fry, but none lasted more than a few days. Maybe the 6 Amandaes in the tank got an extra snack.

Images below.

 

[Mike Wise]

What were the fry being fed?

 

[Boserup]

What were the fry being fed?

Artemia (baby brine shrimp).

I actually thougth that the female ate the eggs, but suddenly she was very active in running of the Amandaes and I noticed the fry. Amandaes like artemia too though….

Should I consider infusoria if/when they breed again?

 

[Mike Wise]

A. borellii females have a reputation of being excellent mothers. In the 50s and 60s many breeders placed fry of then rare apisto species with borellii females because of this. My guess is that the Amandas are eating more than BBS. Schooling tetras can be hard to fend off by a single mom.

 

[anewbie]

A. borellii females have a reputation of being excellent mothers. In the 50s and 60s many breeders placed fry of then rare apisto species with borellii females because of this. My guess is that the Amandas are eating more than BBS. Schooling tetras can be hard to fend off by a single mom.

A little surprise - of all the tetra i would have thought ember would have been safe. I was able to breed my a. pucallpaensis with them but perhaps i am comparing apple with oranges ?

 

[Mike Wise]

A lot depends on how a tank is decorated. More open areas = more lost fry.

 

[Boserup]

You are propably right. The Amandaes where circling around the fry. When they got too close she chased them off, but they didn’t stop circling.

The amandaes eat live white mosquito larvae as well. Huge prey for such tiny tetras!

For now I think I’ll let “nature” take its course. I like observing breeding behavior (that’s a big part of why I find Cichlids fascinating) but I wouldn’t know what to do with tons of fry (donate to LFS I guess - it’s a hard business with inflation and all).

Thanks for all the comments.