Is a 4ft x 4ft aquarium large enough to support colony of both pucallpaensis and borelli ?

[Apistoguy52]

If you’re going to go Pterophyllum, leopoldi is probably a reasonable choice. The other two species will gobble up apistogramma fry….

 

[Mazan]

That sounds very nice - will the ember tetras and pencilfish be Ok with the angelfish though? I mean I do actually have pencilfish with my big scalares with no problem so I guess the leopoldis may be less likely to eat them.

 

[anewbie]

That sounds very nice - will the ember tetras and pencilfish be Ok with the angelfish though? I mean I do actually have pencilfish with my big scalares with no problem so I guess the leopoldis may be less likely to eat them.

I honestly don't know - i mean the leo are smaller than regular angels seriouslyfish suggest around 4 inch which makes them smaller than the cupid but would either they or the cupid go after ember tetra just not sure.

 

[Mazan]

I am not sure either, perhaps it would be safer to get bigger tetras?

 

[anewbie]

I am not sure either, perhaps it would be safer to get bigger tetras?

Well I don't want something that will hunt the frys - also i have 14 embers that were going in that tank if i used it for guppies; so changing the stocking i can either put them in there or put them in the basement where i never see them...

Now the pencil fishes i don't have so if you think they will be snacks i should look for something else...

Don't get me wrong i dont' particularly want them to be eaten and if that is likely to happen I can put them in the low ph tank with the Abacaixis; then again maybe i should put the leo with the abacaixis and just put the cupid in this tank. I honestly don't know what will work better - the pucallpaensis don't really seem to hang out at the bottom - i would say lower 2/3 of the 10; angels lean towards the top 'cept if they see something to eat near the bottom. Hum. I don't know...

 

[anewbie]

maybe Copella arnoldi

 

[Mazan]

Copella is not a bad idea, I don’t have C.arnoldi, but another species, maybe C.compta, they have got quite big now. Or some of the larger pencilfish should be fine. According to Seriously Fish, Biotodoma won’t eat any fish bigger than a few mm. Perhaps the leopoldi would not eat the tetras if you get the angelfish as small juveniles? But they might eat the Apistogramma fry…Maybe worth a try anyway, it seems to me like a really interesting combination.

 

[anewbie]

Just an updated picture of my a. pucallpaensis. I've had them for about 10 months now so not the first time they have bred but since I'm moving soon i've made an effort to feed this group - i guess these are around 3 weeks old - Dad is doing a better job guarding them now that they are beginning to swim further from mom - kind amusing to watch mom with him - as she will periodically headbutt him but not really attack him - just push him out of the way i guess:

Seem pretty easy fish to keep; definitely not peaceful to other intruders - they do leave the pangio shelfordii alone even when they are near the frys. There is one fry from an earlier group still in the aquarium - about 4 months old - around 1/4 an inch.

 

[Cichlacat]

If uou had a 4 foot wide and 4 foot long you’d be able to many more combos. The height of the tank does not matter to most dwarf cichlids.
So with that being said, in your current tank I would do the following:

Stay away from rams except the Bolivian ones.

Obtain only one type of apistos or just collect the males. A dwarf acara is a good choice. Make sure they have water chemistry parameters in common. I know you’re not interested in breeding so don’t buy pairs.

Find a schooling fish that will stay in the very top and another for the middle. Again choose the species for the water chemistry and parameters if the apistos you decide on.

If wanted add plants that match also plus driftwood, rocks, etc.

Be content with a beautiful tank!

I can’t wait to see photos and hear your choices.

 

[anewbie]

If uou had a 4 foot wide and 4 foot long you’d be able to many more combos. The height of the tank does not matter to most dwarf cichlids.
So with that being said, in your current tank I would do the following:

Stay away from rams except the Bolivian ones.

Obtain only one type of apistos or just collect the males. A dwarf acara is a good choice. Make sure they have water chemistry parameters in common. I know you’re not interested in breeding so don’t buy pairs.

Find a schooling fish that will stay in the very top and another for the middle. Again choose the species for the water chemistry and parameters if the apistos you decide on.

If wanted add plants that match also plus driftwood, rocks, etc.

Be content with a beautiful tank!

I can’t wait to see photos and hear your choices.

Actually i'm willing to go with a colony which implies some breeding. In the aquarium i currently have a number of a. pucallpaensis - not sure how many but i think around 8 or 10; 8 cupido which have so far ignored them though one of the cupido is bulling the other 7 and a bunch of hastaus cory (15? 18?). The a. pucallpaensis females which much smaller feel comfortable eating with the cupido and after 2 years my large male pucallpaensis also feels safe coming to the front to eat while the cupido are there so in that aspect they have improved things. They are very affectionate but timid - if they don't recognize me for some reason they quickly scatter but as long as they can recognize me they will come up and eat 'from my hand'.