Less aggressive Apistogramma species

[Pragmatism]

Hi all, it's my first post on this forum. I'm after a non-aggressive cichlid for my South American community tank, which is 200 litres (44 gallons) and comprises various tetras and peppered cories. I once had an A. Agassizii pair but the male would turn aggressive after water changes and ended up killing three cories over a fortnight. I had to give them back to the shop. Was this behaviour typical for an Agassizii or was I just unlucky?

I'd really like another cichlid but I don't want another psycho in the tank. I've been recommended a
Nannacara anomala but I probably don't have enough hiding places. Any other recommendations, preferably for apistos?

Thanks.

 

[Bart Hazes]

I keep many of my apistos in community tanks and aggression towards other fish is not normally a concern, even when breeding. Most fish learn to stay away from the guarding female. Cories are a bit different because they prefer living near the substrate where the apistogramma fry will also be. In addition, my Brochis splendens, a close relative of cories, seemed to have a 3-second memory. They would get chased away. Look dazed for 3 seconds and swim right back towards the fry. They were big and sturdy enough that no harm came to them but I can imagine a smaller cory doing this could spell trouble. Right now a female A. sp. Melgar is raising fry in a tank with C. adolfoi cories and there have been no altercations. Of the 12+ species I've had I would say A. rubrolineata has been the most peaceful. At some point I had two females breed at the same time and even that remained quite civil. A. ortegai was also a defender but not an attacker. To some extent it also all depends on the tank. If the tank is too small without hiding spaces then all bets are off. A 44 gallon tank with some plants, stones, driftwood should work. My sp. Melgar with adolfoi cories are in a 20 gallon long.

 

[Mike Wise]

Remember this - a community tank is not a breeding tank. The best community tank apistos are those that can't breed. Being territorial, especially while breeding/raising fry, they will try to defend a brood territory. Any fish than won't - or can't - get away will be attacked. Personally, I think 2 different males of species with different body shapes and fins would be a better mix. Probably the most peaceful apistio I've ever kept was A. wapisana, but they only get to the size of a Neon Tetra. BTW definitely do NOT try a pair of Nannacara in a community tank of small fish! Female N. anomala are probably the most aggressive dwarf cichlid, when defending fry, that you will find.

 

[Pragmatism]

Thanks for the responses so far. A. wapisana sounds like a contender then. I gather that without the presence of a female in the tank the male would be less feisty?

 

[Bart Hazes]

Remember this - a community tank is not a breeding tank. The best community tank apistos are those that can't breed. Being territorial, especially while breeding/raising fry, they will try to defend a brood territory. Any fish than won't - or can't - get away will be attacked. Personally, I think 2 different males of species with different body shapes and fins would be a better mix. Probably the most peaceful apistio I've ever kept was A. wapisana, but they only get to the size of a Neon Tetra. BTW definitely do NOT try a pair of Nannacara in a community tank of small fish! Female N. anomala are probably the most aggressive dwarf cichlid, when defending fry, that you will find.

I agree with Mike if you define a community tank as a tank where fish play a purely aesthetic role, and in that case limiting yourself to males makes sense too. I know locals here often just buy males. IMO this is like buying a beautiful sailboat but no sails because it might cause the ship to capsize. For me the behaviour, enhanced colouration, fin displays and posturing that comes with establishing a territory and access to a mating partner is what makes (dwarf) cichlids so exciting and you get a nicer and more natural display in a larger tank. If you are purely interested in maximizing the production of offspring breeding tanks are the way to go. If you want to see the full breadth of behaviour, a larger tank with a group of apistos and suitable community fish, not just dithers, is what I prefer. What constitutes a "larger tank" depends on the tank mates, tank decoration, planting density, apisto species and the individual idiosyncrasies of the fish you happen to have. Based on my limited, 1 year, experience with 12+ apisto species and tanks from 10 to 90 gallon, I'd say you need a 30 gallon breeder or larger to consider a small group of apistos. You should also have access to a backup tank in case a spawning pair become more feisty than anticipated and fish, especially other apistos, need to be removed. Finally, if you don't have the time or patience to hand-raise fry I have found that apisto parents can raise their own fry to adulthood in a community tank without any extra feeding on my part. You will have losses, mostly in the first week, from predation by tank mates but if productivity is not the goal than any surviving fry are a bonus (and in one case where I hand-raised half a spawn and let the parents raise the other half in the community tank, the latter looked more attractive in the end).

 

[Pragmatism]

Thanks Bart. Sorry, I should have stated earlier that breeding apistos is not my goal here, I just want a nice showcase fish within a community of small tetras. It's my first ever tank and like most eager newbies I've probably overstocked. I'm guessing more than one apisto might be a bit much in what is already quite a full community. What do you think?

At 1m (3.2ft) wide and 200 litres (44 gallons) I have:

* 7 peppered cories
* 9 pretty tetras (wild caught, absolutely stunning)
* 10 kerri tetras
* 7 Emperor tetras

Also, attached is a more recent pic:

 

[Bart Hazes]

In that case I'd go with Mike's advice and just get a male apistogramma to avoid fights over territory or breeding partners. Your choice will likely depend on what you can get. Agassizii, cacatuoides, macmasteri are the more commonly available apistos at my LFS (and not very common at that). If you are in Europe you may have easier access to other species. If you have hard alkaline water like us then there are some apistos that would not do well unless you use rainwater or reverse osmosis water. Again the widely available captive-bred apistos are less demanding, but some wild-caught apistos are found in harder neutral to slightly alkaline water and should be ok in tanks without soft water.