New, and of course have questions :-P

[Witchydesign]

Ok, pleeeease don't jump me!! I have not gotten any fish other than some corys, and have been researching my "centerpiece" fish. I have a 20gal tall, yes cycled. Its a recently finished cycle, so i am in absolutely no rush to stuff it full of fish. I have had tanks before, but only ever had livebearers. Its been a few years, and my landlord finally agreed to letting me have a small fish tank without paying an extra pet deposit. (Insert happy dance) So i got a 20gal tall (should have went for the 30). My plants are in transit, but right now i have a small mossball and a java fern.

Is it even possible for me to have a pair of apistos? Yes, I've been googling like mad, and it seems that half the sites say 30 min, some say 20 long, and other say a pair would be fine in a 20Tall. Thats why I decided a site built for them might have the best answer Now if its not a good idea, thats fine I can wait until I can manage an upgrade. Im very interested in having a cichlid pair, but again if its not possible then it will not happen in my tank. I wont be "that guy" lol.

Oh, yes i apparently have awesome cichlid water. Low ph and soft as my 2yr old sons butt. This would still be a while down the line, Im going to wait til my plants are in and have time to grow a bit, and im building my own caves, (aquarium silicone and smooth river rocks) which im still waiting on supplies for. Long rant, apologies, but I have been on a few other forums and either got a negative response to a question, or lack of any. Being the new kid sucks sometimes lol.


Thanks in advance!

 

[Mike Wise]

First, welcome to the apisto forum. I imagine that your '20gal tall' is actually a 20 High (24x12x16") and not a 20 Show (20x10x24"). A 20 High is fine for a pair of apistos - as a breeding tank. If you want a community tank with cory cats, you may have territorial conflicts when the corys blunder into a brooding female's territory. Once you look around a bit, you'll find my mantra: "A community tank is not a breeding tank". If you want dwarf cichlids in your community tank I usually recommend a couple of males of different species and shapes. Each apisto should have a 12 sq. in./30 sq. cm. territory separated by visual boundary features and no line-of-sight across the tank for the most part.

 

[Witchydesign]

Darn. Ok. Well hmm. They will have to wait until my ugrade then. Okie dokie, well im off in search of something else then. :-(

 

[DanielG]

Speaking from personal experience...don't mix apisto's and cory's.

When I was new 'I still consider myself new', I mixed cory's & my Agassizii's....this didn't go very well.

Apisto's like to establish territories...aka 'invisible lines' in their territory. If anything ventures within that line, the apisto's go crazy. Cory's don't understand this concept. They are sifters and in the same sense, drifters. Territories don't mix well with cory's. This can result in both your apisto's AND your cory's being harmed.

For me: a 20 tall is BARELY enough to house two females and one male with plenty of vegetation to break line of sight, and to provided escape routes for quarreling fish. I eventually donated my cory's off as they were being too stressed by my apisto's.

 

[gerald]

Many folks have bred Apisto pairs in 10 gallon tanks. Your 20 gal should be fine for a pair, or maybe 2 females and one male if you can create that visual boundary in the middle. The risk with a trio is that if BOTH females have eggs/fry at the same time and neither one wants the father around, then he's in trouble. If you have just one tank, I'd say get a pair. If you have other tanks (where you can move somebody if trouble breaks out) then you can try a trio. Small rasboras, hatchets, pencils, or other upper-level "dither" fish that stay out of the Apisto's way usually work OK. Feed them frequently when Apisto fry start appearing, so they're not tempted to hunt Apistos (and get beat up by angry momma).

 

[Mike Wise]

You know, I've been thinking about corys and apistos. I can think of only 1 time when TomC & I collected corys and apistos together in the same net. I guess they just don't even live together in the wild.

 

[MickeM]

Hi..

If you want a smaller kind of Apisto.. I will have to recommend a couple of Ap. borelli...very nice and quite "friendly"..
I also have to suggest these small rasboras (Boraras - Latin name) and/or a couple of a small "killi"..
- Pseudoepiplatys anullatus.. living at the surface!!

I once had a borelli couple guarding their fry.. against some Boraras maculata.. Then my female borelli got "stuck" in a
Aponegeton madagascariensis plant for 2-3 minutes.... trying to get back to her school of fry after feeding.. Check out the plant on the web and you will have a laugh!!
(Wish I had my camera back then!! , She looked quite stupid!!)

Good luck..!