New Apisto tank

[JK91]

Hey everyone,

New here. A short introduction: I'm Jeffrey. I'm 23 years old, Dutch, and I have kept fish since I was 11. At the moment I have a 50 gallon Myanmar biotope tank, although it has slowly grown into a subtropical community tank.

Back to business. New tank. 33 gallons. Back to where it all started, back to South America, back to Apisto's. Given the rarity and availability, or lack of, of most Apisto's, I started making a list of Apisto's I felt attracted to. Eventually, I ended up with these:

- Apistogramma erythrura ‘Rio Guaporé’
- Apistogramma bitaeniata
- Apistogramma trifasciata

I am aware that the first two are probably hard to find, so I'm leaning towards the Apistogramma trifasciata. I know they are quite aggressive towards eachother, so I'm unsure whether they'd be a good fit in a 33 gallon tank.

Of course, a tank's is very important, so I've been trying to find pictures of tanks that like, so that others have an idea how the tank is going to look like aswell.

http://all4aquarium.ru/sites/default/files/biotope-aquarium_sa-14-1.jpg

http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q780/Mascha-Ivo/in Zuid-Amerika/2015-01-17-01_zpsc0bde866.jpg

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/6831/inin.jpg

I think the latter is from a member of this forum.

Anyway, that is the style I want to try and replicate in my new tank.

My question for you guys: (1) Which Apisto is best suited for my tank (do come up with own suggestions if you think they are a better fit!)? (2) Which fish can I add as tankmates for the Apisto's? Please note it is not my intention to make this a breeding tank.

Thanks guys!

 

[Mike Wise]

First my question: Is this tank to be a breeding (only) tank or a community (show) tank? Which of the 2 types that you want determines what other fish are suitable. Any of your preferred species (3 or 4 fish) will be fine in your new tank - if properly decorated.

 

[JK91]

Hey Mike, thanks for the reply. In my last sentence I added that I do not intend to make this a breeding tank, but indeed a show tank, yes. Long post though, so I can imagine it slipped through haha.

I might add that although I'm not new to the hobby, I've only kept A. borelli, A. cacatuoides and A. iniridae before. Which of the three in my original post would be easiest to keep (as in water parameters and aggression and such)?

 

[Mike Wise]

OK, for a community tank most other smaller, peaceful, mid-to-upper tank level fish should be fine: tetras, barbs, rasboras, etc. Avoid other species roughly similar to cichlids or those that would try to form territories in the same places as apistos. Dwarf cory cat species should be fine, since they are not continually on the bottom. I always recommend buying only male apistos for community tanks. This avoids problems with other community members when a pair decides to breed. If you have successfully kept A. iniridae then any of the above listed species are easier to maintain.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
You are right, the "imageshack" photo is of a tank belonging to a Polish fish keeper "Piotr K" and were originally posted on this forum <"http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/threads/200x70x60-apistogramma-tank.18576/#post-89475">. Piotr still keeps cichlids, but not Apistogramma.

Apistogramma trifasciata also occur in thickly vegetated clear water "Pantanal" type habitats, so you could have a planted tank and it could still be a biotope. There are plenty of Pantanal fish you could add.

I like Corydoras hastatus and Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi, and if you had these two species with A. trifasciata (in a planted tank) it is quite possible that they would raise some fry successfully.

Mike know much more than me, but I wouldn't keep male A. trifasciata together, as they are really aggressive.

I kept them for a while, but I had real problems with the sub-adult male fry killing one another, and they were difficult to re-home when small, because none of the local fish shops wanted them (this is a hard water area), and I won't post fish.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mike Wise]

... but I wouldn't keep male A. trifasciata together, as they are really aggressive.

cheers Darrel

I agree with you Darrel. I should have said keep males of different species and shapes together.

 

[JK91]

Awesome, thanks!

I think my fitst choice would be Apistogramma trifasciata. They do live in cooler waters, don't they? That'd probably make it more difficult for me to find suitable tankmates, right? Do you guys have some fish in mind? Like any Characidae or other fish?

Should I keep him with one or two females? I heard the females can be quite hard on the males, especially when having eggs/fry?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

....Apistogramma trifasciata. They do live in cooler waters, don't they?

You can keep them at ~25oC. I kept mine at 27oC, and they were fine. If you keep them cooler they may live longer, but they have a wide geographic range.

That'd probably make it more difficult for me to find suitable tankmates, right? Do you guys have some fish in mind? Like any Characidae or other fish?

I like Corydoras hastatus and Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi, and if you had these two species with A. trifasciata (in a planted tank) it is quite possible that they would raise some fry successfully.

These species are sympatric with A. trifasciata and form a good mix. There are a huge number of different Tetra species from the Panatanal, but a lot of them will be fry hunters.

Should I keep him with one or two females? I heard the females can be quite hard on the males, especially when having eggs/fry?

Three females would be best, if you have enough floor space in the tank. The males are harem forming and very hard on un-receptive females.

I like a lot of cover in my tanks.

cheers Darrel

 

[JK91]

Hi all,

First of all, thank you Mike and Darrel for the information.

In my search for more information about the A. trifasciata, I came across this thread: http://www.britishcichlid.org.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8161&start=10

In some posts it states that the A. trifasciata male is very agressive towards the females. Could someone give me more information about that? In the past I have kept two cacatuoides males, the first one was rather calm and easy on the females, but after that one died and I found another one, he turned out to be a right bully to the females who had little peace with him around. This made me shy away from Apisto's for several years, so the last thing I want is another Apisto terrorizing the tank.

The ground dimensions of the tank are 80cm long to 36cm wide, if that helps.

 

[Mike Wise]

My experience with A. trifasciata is that the males are extremely aggressive toward any female not ready to breed. A. cacatuoides males are sweethearts in comparison. That said, it should be possible to keep a breeding trio in your 80x36 tank IF it is densely aquascaped. In this case that aquarium will not be much of a show piece. If you want a show tank with only a 2-3 males (no females) then A. trifasciata should be OK if you keep them with larger, more robust species.

 

[JK91]

Alright. Well, the tank is probably going to be in the living room, so yeah, it will become a show tank, more or less. I took a quick picture yesterday after adding the wood and rocks.

This is the first lay-out. Probably going to add a few more wood pieces and a few smaller rocks, but that's about it. I'm not convinced this is a tank to house a trio of A. trifasciata peacefully together, so I guess I'll look for alternatives.

What would you reckon to be the more peaceful dwarfs? I know A. borelli is fairly calm, but I'm curious if there are other options.

 

[JK91]

If I recall correctly, the A. bitaeniata is also very aggressive. Man, dwarfs are so difficult sometimes. I should buy a bigger tank.

 

[regani]

I have had good success with A. macmasteri (sometimes also sold as viejita) and A. baenschi in 2ft tanks. You may get the occasional aggressive individual but generally they seem to be ok. Many people also keep A. cacatuoides successfully in a 2ft tank.
A. borellii is quite peaceful compared to the other apistos. Another option is Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis if it is available in your area, they are smaller than your average apisto and also relatively peaceful.