New Member, New to Dwarf Cichlids. Help.

[speady1]

Good evening everyone.

I have a 200L (52.8 gallon) setup that I would love to add a harem of Apistogramma Cacatuoides to. My current stocking list is as follows:

1 adult Angelfish
9 long fin black skirt tetras
4 black phantom tetras
4 white skirt tetras
5 corydoras
1 bristlenose pleco

My questions are these:

1. My water is very hard, as it comes from a limestone spring (city water), and has a PH of 7.4 - 8.0 depending on the day. It's very frustrating. Will cockatoos tolerate this?

2. Will all of the tankmates be ok for one male and 2-4 females?

Any other useful information would be greatly appreciated. I have done a lot of research, but it all seems to be very generalized and not all too specific.

Cheers!

Jamie

 

[aquaticclarity]

Welcome to the forum!

A tank strain of cacatouides (double red, triple red, sunburst, etc.) should do just fine in that hard of water. More important for them wil be stable water though. Does the hardness bounce around in the tank itself?

Assuming you have a lot of structure in the tank (plants, wood, caves, etc.) I'd get 1 male and at least 3 females. Trios tend to end up as pairs for me pretty quickly with cacatouides...the dominant female usually kills the other female at some point.

Jeff

 

[speady1]

Thanks, Jeff.

My plan is to find a male and 4 females. The hardness of our water is very consistent. It's the ph that changes at times.

My biggest problem is actually finding these guys. It's very hard in my area. I hope to learn much here. Thanks again for the reply and the welcome.

Cheers!

Jamie

 

[Ernie]

Hmm just read an article on someone breeding them and some tetras did not make good tank mates for them, the tetra will beat on the Apisto. Well good luck I breed mine in a 55 gallon but it was all apisto's and otto's