New To Apistos

[catnip]

Recently going to a local fish/reptile store & wanting to try my hand at keeping something different I picked up 2 triple red apisto cacatuoides. I used my head & picked out a brightly colored deffinate male (I love his tail colors!) & a healthy drab one that was smaller & hopfully is the one I saw sticking around him alot. I don't know much about them them but reconized them name triple red cacatuoides. Right now i've put them in a 5gal QT while I redecorate my 20gal long (its last inhabinates liked big rocks & it needs plants) since I thought I was going to come home with a tarantula. Here are some questions I have:

1. Do females have some red on them? I read several of the posts on here about sexing them & its colors are different then the male's. The black stands out more & it's base color is lighter. The male actually has less black then the other one.

2. I read people talking about tankmates & plan on getting a few rummy nose tetras. Would a pair of Borelli or rams or even both be alright with the triples? I would like to have any of the guys breeding.

I'd appriciate any & all advice on these guys. I've grown quite used to my timid angel & its guradian parrotfish & hope apistos will be a change.

Thanks,
Niki

 

[farm41]

Hi Niki, glad you found the apisto forum.

I have some orange cacs, and one of the females has orange on it, very pretty when in breeding colors. Does the drab one have any dorsal fin extensions? A female won't have any? Immature males don't have any either. When the female turns yellow you will know for certain, yellow is her breeding colors.

I like your choice on tankmates, I have 8 rummynose in my QT right now that I will be adding to my display later today. I think the borelli would be fine too. You could also add another female cac to the tank.

What are your water conditions,Ph, Gh, Kh? Rams are quite a bit more sensitive to water than most other fish.

 

[catnip]

I don't know the gh or kh but the ph is 6.

I may or may not get rams anyways, the last few i've had died of internal parasites. The second one's second spike is a little longer then the others but barely so. I will see about ordering some from a local pet store since I got these from a store 1 1/2hrs away.

 

[Neil]

catnip,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Good choice on your first apisto!

1. Do females have some red on them? I read several of the posts on here about sexing them & its colors are different then the male's. The black stands out more & it's base color is lighter. The male actually has less black then the other one.

Yes, "good" females can have so much red on them that it becomes even more difficult to tell them apart. But don't just go by the black markings. As farm41 suggests, fin are very diagnostic too. The female can also get slightly elongated spikes, but nothing like the male at maturity. Use several factors to make a best guess. Until she goes into her breeding color, that is the best that you can do.

2. I read people talking about tankmates & plan on getting a few rummy nose tetras. Would a pair of Borelli or rams or even both be alright with the triples? I would like to have any of the guys breeding.

Ditto with farm41! Rummy nose are a great tetra to put with apistos.
Try and figure out what your hardness is by either taking some water to the LFS or getting a test kit. It is perhaps more important that pH for these types of fish.
Have fun, Neil

 

[jrp]

catnip, I have 12 rummynose with dwarfs in my 58 gallon tank, and it makes a great display. However, had I known that the dorsigera would breed so readily without my intervention or a special setup, I would have left it as a species tank. If you decide that breeding is important (and you will when it happens ), keep in mind that the tetras are too quick for the parents to defend against. I had to move my fry to another tank & feel like I'm missing out on half the show.

 

[Eva32181]

So if tetras are too quick for the parents, what fish isn't? Maybe hatchetfish? Or pencilfish? I have had experience with neither. Maybe a blind cave fish or a new breed of "retarded' tetra that only chases slow moving plants would do. Would't look as pretty, though.