New to the forum and dwarf cichlids

[NegativeLogic]

Hi!

Well, like the title says I'm new to the forum and to dwarf cichlids in general. I do have previous experience with aquaria though, kept them growing up, stopped for a while, and got back into it last year. Currently I'm keeping a 33 gallon high-tech planted that's doing pretty well.

I've got my hands on an empty 90 gallon (48" X 18" footprint), and was hoping for advice on stocking it with some SA dwarves.

What I had been thinking was a group of 5 or 6 Bolivian Rams and possibly another pair or trio of Apistos of some sort (maybe cacatuoides or borelli?), with one or two festivums and a large school of dithers.

Would that be practical? The tank would be very heavily planted and wooded, with lots of hiding places and broken lines of sight.

I understand Apistos in the wild are very densely populated, but from what I've read most people don't keep them that way captively, so I'm a little unsure what ideal stocking levels should be like.

I'm not 100% sold on species, but basically the effect I was hoping for was some interesting cichlids for the bottom, and a larger centrepiece fish for the mid-upper regions, with the dithers, and probably some sort of catfish.

I'm really open to suggestions and any advice on making it work well together.

Thanks!

 

[hapaluku]

Hello and welkomm, nice to have you in this forum

 

[Mike Wise]

Usually people refer to Dr. Römer's studies when siting densely populated apistos. In these apisto studies the fish are found densely populated in the wild because they were sampled in the dry season when water is restricted. In some cases the fish were found 'living' in damp layers of leaves with almost no water at all! These fish were in a 'holding pattern', waiting for the rainy season to arrive. Then the waters expand considerably. This is when the fish come alive and breed.

As for your 90, I see no problems for it as a community tank. If, on the other hand, you want to try your had at breeding, this set up will not work. It's possible that, if spawning occurs, you might get one or two fry to survive.

 

[NegativeLogic]

Thanks very much for the info!

That's very interesting to know about the dry season and apisto densities - it makes sense, and clears that up.

I'm not intending to breed them right now, although maybe a little later on I'll give it a try. For now, I'm mostly thinking a community approach, so it's good to hear I'm on the right track.