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Questions about Apistogramma borelli

MarlonnekeW

New Member
Messages
5
I hope you can help me with some Borelli questions.

I have a 125 liter/ 33 gallon aquarium with a Ancistrus female (L144/Ancistrus sp4) and some Pseudepiplatys annulatus. I would really like to add a couple/trio Apistogramma to this aquarium, together with a schooling fish as dither fish, but before I do I want to make sure that this is a good idea.

Because I'm new to Apistogramma, I think the Borelli is a good fish to start with. I love the Apistogramma agassizii, but I've read that they are a bit more aggressive and therefor less suitable for beginners.

I read a lot of different opinions about keeping Apistogramma with bristlenose pleco's. Will this combination work in a 80cm/31 inch Aquarium? My female Ancistrus is very friendly to the other fish and so far absolutely not territorial.

I also read very different stories about Apistogramma borelli and temperature. If I understand it correctly, the Borelli should not be kept on the same temperature the whole year round, but it needs a cooler period. Is 22°C/72°F cool enough or do they need even lower temperatures?
And what about dither fish. Pencil fish are recommended a lot as dithers, but the temperature range for these fish implies that for example 22°C is too low for these fish.

So should I really worry so much about temperature or is a unheated aquarium with normal room temperatures no problem and is it important that I look for dither fish that will do fine at lower temperatures (for example Hyphessobrycon amandae or Hyphessobrycon flamaeus) or will for example Nannostomus marginatus be a better option?

Thank you very much for your help!
 

Steen Jessen

New Member
Messages
4
hello marlonnekeW. You should start with A. borelli or A.cacatuides, because they can easily be bred in normal water. but if you do not care about breeding,i think you should just buy the apisto you like the most. Apisthos can be hold with all the other fish you mentioned, but the temparature should be between 25 - 28 celcius.

STEEN
 

MarlonnekeW

New Member
Messages
5
Thanks for your quick answer.

But what about aggression? I've read somewhere that as a beginner it's better to start with an easy (less aggressive) Apistogramma, like the Borelli, because you'll have to learn how to read their behavior correctly. Therefore, in the beginning you'll not know when to intervene in case of aggression. Is this true or was the writer exaggerating?

I had a pair of Colisa chuna once in a relatively small aquarium with an aggressive male and absolutely no experience in keeping fish (they where my first ever fish) and it resulted in the female dying of too much stress. With what I know now, I would've reacted very differently. So I would rather start with a friendly Apistogramma, than have even prettier fish but a lot of problems.

Just to be clear, I really like the Borelli as well. At the fish store I saw some Agassizii fire red that looked amazing, so that's why they are still in the back of my head.
 
Last edited:

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
If you do a search here, you'll learn that mixing apistos with plecos is not a good idea - if you want your apistos to produce fry. Plecos will often enter spawning caves at night and eat eggs/larvae. On the other hand, if apisto fry do appear, some females will attack plecos (and other fish) in their brood territory. Apistos can't do much damage to armored catfish except the non-armored part - the eyes. If you're not interested in breeding apistos, then I'd suggest getting 2 or 3 specimens of same sex. You could even mix different species if about the same size, temperament, and differnt in shape and finnage, if the aquarium has suitable territorial boundaries.

A. borellii is a great beginner's apisto because they adapt to most water conditions and temperatures. They are one of the less aggressive apisto species, but they are cichlids and behave in a cichlid-like manner (territorial). Do they need fluctuations in their temperature? No. They will be fine at most tropical aquarium temperatures.
 

MarlonnekeW

New Member
Messages
5
Thanks for your answer.

I did do a search, here and all over the internet and I come across two complete opposite opinions.

On one hand I read that it's a really bad combination because of two things; the Ancistrus robbing eggs, but also the fact that an Ancistrus would chase away Apistrogramma from breeding spots/caves and from the bottom when they are sleeping, which would mean constant stress. If the last thing is true, the decision is easy; I will not keep them together.

On the other hand I read comments of people that recommend an Ancistrus for an Apistogramma tank (even for smaller tanks) and reports that the two will do very well together; they don't interact at all and if you have a breeding cave with a small enough entry-hole, the egg robbing is not an issue either.

Hopefully you'll understand that this is very confusing if you never had hands-on experience with this combination.

In my other aquarium I have two Ancistrus Claro with a group of Corydoras pygmaeus. My cory's are spawning regularly and more and more babies are starting to appear (the cory's are in the aquarium for about 4 weeks now). I can see eggs on the glass and despite the fact that my claro's are good window cleaners, the eggs stay there for a couple of days until they hatch.
So apparently not all Ancistrus are egg robbers. Which makes me even more confused ;).
 

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