Setting up an apistogramma tank

[Michael]

I have an established 26 gallon aquarium and was wondering what the best way to set up an apistogramma tank would be. What kind of gravel should it have and if it needs to be planted would artificial plants work. Should it have lots of caves or a piece of bogwood? Any information would be appreciated!

-Michael

 

[aspen]

real plants are not a necessity. plastic plants will do fine. a nesting site should be provided for each female, a coconut half shell, or clay pot is quite good for this, but there are other things which are sold at the lfs which work well also. these should be in secluded areas where a pair can get privacy and protect this from other fish. most of the fish that have spawned for me have done so at the end opposite the filter, unless it is a sponge filter. these they seem to prefer to spawn right beside. you can even provide extras nesting sites. the best site will be grabbed by the alpha female, and so on.

i like to see my fish, and esp if i put a quick swimming tetra, i like to leave the top 1/2 of the tank for open swimming. the bottom half is best to be thickly covered with obstacles and maybe leave a space in the middle for them to browse the bottom.

apistos and rams are related to geophagus (earth eaters)- they have a special gill structure for sifting sand and getting food from it. for these fish i like to give them sand, a thick gravel is not their favourite, and this also traps food and feces. i have one tank with sand mixed with small natural gravel and it works pretty well and looks good. i use 'decorative silica sand' from home depot. it needs to be rinsed a LOT, then it will still make the tank a little cloudy, but i have not had any other bad experiences with it. some sand is too sharp, and it will cut the fish. for breeding tanks, i don't use any substrate, but your tank will be a show tank. most of my tanks have no substrate, they are easier to keep clean this way. to each his own. a background is also good, i usually cover 1 side as well.

you want the tank to be fully cycled before the dwarfs go in. most are quite sensitive to amm and nitrite.

i favour mopani wood with lots of crevices, and this can also be very attractive (and it sinks on it's own when you buy it). but any wood where there are crevices around the bottom is good as well.

hth, rick

 

[Michael]

Dwarf Cichlids

I cant seem to find any apisots at any of my lfs and was wondeirng wear you buy your fish from? Thanks for your help!

-Michael

 

[cootwarm]

I had the same problem with the LFS in my area. Apistos are rare in the stores around here. When they do show up, they are either mis-identified or not identified all together AND in rough shape.

I had good luck with mail order. I expected to get fish that were stressed to within an inch of their lives. But they were fine. Even in better shape than some fish I've brought home from an LFS! They had no problem settling into my already prepared tanks.

Just choose a reputable dealer. I got mine from Dave Soares (ApistoDave). They shipped from Oregon to Vermont, right to my door with no problems. I got 37 fish of which only 2 died (and were replaced) within the first few days.
Daves website is here: http://www.apistogrammaidiots.com/index.html

At AquaBid ( http://www.aquabid.com/ ) you can checkout the reputation of most sellers.

I haven't ordered anything from him yet, but I've heard lots of good things about Mike Jacobs Apistos.
http://www.geocities.com/mikefjacobs/pricelist.html

Also of course, there is Neil at this site. Myself, I haven't ordered any from him yet, but I've read nothing but good things about his fish.

One last thing. Obviously it is best for the fish to ship airport to airport. But mine arrived fine with 2nd day shipping.

 

[Michael]

Dwarf Cichlids

If you dont mind me asking how much did you pay for shipping? Thanks for your help!

-Michael

 

[cootwarm]

The fish shipped in 5 bags and cost $25 for 2nd day delivery. I think over night delivery was almost $50.

Perhaps you could get some friends to place an order with you and share the shipping cost.