Should I buy another Apistogramma Cacauoitides?

[Henry Daniel]

I had an AC for 14 months, and it died yesterday. It was in a 12 gal tank with five Dadios and two Black Phantom Tetras. It was always a fussy eater and spent most of it's time hiding. For the last week of its life it was lying on it's side. It was a beautiful fish, but do they all behave this way? Because it was a poor eater and always hiding, we didn't enjoy it much. Also - I heard they live from 4 to 8 years. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[Mike Wise]

I'm sorry to read that you lost your A. cacatuoides. Fussy eating is a common complaint for new apisto keepers. Dry foods (flakes & pellets) usually aren't eagerly taken so if you don't feed live or frozen foods regularly they don't do well. As for hiding, this is another common complaint of new apisto keepers. In the wild apistos have many predators, both under and above water. If they don't have several good hiding places they tend to hide a lot. Most community tanks are too open, with too few hiding places. Surface water without at least a partial cover of floating plants makes them feel that they are visible from above and open to flying predators, so they tend to hide under something. Longevity depends on many factors, among them stress level, nutrition, and water quality/maintenance among others. A scientific study on the longevity of apistos in captivity found that, on average, apistos live in captivity for about 2 years. In the wild, they rarely live more than a year. Some apisto will live much longer. The study considered 5 years as a maximum. Right now I have a female A. noberti that I brought back from Peru in 2008 happily swimming in a tank with some Rainbow Emperor Tetras and albino cory cats. At 7 years she seems happy, healthy and active. Who knows, she might die tomorrow or live for many more years. To answer your question whether or not to buy another A. cacatuoides really depends on what you are willing to provide in the way of quality food and living conditions. Only you can decide this.

 

[Henry Daniel]

Wow - seven years! You must really take good care of your fish. After thinking about your advice, maybe my tank is not the best for this type of fish. I'll have to do a little more research to find a good fit for this tank. Thank you.

I'm sorry to read that you lost your A. cacatuoides. Fussy eating is a common complaint for new apisto keepers. Dry foods (flakes & pellets) usually aren't eagerly taken so if you don't feed live or frozen foods regularly they don't do well. As for hiding, this is another common complaint of new apisto keepers. In the wild apistos have many predators, both under and above water. If they don't have several good hiding places they tend to hide a lot. Most community tanks are too open, with too few hiding places. Surface water without at least a partial cover of floating plants makes them feel that they are visible from above and open to flying predators, so they tend to hide under something. Longevity depends on many factors, among them stress level, nutrition, and water quality/maintenance among others. A scientific study on the longevity of apistos in captivity found that, on average, apistos live in captivity for about 2 years. In the wild, they rarely live more than a year. Some apisto will live much longer. The study considered 5 years as a maximum. Right now I have a female A. noberti that I brought back from Peru in 2008 happily swimming in a tank with some Rainbow Emperor Tetras and albino cory cats. At 7 years she seems happy, healthy and active. Who knows, she might die tomorrow or live for many more years. To answer your question whether or not to buy another A. cacatuoides really depends on what you are willing to provide in the way of quality food and living conditions. Only you can decide this.

 

[mightymizz]

Great info Mike! Thanks!

 

[Henry Daniel]

Great info Mike! Thanks!

Mike:
Still thinking about this fish in light of your advice. I fed it tropical flakes, cichlid pellets, freeze dried bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp and tubifex worms. I never fed any live food. The only ones it would eat were the flakes, pellets, and occasionally the tubifex. It was a 12 gal tank, heavily planted with driftwood and a cave, but no floating plants. 10% water change every week and 25% every month. Do you think this was an unsuitable habitat for this species?

 

[Mike Wise]

For 1 apisto, a 12 gal. tank should be fine. The decor appears to be fine as well. The food, however, is less than optimal. It probably was only eating your dry foods because it was the only option and getting additional nutrition from whatever else it could find living in the tank. There are always other small organisms living in a tank besides the fish, but probably not enough to let the fish thrive. Some people claim that their fish take some dry foods, but mine almost never do. I've tried dozens of recommended dry foods and none are taken eagerly by my apistos. Now I use mostly live baby brine shrimp. My fish must be spoiled. You should be OK if you at least feed some kind of frozen food 1x/day. Try several different kinds of frozen food and see what it eats most eagerly. Then use it for its 'staple food'. Your other fish will appreciate it, too.

 

[Henry Daniel]

Thanks for the info Mike. Trying to do as much "homework" as I can before I buy any new fish. Where would I buy live baby brine shrimp? Should I try two apistos? Is there a different dwarf cichlid that I should consider that might be more comfortable in my tank? Thanks again.

 

[Mike Wise]

You'll need to hatch your own BBS from eggs. I do. That's why I suggest frozen foods. Not a good as live, but it is eaten much better than dry. I think a 12 gal tank is a bit small for 2 cichlids. It's possible, but I don't recommend it unless you've have a lot of experience with cichlids and have extra tanks if the 2 fish don't get along.

 

[Henry Daniel]

Can you suggest another Cichlid, one that will eat flake or frozen food and be content in a 12 gal? Do you know anything about Laetacara aragualae (Buckelkopf)? Heard of it, but can't find much info about it online. Thanks!

You'll need to hatch your own BBS from eggs. I do. That's why I suggest frozen foods. Not a good as live, but it is eaten much better than dry. I think a 12 gal tank is a bit small for 2 cichlids. It's possible, but I don't recommend it unless you've have a lot of experience with cichlids and have extra tanks if the 2 fish don't get along.

 

[Mike Wise]

Look under its common name Laetacara sp. Buckelkopf (Bulge-, Lump-, Hump-head). 1 specimen should work in a 12 and they are not the picky eaters that most apisto tend to be.

 

[Henry Daniel]

Frozen food is not the same as freeze dried, is it? I think I've always felt that freeze dried was just as good, but apparently not. Freeze dried is the same as "dry" or "flake"?

Look under its common name Laetacara sp. Buckelkopf (Bulge-, Lump-, Hump-head). 1 specimen should work in a 12 and they are not the picky eaters that most apisto tend to be.[/quot

 

[Mike Wise]

My apisto prefer frozen because it quickly sinks to the bottom, where they prefer to feed. Freeze-dried foods float for a long time, during which it absorbs water from the tank and probably starts to decay. Apparently it is not as apatizing. Live and frozen foods require more time and effort on your part, but if you want to keep certain fish it is the best way to go.

 

[jumpmaster]

As far as I am aware a shoal of dither fish will make them feel at home and come out. I have a 400 l tank with several species of dwarf cichlids/apistos. With them I have a shoal of 12 rummy nose tetras and some harlequin rasboras . My DCs almost never hide