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Stocking a 20g long

Andrew H

Member
Messages
54
Hi, I’ve moved my fish from a 10 gallon to a 20 gallon long and everyone is settled and doing fine. I wanted some advice on adding new fish.

Current stock:
4 rummynose tetra
3 Cory sterbai
1 apisto orange flame male
1 mystery snail

proposal:
Add 8 rummynose to go to 12
Add 3 Cory to go to 6
(Maybe?) add one more apisto, diff species

my rationale is that both the tetras and the corys would be happier with a few more of their kind. I originally wanted to get a female orange flame to pair with my male but have been convinced here that will lead to tragedy with the corys. I would love to have a 2nd apisto if 1) there’s room, 2) there’s a species divergent enough and hardy enough. My pH is 7.4 and TDS 190 ppm (function of my tap). Temp is 78 but I could change it. Ammonia, nitrate and nitrites are below detection limit. Tank is setup with lots of structure to block sight lines and fine sand.

thanks for any advice!

best,
Andrew
 

Aquaticloch

Active Member
Messages
153
Location
Canada eh
Tank sounds like it needed an upgrade, :) also I'm going to assume orange flame means A. Cacatudoies.

Even though two males without any females are much less aggressive, keeping 2 apistos of different species in a 20 gallon is likely a recipe for disaster. I would just stick with one and increase the numbers of other fish.

You could keep a female in with the male, but the corys would be picked on and eventually killed, and rummynose would also likely pick off the fry the pair had. As you said recommend boosting the numbers of rummynose up to 12 and corys up to 6, the corys might get picked on by a single male, but this rarely happens with the more docile apistos.

Parameters look good, TDS is a bit high but should be okay for domestic strains such as “orange flame."

Hope this helps.
 

fyrefish

Member
Messages
54
Do you have any advice with what stock you could keep with an apisto pair? I'm setting up a 35 gallon for my a panduro pair and was wondering what other fish could be with them. Hopefully something that would be peaceful and not eat the eggs? But that could be difficult
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
Do you have any advice with what stock you could keep with an apisto pair?
Most people use Pencil fish (or <"Copella spp.">) as dithers, usually either Nannostomus marginatus or <"N. eques">. <"Black-neon Tetra"> (Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi) are also a possibility if Pencil fish are hard to obtain for you. Ember Tetra (H. amandae) might also be all right, I've not kept them and I'm not sure how they get on with more aggressive Apistogramma spp.
I'm setting up a 35 gallon for my a panduro pair
I think "pair" is quite important with nijsseni group Apistogramma spp. they are quite choosy, and a male and female isn't necessarily a pair.

Are we talking this tank?

image_2022-01-31_075656-png.10974


My personal opinion is that will need to <"grow and stabilise"> for quite a time before you add any fish.

Have a look at <"Seasoned Tank Time"> it is a name for this concept (coined by Cory at the Aquarium Co-Op) and goes beyond the <"is it cycled?"> question.

cheers Darrel
 

anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,366
You can also use some rasbora; like kubotai rasbora. These are not sa fishes but they generally work well being small and always in motion.
 

fyrefish

Member
Messages
54
Kind of unrelated, but can I keep a mystery snail in the tank? I have had him with the apistos in the current tank for a while and he's done pretty well. Only problem is the new tank has no lid. He hasn't ever gone near the top of the current tank, maybe because I always keep the water full to the brim. The new tank has a pretty large rim to hold a lid, but it didn't come with one, and It would be hard to make one to accommodate the heater, filter pipes and the light, which is quite big and would make it annoying to put on/take off the lid. I have heard mixed opinions, a google search says mystery snails will try really hard to escape, put several people on forums have said they will only want to leave the water to lay eggs. He isn't small, but he's not giant either. I'd say 5-6cm.
 

anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,366
Mystery snails have been a mix to negative in my tanks; they definitely will go after the eggs and they can be difficult for the fish to chase away.
 

fyrefish

Member
Messages
54
do you know of any snails that won't escape or bother the fish? I heard nerites are great escapees, but they are a lot smaller than mysteries.
 

Andrew H

Member
Messages
54
I love our mystery snail. Just have a single male cacatuoides so no issue with eggs. Tons of character if that’s possible to believe. He skydives off of the wood. The apisto tries to nip his eye stalks every once in a while but it doesn’t do any damage.
 

fyrefish

Member
Messages
54
I love my snail too. I really want to put him in the tank so he can snack on all the biofilm, but I'm worried he will escape.
 

julila

New Member
Messages
6
Kind of unrelated, but can I keep a mystery snail in the tank? I have had him with the apistos in the current tank for a while and he's done pretty well. Only problem is the new tank has no lid. He hasn't ever gone near the top of the current tank, maybe because I always keep the water full to the brim. The new tank has a pretty large rim to hold a lid, but it didn't come with one, and It would be hard to make one to accommodate this heater, filter pipes and the light, which is quite big and would make it annoying to put on/take off the lid. I have heard mixed opinions, a google search says mystery snails will try really hard to escape, put several people on forums have said they will only want to leave the water to lay eggs. He isn't small, but he's not giant either. I'd say 5-6cm.
Do you have a mystery snail now? Was he trying to escape as you expected or his behaviour was different? Interested to know your experience, thank you!
 

anewbie

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,366
I had a couple of mystery snails in my 10 and they didn't prevent the apisto from breeding.
 

fyrefish

Member
Messages
54
Do you have a mystery snail now? Was he trying to escape as you expected or his behaviour was different? Interested to know your experience, thank you!
I still have the snail, though the tank is a bit different now, I made a lid out of polycarbonate sheeting used for roofing and stuff and it works great. He rarely ever goes near the top, and I have never seen him with more than the tip of his shell out of the water. However I think he may be a bit old as I have had him for nearly a year now and he was already pretty big when I got him, so he mainly stays on the bottom now. (I've heard they only live for about a year)
 

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