What kind of apistogramma do I have?

[onymousx]

I ended up buying 3 of these little fellows.

 

[bigbird]

Hiya Onymousx,

Ok please some more info and photos. What did you buy them under ? Firstly your tank is set up incorrect in my view, large gravel and sharp edges slate or rocks. More details on the fish, size and tank details etc. At first glance, looks like a Bolivian gold juvenile and no apisto. Just a rough guess. Please more info. cheers jk

 

[Mike Wise]

When I look at the plastic plants in the photo, my guess is that this fish is very small/young. It is a domestic color form that shows no diagnostic black markings (at least in this photo). I would need better photos showing some pattern of markings (possibly when it is more mature) to make an accurate ID. BTW, I moved it to the appropriate forum. Hope you don't mind.

 

[Ruki]

For first glance this fish looks for me like A. trifasciata female.

 

[aquaticclarity]

Female gold or yellow form of cacatouides would be my guess. It hard to say on a man made strain/form of fish though. Do you have a picture of a colored up male from the group?

 

[onymousx]

Yeah, it's a juvenile alright. Awe-fully tiny The store owner told me it was an apistogramma cacatuoides. After doing some google searches I found out it's most likely not. It might be too young to determine? I'll try and get some better shots in the morning of a male's tail pattern(although it's so tiny). Right now they are in moonlight phase As for the tank setup, I am surely embarrassed to show my plastic plant decoration. I just got some Anacharis and Mondo Grass today with an Algae ball. Once the plants start taking over and I do some cloning, I plan on removing the noob plastic decorations. The sharp rock you see is a petrified wood that I used to make caves. I also agree the gravel is quite large for this type of fish, but it's been cycled and if I removed the gravel it will most likely cause a mini-cycle. Would you recommend putting a finer substrate on top of this? If not, What would be your recommendation? Thanks in advance. My tank is 60 gallons, and I have a couple large pieces of driftwood for them. I'll do what I can to make this tank a happy/healthy one.

p.s. My bad for posting in the wrong section. Thanks for moving my thread!

 

[indyplanted]

I have gold/yellow fry that look almost identical. But still could be wrong identification.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Welcome, I don't know what they are, which is nothing new for me, but you have found the right forum to ask on.

Mondo grass isn't actually an aquatic and will slowly die in your tank. Have a look here <http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Aquarium_care.php> for some details about tank set up, plants etc. ApistoBob is a member here and has plenty of practical experience of Dwarf Cichlid care.

cheers Darrel

 

[onymousx]

They seem to know exactly when to swim right when the camera is gonna take a picture but I finally got a couple shots after much persistence.

...and a shot of the tail

I went to Petco today and I bought the black planted aquarium substrate they were selling. Soon, very soon... I plan on swapping the substrate I have with this new substrate.

Out of curiosity, the 2 bags of CaribSea FloraMax and 3 bags Activ.Flora substrate states that there is bacteria in this stuff that cycles your tank. Is this gonna prevent a mini-cycle or even speed things up? I am hoping so. It also seems to be packed with minerals as it lists quite a few on the bag. Also, will this allow me to use PURE R/O water? (I understand they will need to be acclimated to the changes if so)

http://www.activflora.com/

Thanks and thanks!

 

[steve1572]

apistogramma cacatuoides.

hi im 99% sure it a gold apistogramma cacatuoides. ive got tanks full of them at the moment and they are identical this these are are pictures of what they look like when they mature

 

[onymousx]

I gotta say you have some awesome looking fish there! I can see the resemblance in mine. So far these are the best cichlids I have seen! What brand/style of substrate would you recommend? I have an eheim eco pro canister filter with a sponge covering the intake pipe. So if I can use pool filter sand from home depot I will. Also, do you use pure untreated r.o. water? I'm thinking about getting an r.o. unit from Lowe's since my well water is very hard water.

Thanks so much!
species identification : complete.
sex identification: pending...

 

[steve1572]

i use childs play sand and ro mixed with 10% tap water as mine is very hard and alkaline looking at you pictures you first post is a female and pic one on your second post is a male hope that helps

 

[onymousx]

Hiya Onymousx,

Ok please some more info and photos. What did you buy them under ? Firstly your tank is set up incorrect in my view, large gravel and sharp edges slate or rocks. More details on the fish, size and tank details etc. At first glance, looks like a Bolivian gold juvenile and no apisto. Just a rough guess. Please more info. cheers jk

looking better?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

looking better

Yes it is, but it is still very lacking in cover, did you have a look at ApistoBobs pages from earlier in the thread? they are well worth reading.

http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php & http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Aquarium_plants.php

You can always add cover straight away with dead leaves, 1/2 coconut shells, bits of broken clay flower pot until the plants have grown.

cheers Darrel