Apistotank questions?

[psandstr]

Hi, I`m new to this forum and quite new to Apistogrammas as well.

I`ve set up a 375"litre" tank and this weekend I bought the fish who is supposed to live in it.
This is the lucky/unlucky fishes: 2pairs A.Hongsloi, 2pairs A.sp Inka and 2pairs A.Bitaeniata.

In the tank there is a large pile of rocks, some roots and a lot of plants.

And now my questions:
I`ve tried to decorate the tank to have "natural" buondarys so that each pair could have their own territorys but the fish does not care a lot about my ideas, they are very aggressive and I`m worried about some of them getting injured.
What can I do to make them less aggressive?
I`m thinking about bying some target fish, tetras and corydoras, could that help?
Any suggestions on suitable corys and/or tetras?
Any other suggestions?
Where can I find information about Inka and Bitaeniata?

Best regards/ Per

PS. I`m from Sweden so please excuse my bad English

 

[ronv]

Did you "cycle" the tank?

 

[tjudy]

What are the dinemsions of the tank? Six pairs of apistos will have territorial problems in just about any tank, but the problems would be intensified with smaller area on the bottom.

If it were me I would probably select the species I like the best and find homes for the other two species, or at least reduce the count to one pair of each species rather than two.

 

[aspen]

i have to agree with ted. those fish won't all live in there too happily.

rick

 

[psandstr]

Hi and thank you for your replies.

Yes, ronv, the has been cycled for two weeks and I`m using partly old filtermedia so the waterparameters won`t be a problem.

Maybe I should also tell you that I`m not new to the aqariumhobby, just keeping Apistogrammas, I´ve kept and bred Diskus and a lot of other chiclids in the past 10 years.

Tjudy, my tank is 1500mm* 500mm bottom area, In inches that is about 59 * 20, and about 100 Us gallons.


I was studying them yesterday and it seems that it`s the smallest Bitaeniata male who has taken control of about half the aqarium, one of the females is staying in a small flowerpot (I think they have already spawned?!) and he is now flirting with the other female who is digging out a hole under a large rock.

One of the Inka males I believe tries to control a territory towards the other end. I think that it was a bit less fighting than it was on their first day in the tank.

I think I will try to put in some more roots and some plants to divide their territorys a bit more, do you think that it is possible to make them settle for "smaller" territorys?

The guy who sold me the fish told me that I would have more problems with fighting if I had only 2 or 3 males and that Apistos in the "wild" are living alot closer to each other than they would do in my tank, is this just nonsens?

Would it do any good to put in some tetras and corydoras?

I do not have the space to put up another tank at the moment but as soon as I`m finished building my hobbyroom I will set up my big 600l tank.

Best regards/ Per

 

[tjudy]

Predicting the behavior of fish in the wild vs. captivity is difficult. There are too many factors involved. Compared even a small stream in the wild, any tank we have is tiny. Compared to a flooded forest...

Sounds like the person you are taling to is thinking about Malawi cichlids, where cramming them into a tank will reduce aggression.

Adding some mid water or top water dithers would be fine. They will not stop the aggression between the cichlids though. Dithers will help the fish feel more comfortable and to come out in the open more. Cories on the bottom are ok too, and they will be a target for breeding cichlids, but will be left alone at other times.

 

[psandstr]

A friend of mine had some years ago 3 A.agassizi (males) in a quite large tank and he had a problem with one of the males had the entire tank as his territory, this problem is starting to show in my tank now.

In fact, it is the smallest male of them all (Bitaeniata) who is in charge of about half the tank.
Is it ussually possible to do anything about this?

I`m thinking about to try and put a root in the tank to make some kind of natural boundary to his territory, could this be the right way to solve this problem?
Please tell me if you have any other ideas.

Best regards/ Per

 

[fishgeek]

remove the dominat fish from the tank
move stuff around so it appears different
allow the subordinates some time to find a place/stake a territory and return the dominat fish

need to watch that he just doesn't fight harder to regain his stake

andrew

 

[psandstr]

Hi again,

It looks like I will have to set up my other big tank to solve this problem. This will definetly take persuasion to my girlfriend (because it could only fit in the livingroom at the moment) I`m not to sure she will jump out of her shoes of joy having 900 litres of water in there, any suggestions on how to persuade a woman to agree to this ?

I`ve tried to find information about Bitaeniata and Inca on the internet but I`ve not been very successful, I would be most grateful if someone could give me some more detailed/practical information about them, maybe a link or something?

Best regards/ Per

 

[Fatts]

psandstr,
You answer that question and I think all of us will tap into your knowledge!!!!!

As far as the Inca, look for Apitosgramma sp "Inca 50" or Apistogramma baenschi (the latter is its described name)

 

[Greg PL]

psandstr,
You answer that question and I think all of us will tap into your knowledge!!!!!

I could pay a bit for a proven book on the subject

as to the aggression - try to make more separated zones - via adding more branches/roots. some thick, high growing plants will also help. perhaps it's enough to just play with the decoration. then you can take your time thinking on the above mentioned

 

[psandstr]

Greg PL, the tank already has "separated" zones but some of the males does not agree with me on how big a territory should be .

Now, when I have removed two fishes, Hongsloi male+female, this is the situation: The smallest male in the tank has taken control of almost 2/3 of the tank and in the other corner the larger of the two Inca-males has taken control with both females.
The rest of the fish, 1 Hongsloi male +2females, 1 Inca male and 1 Bitaeniata male is trying to hide in the larger Inca-males (small) territory.

I believe that I`ll have to remove the dominant Bitaeniata male, like "fishgeek" said because it is that male who I think is the real problem, to bad though I don`t have any tank to put him in at the moment.

When I get a free space to put my little "terrorist" in, for how long do you think I should leave him there before I try to put him back in the large tank?

How big territory does usually an Apisto-male claim?
Isn`t it a risk that the dominant Inca male just continue the "terror" where the Bitaeniata-male left of?
Do you think that these spieces are impossible to have in the same tank?

Best regards/ Per

 

[Mike Wise]

How big territory does usually an Apisto-male claim?

In aquariums male apistos have claimed entire 1 meter tanks for their territory. It is important that the fish cannot see long distances or they will claim it all! In the wild individual specimens have been seen guarding territories of 3 square meters! Most do not live in such open spaces. Most apistos, even in the wild rarely hold territories over 1'/30 cm in diameter - and then only for short breeding periods. Studies in aquariums have shown that once a male successfully claims a territory, it is very difficult for another male - even a much larger male - take the territory from him. On the other hand I had an 18"X14" (45X35 cm) tank that was completely covered with Java Moss. It was impossible to see very far. I successfully kept 2 males & 3 females of wild A. cacatuoides in this tank & regularly removed fry every month. Females spawned successfully & the males did not damage anyone (or each other!). I guess it is true: "Out of sight, out of mind".

 

[ovj78]

I have a 240 liters (120*40 cm) tank, where I keep 2+2 A.Cacatuoides and 1+3 A.Viejita and it is no problem. I now have fries from one Cacatuoides, and wigglers from two Viejita females.

 

[psandstr]

Well I'm proud to tell you that I've pursuaded my girlfriend and I will now set up my biggest tank in the livingroom:biggrin: .

This will, however, cost me, I've agreed to build us a new bathroom and a glasshouse (don't know the english word for it) in the garden for growing plants, I'm going to be a very poor man:frown: . And who said that people in the aquarium-hobby are crazy ???????

I would like to have some good advise now on how to "decorate" my big tank (200cm x 50cm) if anyone of you have some pictures to show how this should be done I would be very pleased.

Before I introduced my fish my first tank I thoght I had done it very well but as we all know, it wasn't.

Best regards/ Per

 

[Joost S]

Per, I know how this goes. My wife...... But still can't complain with 9 (small)aquaria. Good that your p[roblem is solved on the short term. But I do agree with Mike. When you put in a lot of effort (and money). Get hold of large amount of Javamos and part of your problem will be solved.