How Aggressive are Your Apistos towards Non-Cichlids?

[jowens]

I'd be interesting to see what people's experiences are with Apistos in the community tank. One of the great things about Apistos is that you can mix non-cichlids with them to a degree. Of course, you can only push these combinations so far, and Apistos can be aggressive with various fish at different times.

Some areas I'm curious about:

- We know Apistos are territorial with other Apistos and dwarf cichlids - but how do they react to your non-cichlids in the community tank? Are there specific fish or combinations that seem especially problematic?

- During spawning, do your Apistos become especially aggressive towards fish they'd ordinarily ignore?

- Do your Apistos attack bottom dwelling fish and ignore fish that hang in the tank's upper waters?

- Do your Apistos attack "new" fish that have been recently added to the tank...only to back off once they're used to them?

- Do your Apistos attack fish who like "hiding spots" on the bottom of the tank, driving them out of nooks and crannies even if the Apisto doesn't plan on claiming that territory for themself?

- Are there any fish you can think of that have been surprisingly good tankmates for Apistos? Any that you were sure would work, but didn't?

- If you had to name one or two fish that you'd house with Apistos - that people might not assume would ordinarily work - what would they be?

 

[Neil]

jowens,
Wow, that is a bunch of good questions! I think each one of them could constitute a new post. So I am going to give my response to only one right now in a new post. Aggression during spawning. N

 

[Chimera]

Hello

My first post this....


I have;
1 dwarf plec
1 albino catfish
5 yellow tetra
5 cardinal tetra
5 red tetra
5 ghost catfish (see through ..ew!)
1 male full red siamese half moon betta
4 female (1 full red, 2 turquiose, 1 muddy brown mature)

I have two spotted flame apistos in a community tank,
I accidentally trod on my last female and he's been lonley for ages,
Stumbled upon a beautiful mate for him today and snatched her up.
She's slightly different to him, but he's going for it!!
Making up for lost time, as it were.
she has just gone peach red on her tummy and bright yellow,
They are both attacking my four female and one placid male siamese,
(he's too much to cope with the females to be worried about the cichlids.)
The fish taking the most stick is the albino catfish, he's stubborn and just ignores her constant butting!!
It's been only a few hours since they were introduced.
Will keep you posted on the casualties!!!





erm, does this count as animal experimentation??

 

[Leipo]

I'd be interesting to see what people's experiences are with Apistos in the community tank. One of the great things about Apistos is that you can mix non-cichlids with them to a degree. Of course, you can only push these combinations so far, and Apistos can be aggressive with various fish at different times.

first of all the inhabitants of my tank:
- 6 Cardinals
- 5 Red Phantoms
- 1 Zebra Pleco
- 6 Corydoras sodalis
- 5 Nannostomus eques
- a pair of Apistogramma beanchi
and some shrimp

Some areas I'm curious about:

- We know Apistos are territorial with other Apistos and dwarf cichlids - but how do they react to your non-cichlids in the community tank? Are there specific fish or combinations that seem especially problematic?

normally they ignore the other fish, unless when it is feeding time: they rule the tank :wink:
but now they have fry so they claimed 3/4 of the tank and chase away every fish but they ignore the Nannostomus eques

- During spawning, do your Apistos become especially aggressive towards fish they'd ordinarily ignore?

yes especially towards the cardinals, phantoms and corydoras

- Do your Apistos attack bottom dwelling fish and ignore fish that hang in the tank's upper waters?

that would seem that way since they attack the corydoras en leave the nannostomus eques alone

- Do your Apistos attack "new" fish that have been recently added to the tank...only to back off once they're used to them?

haven't introduced any new fish: they are th enewest inhabitants themself

- Do your Apistos attack fish who like "hiding spots" on the bottom of the tank, driving them out of nooks and crannies even if the Apisto doesn't plan on claiming that territory for themself?

no, they leave my zebra pleco alone which has his own hiding spot in the other 1/4 of the tank that they didn't claim as their territory

- Are there any fish you can think of that have been surprisingly good tankmates for Apistos? Any that you were sure would work, but didn't?

the nannostomus eques are really good tankmates: they stay at the surface and they don't eat eggs or fry. the cardinals, phantoms and zebra pleco all ate some fry when they had the chance

- If you had to name one or two fish that you'd house with Apistos - that people might not assume would ordinarily work - what would they be?

maybe the zebra pleco, but it has a small mouth and are rather shy just like apisto's.


hope this helps

 

[Greg PL]

- During spawning, do your Apistos become especially aggressive towards fish they'd ordinarily ignore?

no aggression, unless the other fish gets too close to the fry/eggs. it's tetras, corys, "algae eaters" etc which show aggression, apistos only defend their young.

- Do your Apistos attack bottom dwelling fish and ignore fish that hang in the tank's upper waters?

as stated previously - they retaliate, not attack.

- Do your Apistos attack "new" fish that have been recently added to the tank...only to back off once they're used to them?

yes, if they fit their mouth. the same goes for other neighbours.

- Do your Apistos attack fish who like "hiding spots" on the bottom of the tank, driving them out of nooks and crannies even if the Apisto doesn't plan on claiming that territory for themself?

nope, never seen that. the male and female tolerate fish of other species on their teritories, with the exception of brood care

- Are there any fish you can think of that have been surprisingly good tankmates for Apistos? Any that you were sure would work, but didn't?

+ Carnegiella species (very surface-oriented, do not interfere with apistos at all)
+ Nannostomus (small mouth)
- small corys (C. pygmaeus, habrosus, hastatus) - too small, can be eaten
- standard corys (paleatus, napoensis etc) - attack the fry
- Ancistrus, Peckoltia etc - even smaller species are egg-eaters. apisto females can have problems with chasing them of
- tetras - hunt for fry in schools.
+ livebearers - deliver live food every month or so, wagtail guppys may lose their tails.

- If you had to name one or two fish that you'd house with Apistos - that people might not assume would ordinarily work - what would they be?

I haven't try with dither fish from outside SA, perhaps there are some recomendable choices there.
1-2 species of Apistogramma and a school of Carnegiella strigata/marthae or other small species seemed to work best. you don't need algae eaters if you make often changes with soft, acidic water.

 

[Mike Wise]

Quote:
Originally Posted by jowens
- If you had to name one or two fish that you'd house with Apistos - that people might not assume would ordinarily work - what would they be?


maybe the zebra pleco, but it has a small mouth and are rather shy just like apisto's.

I find this quite interesting because the Zebra Pleco is mostly carnivorous in the wild. Maybe your pleco knows better than to enter the baenschi's territory.

 

[Leipo]

I find this quite interesting because the Zebra Pleco is mostly carnivorous in the wild. Maybe your pleco knows better than to enter the baenschi's territory.

Well he (it's a male) did snatch 1 wriggler one time so if your are trying to get as many offspring as possible it may not be a good choice to put a zebra pleco in an Apisto breeding tank

but the interaction between the apisto's and the pleco is going fine without any problems: they leave each other alone

 

[fishgeek]

i have had some apisto's cause no problems even when spawning with other assorted tetra's cory's ancistrus hatchets betta's and guppies

i have also had a pair of panduro kill 3 guppies within 1 hour of them being added as dithers
i think the individual fish can play a major part aswell

andrew

 

[Griz]

I have a community tank built around a trio of A. cacatuoides. The other fish are firehead tetras, neons, one-lined pencilfish and corydoras sodalis. All are found in similar water conditions and are "kinda" geograhically correct. I have had no problems at all. The cacs are a bit protective of the nest sites especially when there are eggs or fry, but they only make a short charge at any fish that get too close. They don't pursue their tankmates, just a little hit to move them along. No harm is ever done, no injuries or torn fins. They pretty much leave the tetras ans pencilfish alone although it may be that they know enough to keep their distance. Most of the time it's the corys that are getting chased away.

I would recommend any of these fish as tankmates for Apistos. I've been considering adding a group of hatchetfish. Based on my experience these will also make excellent tankmates and are found in similar water conditions.

I think that one reason I have had good luck is that I resisted the urge to overstock. The 3 cacs have a 33gal tank which is planted and has rocks, driftwood, and coconut caves - plenty of room for them and their tankmates. The neons, fireheads and pencilfish help give the tank a 'full' look and some movement, while placing a minimal bioload on the setup.