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Choosing my first Apistos!

Swish41

New Member
Messages
10
Hello everyone!
I just introduced myself in another post, but I´ll do it again, just in case.
I´m Juan from Chile, and I´ve always loved dwarf cichlids but in my country they´re rarely seen. Now my local fish store told me they´ll bring the following species:
- A. agazissii (don´t know which variety)
- A. atahualpa
- A. cacatuoides (don´t know which variety)
- A. cruzi
- A. pucallpaensis
I have a small tank with no fish on it, with lots of branches, java moss and anubias and I thought to put a pair of A. pucallpaensis on it. But the main question is, for my main tank (a 120 gal, heavily planted), I was hoping to put two pairs on it. I´d love to hear for some advice from you guys (which ones should I choose? Male/Female ratio, etc...)
Thanks so much!
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
How small is your small tank? I do not recommend breeding pairs/trios in a community tank situation. A female with a brood of young can cause problems. it would be better, if the large tank is intended to be a community, to keep only males that are of different species, different body shapes and fin shapes.
 

Swish41

New Member
Messages
10
How small is your small tank? I do not recommend breeding pairs/trios in a community tank situation. A female with a brood of young can cause problems. it would be better, if the large tank is intended to be a community, to keep only males that are of different species, different body shapes and fin shapes.
The small one is 10 gal, and since I´ve read about people breeding pucallpaensis in a 5 gal I thought it could work. About the main tank, in the past I´ve had small cichlids (kribs) with fry and no problems with a similar stocking and less planting. But maybe will it be better to chose only one species and buy a trio?
Appreciate all your comments!
 

Mike Wise

Moderator
Staff member
5 Year Member
Messages
11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
Ap. pucallpaensis should work in a 10. Their not easy to reproduce successfully due to the small size of the fry. They need micro-organisms or an extensive area of plant in a tank to get them through the first week before they can handle BBS. After that, not a problem.

Kribs (parental sharing of brood care) are quite different from most apistos, where only the female provides brood care. Of the species you list, A. atahualpa (big, aggressive, and some bi-parental brood care) would be the best choice if you want fry to have a real chance of survival.
 

Swish41

New Member
Messages
10
Ap. pucallpaensis should work in a 10. Their not easy to reproduce successfully due to the small size of the fry. They need micro-organisms or an extensive area of plant in a tank to get them through the first week before they can handle BBS. After that, not a problem.

Kribs (parental sharing of brood care) are quite different from most apistos, where only the female provides brood care. Of the species you list, A. atahualpa (big, aggressive, and some bi-parental brood care) would be the best choice if you want fry to have a real chance of survival.
Thanks Mike!
Atahualpa sounds cool, it´s very beautiful. Would you recommend to get a pair or a trio? (the tank has enough room and hiding places for the fish). Also my plan is to give them a happy life, not necessarily to breed them (if they do, great, but since it´s a community tank I know it will be difficult to succeed with the fry), so my main concern is that I won´t have extreme aggression in tank.
 

dw1305

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Messages
2,755
Location
Wiltshire UK
Hi all,
Thanks for your reply, the tank I´m planning to put the Apistos:
- GH ~ 6-7
- KH ~ 4
- PH = 6,5
I think even that will be too hard for successful breeding, although it may be OK for maintenance? Some-one else will know.
I use rain-water, but even that has about 4 dKH/dGH and ~65ppm TDS and I can't breed any of the black-water species.

cheers Darrel
 

Swish41

New Member
Messages
10
Hi all, I think even that will be too hard for successful breeding, although it may be OK for maintenance? Some-one else will know.
I use rain-water, but even that has about 4 dKH/dGH and ~65ppm TDS and I can't breed any of the black-water species.

cheers Darrel
Thanks for the info, as I said, my goal is to keep them happy, not necessarily to breed them. I´ll keep doing research of the best options for my parameters.
Thanks to all of you :)
 

Happyfins

Member
Messages
93
Location
Sydney
Hi all, I think even that will be too hard for successful breeding, although it may be OK for maintenance? Some-one else will know.
I use rain-water, but even that has about 4 dKH/dGH and ~65ppm TDS and I can't breed any of the black-water species.

cheers Darrel
they are fairly hardy and don't need super soft water to stay alive.
 

Garri Ausmus

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
38
I have spawned cacatuoides, Hongsloi Red, Agassizii, and Bitaeniata in species ten gallon tanks. I have never got a successful spawn in a community tank but i did keep my males in a 55 gal tank to keep spawning down to when i had tank space for the fry. by that i mean a ten for growth till they were off the baby brine shrimp and could eat crushed flakes. I then moved them into a 20 gal, eventually they went into a 55 gal for growth until they were traded for store credit at a local fish store here in Denver, Colorado. All i did to soften the extremely hard water here was to add drift wood to their tanks. I have 40 tanks ranging from 2.5 gallon fry tanks up to 180 gallon monster tanks. here is a picture of one side of my fish room.
 

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Garri Ausmus

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
38
My only Apistogramma i have now are Cacatuoides Orange Flash. All i am actively breeding now are Pelvicachromis Sacramontis red form, a wild caught pair and wild caught Alcolapia ndalalani. I am occasionally letting one of my female Haplichromis SP 35 tomatoes spit their fry in a ten gallon because they dont sell here but are clean feeders. I am trying to get my trio of Yssichromis SP. Blue tipped to spawn again, it has been two years since their last spawn.
 

Garri Ausmus

Member
5 Year Member
Messages
38
My only Apistogramma i have now are Cacatuoides Orange Flash. All i am actively breeding now are Pelvicachromis Sacramontis red form, a wild caught pair and wild caught Alcolapia ndalalani. I am occasionally letting one of my female Haplichromis SP 35 tomatoes spit their fry in a ten gallon because they dont sell here but are clean feeders. I am trying to get my trio of Yssichromis SP. Blue tipped to spawn again, it has been two years since their last spawn.
I am concentrating on my CARES groups right now for obvious reasons.
 

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