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20 gallon long stocking help

Nova

New Member
Messages
3
Hi, I was recently gifted a 20 gallon long and wanted to know if a pair of cacatuoides would be alright in there with 8 habrosus corydoras and 8 neon tetras? Right now it's just planted and has lots of foliage and cover. I'm worried about the cacatuoides killing the corydoras but I have placed huts far back between plants and away from the some open space in the front where I expect the corydoras to and the neons to hangout. Would this setup and stocking be alright? If not are there any other apistogramma I can keep that are less aggressive instead of cacatuoides?
 

Nova

New Member
Messages
3
Also wanted to mention that if I do go ahead with this setup, when the cacatuoides breed I will pull the eggs and hatch them separately. I've done so before for killifish and I prefer that method.
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
A few hints:

Stocking:
- If you want to run the tank just as a display, only add a male Apistogramma. And be done. I see, that's not the plan, so...
- If you want to breed rethink tankmates: Tetras eat fry. Corydoras can stress out breeding dwarf cichlids to a degree that female cichlids can burn out and drop dead. That's because Corydoras neither understand intimidation display nor do they care for any territorial demarkations. In a breeding setup you can at most add some pencilfish.
Additionally: Dwarf Corydoras species are often sold at a size that fits into a male A. cacatuoides mouth. I have seen a number of cases where a small Corydoras had to be removed surgically from the mouth of one of these cichlids. Usually though both fish are goners in such cases.
In short: There are breeding setups OR display setups. If you want to breed successfully, stock accordingly.

Structure:
Having only plants and an open space in the front is not a good idea if you want to keep a pair of Apistos. As I said, Corydoras in the tank won't work, so ploease just leave it. But the bulk of the aggression would be between the cichlids. The female needs the chance to evade the male. Just plants won't do it usually. Important is to break long lines of sight at the fishes swimming level. Here you find a schematic I drew up lately for an example of correct structure.

Breeding:
With dwarf cichlids, let the female do her thing. You can ask around here in the forum, pulling the spawn and trying to raise them separately is often not successful. Dwarf cichlids do a much more extensive brood care than killifish. That's two separate world.

And a personal note:
Apistogramma cacatuoides is an easy Apisto to breed, but also an ubiquitous species you find everywhere. The domestic strains are destabilizing recently, with misshapen fins (most often the ventrals) and mouths, glaucoma is also common, at least in Europe. So it is not always easy to get rid of the offspring and culling is also becoming a necessity. So maybe try 1-2 spawns with them to get a hang of breeding Apistos but then separate them or rehome them and get another species that's easier to sell.
 

Nova

New Member
Messages
3
A few hints:

Stocking:
- If you want to run the tank just as a display, only add a male Apistogramma. And be done. I see, that's not the plan, so...
- If you want to breed rethink tankmates: Tetras eat fry. Corydoras can stress out breeding dwarf cichlids to a degree that female cichlids can burn out and drop dead. That's because Corydoras neither understand intimidation display nor do they care for any territorial demarkations. In a breeding setup you can at most add some pencilfish.
Additionally: Dwarf Corydoras species are often sold at a size that fits into a male A. cacatuoides mouth. I have seen a number of cases where a small Corydoras had to be removed surgically from the mouth of one of these cichlids. Usually though both fish are goners in such cases.
In short: There are breeding setups OR display setups. If you want to breed successfully, stock accordingly.

Structure:
Having only plants and an open space in the front is not a good idea if you want to keep a pair of Apistos. As I said, Corydoras in the tank won't work, so ploease just leave it. But the bulk of the aggression would be between the cichlids. The female needs the chance to evade the male. Just plants won't do it usually. Important is to break long lines of sight at the fishes swimming level. Here you find a schematic I drew up lately for an example of correct structure.

Breeding:
With dwarf cichlids, let the female do her thing. You can ask around here in the forum, pulling the spawn and trying to raise them separately is often not successful. Dwarf cichlids do a much more extensive brood care than killifish. That's two separate world.

And a personal note:
Apistogramma cacatuoides is an easy Apisto to breed, but also an ubiquitous species you find everywhere. The domestic strains are destabilizing recently, with misshapen fins (most often the ventrals) and mouths, glaucoma is also common, at least in Europe. So it is not always easy to get rid of the offspring and culling is also becoming a necessity. So maybe try 1-2 spawns with them to get a hang of breeding Apistos but then separate them or rehome them and get another species that's easier to sell.
Hi, I saw your answer a while back but forgot to thank you. Thanks for all the helpful info and I've decided I'm going for a larger display set up (33g long) and using a 10 gallon as a separate breeding tank and when I'm not actively looking to produce apistos, ill house my breeding pair or harem in the display tank. Also for different species, im thinking maybe ap. baenschi, do you know of any people working with them? They look badass for a tiny little fish
 

MacZ

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
You're welcome.

Also for different species, im thinking maybe ap. baenschi, do you know of any people working with them?
Not at the moment and the only one I know who kept them in the past isn't here on the forum. If you asked that to source them... I doubt I know any people that can ship them to you.

They look badass for a tiny little fish
Everyone to their taste.
 

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