Apisto Macmasteri

[mccidlee]

I recently got a pair of Apisto Macmasteri, now they are in my 20g planted community tank with about 30 small tetra. none of those tetra is aggresive, however, those two macmasteri are just extremely shy, they just stay and hide on the buttom all day.. I am now thinking to move the pair to a 10g tank alone. But just wonder if someone have had experience keeping macmasteri..

Is it OK just put a thin layer of gravel without any plants, may be some rocks and pots for them to hide. i just want to keep everything simple and easy to clean, :lol:

 

[M0oN]

If it's only been a day then you're being impatient, fish, especially more intelligent fish like cichlids, can take weeks, even months to acclimate to their tank and you being around it all the time.

Are your water parameters OK? That sounds like a lot of fish for that tank...those tetra's have to be a huge bio load...

 

[mccidlee]

Thanks M0on,

It's been a week already, my water is fine:
PH: 6.5
GH & KH: 1
Temp.: 78

Those tetra are mostly cardinal and hatchetfish.
But I also have a few algae eating fish, they kind of curious of these two new comers.. sometimes those algae eating fish just scare my macmasteri.. also I guess algae eating fish would also eat out eggs..

So, I still want to move macmasteri to another tank, what I am concerned is: how do i need to set up a new home for my macmasteri?

PH?
Temp?
need other fish go along?
Lighting? darker? or doesn't matter?
How to set up filtration? sponge filter? or something else, I have a set of Eclipse Filter System 1, a whole system come with lighting, power filter. and it fits a 10g tank..
What kind of food?
I used to feed Frozen Brine Shrimp for my Blue Ram, is it OK for macmasteri?

anything else??

 

[cootwarm]

Hi mccidlee,

I think your mcmasterii would be happier in the 20 gallon. Sounds like you don't have any hiding places other than your plants. The apistos would be more comfortable with some driftwood and a cave or two along with the plants. They also like piles of oak leaves to swim in and out of. Cardinals and hatchetfish make good tankmates. If I moved anything, I would probably move a few of the tetras to the 10 gallon. In a 20 gallon with the mcmasterii, 6 cards and 6 hatchetfish will be plenty. Even just one or the other would be plenty.

As for algae eaters, plecos would definitely eat fry, but Oto cats are perfectly safe. Two or three would do good in a 20 gallon.

Michael

 

[mccidlee]

Just share some pics:

Eventually, I keep them in my 20g tank, they are doing pretty well, female just had her first spawn two days ago, however, ate all the eggs though... maybe they are still young...

 

[fisheybusiness]

the ottos

just to menion that from experience the otto.affinis loves to eat my cory.sterbai eggs!! my macmasteri are in with discus in a 60 gal tank but i also am very tempted to move them into a ready waiting tank!,the tank waiting is a 18x10x10in with sphagnum moss substrate and a fine sand ontop, the substrate has then been littered with a load of oak leaves and a few woody caves but the addition of a halved cocnut shell has been installed into all my apisto tanks,they question now is do i tear apart my planted discus tank to get the macmasteri out or do i tear apart my co2 planted tank for the elizabethea??? but confine male and female and given the correct enviroment you would enjoy better results with them in their own gaff!
hope this helps!

 

[Randall]

Thirty dither fish?

Dear mccidlee,

I think Michael makes a very good point. A 20-gallon tank is an excellent size for your beautiful Apistogramma macmasteri. But the thought of thirty dither fish in the same tank scares me! Imagine what it must be doing to your A. macmasteri! Perhaps moving half or more to separate quarters is a good idea.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[Neil]

mccidlee,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

Your fish and pictures are very nice.

PH?
Temp?

The above-mentioned parms are OK and should be acceptable for macmasteri. I usually go a little lower on the pH, but I don't think that it is necessary.

need other fish go along?

Your hatchetfish and, as mentioned by cootwarm, otos are good choices, even when breeding occurs. Cardinals are probably OK to, but are more likely than pencilfish to pick off small fry.

Lighting? darker? or doesn't matter?

I haven't found it to make a huge difference. Go with what you think looks good for yourself. You are the one that will be looking at it every day.

How to set up filtration? sponge filter? or something else, I have a set of Eclipse Filter System 1, a whole system come with lighting, power filter. and it fits a 10g tank..

That is kind of a personal choice too. I use only a sponge filter and then do enough waterchanges and cleaning to make other filtration mute. The Eclipse systems are nice and probably quite a good choice for a single pair of some Apistogramma species, but I have never had one.

What kind of food?
I used to feed Frozen Brine Shrimp for my Blue Ram, is it OK for macmasteri?

Yes! But be aware of the need for a varied diet. Try to feed a variety of foods to them. I use several types of frozen foods, as well as OSI marine flake (one of the few flake foods I have found that most spp. will eat fairly well) and maybe some live food as well. For more info, have a look at this article:
http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=27

anything else??

Yes, clean water. The schedule of your water change routine is as important as any other factor in keeping these fish.

Good luck and enjoy them!

Neil

 

[sen_jie]

erm any guys who are located in singapore know wats the price in singapore and where to get such beautiful fishes?

 

[Melvin_Lim]

sen_jie

there's a cichlid forum hosted in SIN that gives a pretty comprehensive insight to apisto keeping.
try this link, you will also find a list of shops that stock apistos in SIN.

www.petfrd.com

cheers