Apistogramma Tank mates

[apistopete]

Hi,

New to this so go easy please

I have a 120l heavily planted tank and looking to keep some form of dwarf cichlids, preferably Apistogramma.

1- in this size of tank how many pairs of Apistogramma can be housed without problems?

2- Would a form of Ram be compatible with Apistogramma?

3- what would recommended dither fish be to accompany these species. Looking for something colourful as it will be a focal point in my room. I have many in mind but I know I have limited tank capacity.

4- Is oxygenation bubbles from the filter power head important with theses species and help keeping the live plants in top condition?

Any advice or recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

 

[MickeM]

Hi..

My experience with 2 pairs is- that you then will need more than 2 pairs!!??.. more like 6-12 "youngsters"/juveniles of one species , to get some kind of terrorbalance in the tank. (To let them find their partners after a while)
If you buy and keep 2 pairs the stronger male will hunt the weaker ..a lot !!
Many Apistos are also polygamous and can breed with more than one female in a short period of time--> the dominant one will establish a territory as large as possible to keep as many females as possible!!

You will also have to put a lot of plants,roots, leafs in the tank..to give protection for the Apistos that will not be the most dominant one. In that way the Nr 1 in the hierarki can not control/overview(??) the whole area in the tank!!
I once kept 10-12 Ap.trifasciata (1,5cm) together with 8-10 Ap. baenschi (1cm). The trif.got fry which I removed after a few days (to save a few from getting eaten by the others). In a month or so the baenschi grew faster than the trif. and got fry too..
Since then I´ve learnt not to put a "small-mouth" Apisto with a "big-mouth" Apisto unless they are relatively larger in size !! (Never the opposite mix and never 2 pairs only..)

In a long 120L(70cm<) tank I`d probably focus on one pair of Apisto and get a school of Sundadanio axelrodi "blue" or "green" ,and a friendly, nice fish at the surface ..Pseudoepiplatys annulatus..
If you choose a small Apisto with small mouth I would also go for Boraras birgittae/ maculata.
Pseudomugil cf.paskai/iriani is one nice fish too.
One recommendation is to avoid tetras(at least big tetras)..they will eat and then pollute the water a lot.. They are very quick in catching the food..(compared to Apistos..) and eat until they burst!!??
You can mix the food (defrost,not in micro??) in a cup of water before feeding them.. Then the food will get down to the Apistos too.. when pouring it in..

Rams can be quite robust and protective.. I have never kept them with Apistos. If you do, it might be good to have an elongated species of Apisto.. to avoid a moment of irritation for the Rams?? (Reminding of themselves.."bodywise"??)
Maybe try to have an area/section with caves and one without.. http://www.apistogramma.com/forum/index.php?threads/fake-or-male-rams.17529/#post-84670
In your position I would try to keep 6-8 Rams + one pair of Apisto..+ others..

A tank with much aeriation lower the amount of CO2 (which your plants love.. ) If I use any filter pumps , I decrease their strength to a minimum.. Slowflow!!
The greatest amount of oxygen in a tank you need are for the sake of several good bacterias, living in the sand doing their "decomposing work".
And , if you have a well functioning planted tank and don`t pollute/overload the water with restproducts, you rarely have a need for "extra" oxygen!! (Many Apistos and other fishes lives in "pondlike" non flowing waters, they are very tolerant)

Good luck !
And don`t forget Mike W......" A community tank is not a breeding tank !!!"
(If you want lots of fry to survive,you will often have to remove others)

/MickeM

 

[Mike Wise]

Do you want this to be a community tank or a tank for breeding?

 

[apistopete]

Thanks very much for your input Mike.

Will look into some of these options.

I want to have a peaceful yet vibrant community tank. I have kept many fish in the past but after years it's like starting all over again, wetting the fingers again so to speak.

 

[Mike Wise]

If you want a community tank then I recommend just keeping 3 or 4 males of different species/shapes/finnage together. They will interact, but usually not become overly aggressive.

 

[apistopete]

Thanks Mike,

What are your reccomendations on dither fish?

Again I am slightly restricted with numbers with a 120l tank.

Thanks again