Easiest / hardiest dwarf cichlid to raise

[Newyorkrangers88]

Sorry I been blowing up the forum with questions lol. My tank is just about ready ( I was able to get some filter media from my LFS to speed up the cycle . Now just about ready to pick out my dwarf cichlids . What would your recommendations be on the hardiest / easiest to keep? Being im a beginner still . Thank you so much in advance

 

[MacZ]

Sorry, can't be answered. Too many things factoring in:

- genetics: domestic strain (bad) vs. tankbred/wild (average) type vs. wild caught (stable)
- source: reputable breeder/importer (good) vs. LFS (average) vs. big box store (bad)
- habitat: whitewater (easy) vs. clearwater (average) vs. blackwater (hard)
- social behaviour: pairing vs. harem vs. casual polygamy
- tank: well structured/tailored to the species vs. display vs. community

It takes one factor to tip the scale from easy to hard or even impossible in an instant.

 

[Mike Wise]

When in doubt try a pair/trio of A. borellii.

 

[MacZ]

When in doubt try a pair/trio of A. borellii.

Even with them... But yes.

 

[Ben Rhau]

If I recall, you have one 10-gallon tank and were looking to get a single male apisto, correct? Male borellii look great and check a lot of boxes. If you don't include females, most males generally won't be aggressive toward non-apisto fish, so you could try most of the commonly available species (macmasteri, cacatouides, hongsloi, trifasciata) and be fine with just that one male. I wouldn't recommend agassizii, which tends to like softer water.

I personally think the wild type fish look best for all these species. And as noted above, likely have better genetics.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Another vote got Apistogramma borellii. In a larger tank A. macmasteri?

My tank is just about ready ( I was able to get some filter media from my LFS to speed up the cycle .

Have a look at the "Aquarium Co-Op" video on "Seasoned Tank Time", it makes a lot more sense than "not cycled / cycled".

I've written a lot about <"letting tanks grow in">, but I've never given it an official title.

cheers Darrel

 

[MacZ]

I'mby no means a fan of aquarium co-op, (I loathe their "quarantine trio" and will not cease warning about it), but when this video came out I was for once of the same opinion as Corey. Another one would be the one he made about Otocinclus last year.

 

[anewbie]

I'mby no means a fan of aquarium co-op, (I loathe their "quarantine trio" and will not cease warning about it), but when this video came out I was for once of the same opinion as Corey. Another one would be the one he made about Otocinclus last year.

More details; what do you dislike about their quarantine routine ?

 

[MacZ]

More details; what do you dislike about their quarantine routine ?

a. preemptive medication with a combination of heavy meds containing among other things formaldehyde and antibiotics. Stuff you might dose one after the other with a recovery period inbetween but never all at once.
b. the fact they recommend this for home use to beginners that often wouldn't know how to deal with contraindications.
c. I have seen enough reports of that combination killing fish due to sideeffects and overdosing.

If I wouldn't do this myself, I for sure wouldn't want to be in a beginner's shoes when this goes haywire. Seen people losing their nerves while treating with that combination.

Note:
I just saw they finally added some saftey advice, which wasn't there last time I looked.

 

[anewbie]

a. preemptive medication with a combination of heavy meds containing among other things formaldehyde and antibiotics. Stuff you might dose one after the other with a recovery period inbetween but never all at once.
b. the fact they recommend this for home use to beginners that often wouldn't know how to deal with contraindications.
c. I have seen enough reports of that combination killing fish due to sideeffects and overdosing.

If I wouldn't do this myself, I for sure wouldn't want to be in a beginner's shoes when this goes haywire. Seen people losing their nerves while treating with that combination.

Note:
I just saw they finally added some saftey advice, which wasn't there last time I looked.

Someone just quote an article that said all fishes require a ph above 6.

 

[MacZ]

Someone just quote an article that said all fishes require a ph above 6.

What?!

 

[anewbie]

What?!

There is an article the suggest your tank should be ph between 6.5 and 7.5 and never below 6. So someone said their tank was 5.5 and they said calcium (in the form of crush coral) had to be added immediately to stablize the ph and bring it up above 6 or their pleco would die.

 

[MacZ]

There is an article the suggest your tank should be ph between 6.5 and 7.5 and never below 6. So someone said their tank was 5.5 and they said calcium (in the form of crush coral) had to be added immediately to stablize the ph and bring it up above 6 or their pleco would die.

Ah, the classic mix of outdated 1960/70s aquarium chemistry (when most people didn't know how to buffer pH besides via KH and only changed water once a year) and bacteria product advertisement being regurgitated.

Where was that article published? Can you send me the link via PM?

 

[anewbie]

The Fish Keeper’s Guide to pH, GH, and KH | Water Chemistry 101

This practical guide for beginners explains what these water chemistry terms mean, when you should test for them, and how to raise or lower them if needed.

www.aquariumcoop.com

The article itself doesn't say that ph should be above 6 but the reader interpreted it that way as it has a recommended range of 6.5 to 7.5; the article isn't awful but it is easy to see how it might confuse a casual reader; also i don't like the idea that you should add a buffer to prevent ph swing.

 

[MacZ]

The article itself doesn't say that ph should be above 6 but the reader interpreted it that way as it has a recommended range of 6.5 to 7.5; the article isn't awful but it is easy to see how it might confuse a casual reader; also i don't like the idea that you should add a buffer to prevent ph swing.

I see. This confusion is very common. Many people get to this looking at the recommandations from test kits (red/yellow/green zones)
The recommendation with the buffer is very obviously targeted at people that remove humic substances because they hate the tint but have soft water. The article is generally likely written for the casual hobbyist, that doesn't care enough to do waterchanges and test water for GH and KH. Combined with (unbeknown) soft water from the tap and the likely absence of life plants in such cases the chances are high for those to experience a true pH-crash due to NO3 build-up (which is dissolved as nitric acid). Basically what brings many beginners to general aquarium forums.

also i don't like the idea that you should add a buffer to prevent ph swing.

It's KH or Humic acids, without either pH is indeed prone to fluctuation and (if the owner doesn't change water regularly) pH-crashes.

 

[anewbie]

I see. This confusion is very common. Many people get to this looking at the recommandations from test kits (red/yellow/green zones)
The recommendation with the buffer is very obviously targeted at people that remove humic substances because they hate the tint but have soft water. The article is generally likely written for the casual hobbyist, that doesn't care enough to do waterchanges and test water for GH and KH. Combined with (unbeknown) soft water from the tap and the likely absence of life plants in such cases the chances are high for those to experience a true pH-crash due to NO3 build-up (which is dissolved as nitric acid). Basically what brings many beginners to general aquarium forums.


It's KH or Humic acids, without either pH is indeed prone to fluctuation and (if the owner doesn't change water regularly) pH-crashes.

But do many casual hobbist actually have tap water with kh near 0 ?

 

[MacZ]

But do many casual hobbist actually have tap water with kh near 0 ?

I know Corey always reminds people of his water and seemingly most of the Northwest of North America, being basically RO from the tap. I know people on at least 3 continents and in a dozen countries that have the same conditions. But all of those make the most of it, keeping softwater species.
Also don't forget, even if you maybe start out with KH of 4 and have a heavily planted and lightly stocked or not planted but heavily stocked tank, consuming away on GH and KH, you might get to this point after some months to a year without waterchanges and only topping off.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

There is an article the suggest your tank should be ph between 6.5 and 7.5 and never below 6. So someone said their tank was 5.5 and they said calcium (in the form of crush coral) had to be added immediately to stablize the ph and bring it up above 6 or their pleco would die.

The amount of "good" advice you will receive about pH (and buffering) from most fish shops (or forums) in the UK could be written on the back of a postage stamp. I'd like to think that things would be better in Germany, Sweden, Netherlands etc.

cheers Darrel

 

[MacZ]

Hi all,

The amount of "good" advice you will receive about pH (and buffering) from most fish shops (or forums) in the UK could be written on the back of a postage stamp. I'd like to think that things would be better in Germany, Sweden, Netherlands etc.

cheers Darrel

Very depending on the store. And even then very depending on the person one is dealing with. I know stores where the owner/manager has no idea of fishkeeping but the employees are top knotch, there is of course also the opposite and all/none-options.
Besides pH I must say, store advice has - at least in my area - become better in recent years. They have tightened regulations and now it's more economic for the owners of bigger petstores to send all their employees to the classes for animal handlers instead of only one or two per department. Pretty sure they are anticipating the regulations demanding exactly that. In smaller specialty stores all personell being examined and licenced is a given nowerdays.