New to Apistos...need some suggestions please.

[inked1]

Hello all! Nice site/discussion board you have here! This site has helped me greatly.

I have been keeping cichlids for about 10 years now and have kept and bred many types from Tanganyikans to Discus. I have a 75gal tank that I will be remodelling and turning into a planted tank. I plan to have a community setup, but I feel no tank is complete without some sort of cichlid. I have kept and bred Rams before, but have never tried any of the Apistogrammas. I was wondering if some of you could give me some suggestions as to what to stock the tank with.

I have an interest in several variations at the moment, but am new to Apistogrammas, so I'm sure I have missed several species during my research. Could you suggest how many pairs I might be albe to house given adequate caves and such? Are certain Apistos better to keep with groups of others? Here is a list of what I am interested in so far. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Apisto Borelli "Yellow" (Opal Borelli)
Apisto Cacatuoides "Triple Red"
Apisto Panduro
Apisto sp. Morado
Apisto Agassizi "Double Red"

Thanks!

 

[Neil]

inked1,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM


Glad to have you aboard, inked. I hope that your new interest in Apistos gives you many rewards. The tank that you are going to set-up is a 48"x18"(footprint) I assume. This will offer you a very good amount of groundspace. You could theoretically put pairs of all 5 species in this tank, but I wouldn't. The 5 species that you mentioned are all from different groups (however, panduro is in the nijsenni group which most people think is a off-shot of the cacatuoides group0 and, therefore, would probably be compatible with each other given the space. In my opinion, it would be totally reasonable to keep 3 of these species in you tank.
Many apistos do well in harem situations and can be kept in groups of 1 or 2 males and several females. This might limit the number of species that you keep however. If you were to go with a group of one species, I would advise to only add one other group or pair of another species.
One final note. Both panduro and morado are a little more aggressive than the others are, so that should play into your figuring. Usually, even aggressive apistos, are only tough on con-specifics or to everyone who wonders into their territory when they have set up shop for baby making.
You can do a lot to reduce aggression in a tank the size of yours by structuring it well, which I am sure you are already aware of because of your experience with other cichlids. Good luck and have fun, but watch out. These little guys are extremely addictive. Neil

 

[inked1]

Thanks for the advice Neil!

I have a few more questions for you. Since I would want this to be a relatively peaceful tank (as far as it can be with cichlids), which species would be the least aggressive? I was planning on putting my breeding group (7) of Panda Cories in this tank and maybe my breeding pair of Blue Rams. Do you see this as a potential problem?

I think I would like to go with several pairs instead of a harem. If any of the pairs turn out to be fantastic specimens, I will remove them and give them thier own breeding tank as I do with any of my fish that happen to be really good speciems.

What species would you guys choose to stock this tank with if it was yours? I'm kinda hoping to have the apistos be easily identifiable (as in I wouldn't confuse them for each other in the tank). For that reason, I am leaning towards the Borelli, Cacatuoides, and Agassizi. Any suggestions?

Finally, when Neil mentioned that I could reduce aggression by good structure of the tank, was he referring to the standard practices of having more than enough caves/hiding places, making sure that they are not too close together, making sure that there would be an interruption in the line of site between territories, etc? Sorry for the 50 q's, but I tend to try and get as much info as possible before I start out with something new.

Also, I have several of the "fancy" plecos and was thinking of adding a couple of the smaller varieties that I have found do not disrupt my plantings. Most cichlids I have had completely ignore the plecos...do you find that this is true with the apistos?

Thanks again.