New to Apistos

[Ninjouzata]

Hello! I hope this is the right section for my questions.

I currently have a 20g long with 6 sterbai cories, I am trying to decide what sort of fish to add and I have been admiring apistos so thought I would see if that could work. I am unsure if they are fine with cories since they occupy the same region of the tank (right?).

I imagine the answer to some of my questions might depend on which kind I want. I am very much interested in hongsloi but unsure if it'd be okay as my first apisto. Here are my questions:

What are the differences between hongsloi form I and II? A description is fine but pictures would be great.

Is there any special care I should know about? All of my tanks get a minimum 25% weekly water change, and I can certainly do more if that is necessary. My pH is 6.8-7.2 (I can't remember right now, sorry, can test again if needed)

Will it be okay to have a pair in this tank or should I be keeping a single male so that my cories don't get hurt? If I have a single male will it be lonely?

What should I feed them and how often? I'd prefer not to do live but I can do frozen. Most of the tanks just get pellets 4-5 days a week, frozen on 1, and fasting on 1 or 2 days.

It seems driftwood is very popular for apisto tanks. Is this very necessary to make them comfortable or is it more used for staining the water/lowering pH? I am very picky about DW so usually this means it becomes expensive..I don't have any in this tank so would like to know if I need that.

Are there any particular plants they like? I currently have water sprite and dwarf water lettuce and a banana plant in there. I plan on putting in some vesuvius sword, cryptocoryne petchii, cryptocoryne lucens, staurogyne repens, and pygmy chainsword.

Do they look better on light or dark substrate? I have black sand.

I think that's all of my questions for now, sorry there are so many. Thank you all very much and hope to read some responses soon!

 

[Pisces 56]

I'm not able to intelligently answer your questions, not 'doing' Apistos yet. But it is so refreshing to see someone asking questions BEFORE they get their fish rather than afterward when their fish are dying.

Just my personal opinion, but I don't think one can ask too many questions.

Good luck with your new fish!

 

[regani]

Apistos and corydoras together tend to be a bit of a problem especially if you get pair of apistos. The pair will get very territorial and corydoras don't seem to understand that concept very well or just have veeeery short memories plus they will try to eat any eggs that may appear with a pair.
If you are determined to keep both, keeping a single male or maybe two from different species (different finnage, colour, body shape) is the better option.
DW helps to lower the pH and provides cover and places to hide but it is not strictly necessary.
Food is best in the order of live-frozen-dried. Mine seem to do well on a staple of quality flake and pellets supplemented with life food a couple of times a week. Others also have had good success with frozen foods.
In terms of plants, that is really up to you; the fish won't have any preference. Most plants will do better with slightly lower pH (6.4 to 6.8) as will most apistos. If you are into plants, you may want to consider using CO2 that will boost plant growth considerably (is even necessary for a number of plants) and help to keep the pH lower.
The colour of the sand is again a personal preference. As long as it is fine sand that the apistos can sift through all is good.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Thanks Pisces 56! I agree it's always best to do research first. C:

Thank you for your response Regani. That is what I heard about cories and them together and why I wanted to ask. Cories are so silly I am not interested in breeding them at all (I'm sure it's lovely to see I am just already preoccupied with peacock gudgeon fry) so if it's okay to not have a female and for the male to just be by himself that is fine with me. I just don't want him to be lonely (if they even get lonely). I definitely want to keep my cories as they were with me first so they are part of the family, so to speak.

Glad the DW isn't strictly necessary. I would like some so I will keep my eye out but like I said I'm quite picky. If I can get some I will put some java fern and anubias nana on it.

I use new life spectrum small fish formula. Is this too small for them or will it be fine? I can do frozen more than once a week for them, some of my other fish need it more than that too (just recently got a black ghost knife, leopard bushfish, and half-banded eel for my 129g).

I am not into Co2 (no offense), all my tanks have hardy low light plants though. I was just curious on specific plants as I know fish like bettas prefer broad-leafed ones to rest on.

Glad I can keep my black sand. The cories sift through it so it should be fine enough, right?

I will keep searching to try and find the difference between Hongsloi form I and II, hopefully I find something (I am terrible at researching which is why I try to go to a dedicated forum and ask lots of questions!) or hopefully someone who has/had them can tell me. If someone knows a general price range for them that'd be good too. I know it varies by location though.

Thank you both for the quick responses

 

[regani]

NLS is fine, it is one of the foods I use for my apistos as well

 

[MonteSS]

Keep the cories as in my experience they will be fine with non breading male Apistos.

I would go with 2-3 males. One of each species. different body types if possible. Hongsloi, aggasizi, borelli, cac, trifasc, etc

Wood is not neccesary but lots of hiding spots would be good.

Tetras go well too.

Here is my mostly male tank that I am loving. Lots of great interactions. They are out more than you would think. Sorry, algae on glass.

 

[Mike Wise]

Hongsloi I & II are names used for domestic strains. Aqualog's catalog "Southamerican Cichlids II" was one of the earliest to show pictures under these names. Hongsloi I is basically the Rotstrich/Red-streak domestic strain with more pronounced red than the type form of A. hongsloi. Hongsloi II should show even more extensive red on the body. There really is no definition of what makes one strain Hongsloi I and another strain Hongsloi II. It really depends on what the seller can get away with naming them. That being said, you might like to know that these strains are almost certainly not color enhanced strains of pure A. hongsloi. Both appear to be a mix of several different, closely related species. I suggest that you buy by looks, not by name.

 

[Pisces 56]

"I use new life spectrum small fish formula. Is this too small for them or will it be fine? I can do frozen more than once a week for them, some of my other fish need it more than that too (just recently got a black ghost knife, leopard bushfish, and half-banded eel for my 129g)."

I've got two teeny-weeny, tiny banded bush fish in the quarantine tank at my left elbow. They're hardly bigger'un a minute!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Thanks Regani, glad to know the NLS should be fine.

MonteSS thanks for your response! Having multiple males sounds nice but due to pricing I think I may just stick to one What sort of tetras would you suggest?

Mike Wise, thank you for the explanation. After doing some more googling that was the idea I got. It's neat all the color strains that are made. I was asking more from curiousity than caring on buying a certain one. My LFS wholesaler list just says hongsloi so I will just ask him to get some in and I'll choose from there!

Pisces 56, d'aww hehe! The one I have is very small too. I had one before but he came to me with half a gill plate missing and a few days later some growths were appearing on him. He did not make it through treatment but before that he was so lively, greeted me at the tank and fed from my hand. I miss him compared to the new one I have that darts into a cave as soon as it sees me. He seems to be warming up though.

Thanks for all the responses, ya'll are very helpful! <3

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'd like to know more about apistogramma feeding habits if possible. On seriouslyfish I read that they are more docile feeders so boisterous fish like certain tetras may outcompete them for food. My main concern is if they will over eat.

This tank actually houses the betta in my avatar, and he has gorged himself on the cories food and ended up getting pineconed. He is mostly recovered now and when he is fully recovered he's going into his own 10g tank.

I don't want something like that to happen with the apisto

I'm of course about to go use the search function but I did want to post my question in case I don't find anything. Thanks.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I did not find anything in my search, unfortunately! So hopefully someone that knows may see this and can tell me or I will just have to see. I am now looking into some schooling fish other than my sterbais. I'd prefer them to not be expensive/hard to find. I was thinking celestial pearl danios/galaxy rasboras but they are 10$ each at my LFS. Eeep! I am stuck between harlequin/espei rasboras or asian rummynose (sawbwa resplendens) currently. Sorry for triple posting.

 

[regani]

The feeding issue is not too difficult to avoid. Just have floating foods for tetras etc., sinking food for the apistos and other bottom feeders. Start with a small amount of the floating food food on one end of the tank, then add the sinking food on two other places in the tank. That way most of the sinking food will get to the bottom and everyone will have a chance to feed. Just don't feed too much overall. Live food is also a good option as it distributes it self across the tank

 

[Ninjouzata]

Hmm, okay. Hopefully it turns out alright. Thank you

 

[Ninjouzata]

I am torn once again on a schooling fish. I love the marble hatchets. I think all that I want would be too much for this tank though. What are your thoughts?

20 Gallon Long
1x Male Apistogramma Hongsloi
6x Sterbai Corydoras
6x Asian Rummynose (Sawbwa Resplendens)
6x Marble Hatchetfish

If that isn't overstocked (I am really terrible at stocking numbers) could I up their numbers?

Also would like to know how many times a week I should change the water since I imagine I should do it more than once, which is fine. I am used to doing water changes every other day for my peacock gudgeon fry.

Thank you.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I think I'm going to leave them at those numbers. Ordered some wood for the tank..it reminds me of Pride Rock from Lion King. ^_^ I need to call our LFS and check on pricing. Will post pics when I get the fishies which will be a few weeks I think. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm switching out the asian rummynose for espei rasbora after reading that the rummies max temp is 75F (24C).

I was wondering..could I have a male apisto and a male ram? Or would they be too territorial even without females around? Thanks.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Er, sorry for so many posts but there is an extremely short edit time frame apparently. -_-

I wanted to say that I imagine the ram and apisto would be okay since above I was told I could do multiple males of different species but I'd still like to double check compatibility and if the tank would be overstocked or not.

I'd also like to know which ram to get..I really like the german blue but I have heard they're difficult.

Thanks again!

 

[Duffmanj]

Personally I would avoid mixing rams and apistos, I believe it can work in a big enough tank but you might end up being disappointed. It is definitely worth considering getting a pair of hongsloi, for me part of the magic of apistos is watching the males and females interact. That being said you do have the cories which could cause a problem for a pair. For dither fish I would really recommend pencilfish, they're unusual and intriguing to watch, specifically the hockeystick pencils. I also have a few whiptail catfish n my apisto tanks, they seem more conscientious than cories and are fairly well built to take a nip if they do get in the way. They also rummage around in the substrate which helps.

 

[Duffmanj]

Oh and if you do go for the hatchets make sure you have a well fitting lid!

 

[Mike Wise]

Depending on the species - and the lay-out of the tank - yes, a Ram and apisto should live peacefully in a tank the size of yours. Choose one of the more slender apisto species, which look less like Rams. Rams, IMHO, really are not the perfect candidate for the average community tank. They require higher temperatures than most other tropical fish, needing 28°C as a minimum for staying active and healthy. Most other fish, apistos included, will handle such temperatures but will age more rapidly.