Apistogramma suggestions?

[lizzztee]

I'm in the middle of planning out a freshwater South American 55 gallon tank. (Preferably amazon)

(Some backstory: I inherited this tank from my uncle who passed away recently, and he LOVED South American fish... he toured around down there while in the navy and always loved having fish, so I want to set this up and have it really nice in honor of him. He also first introduced me to fish keeping when I was 8 years old.)

So far, I plan on getting 5-7 corydoras, 6-8 black skirt tetras (or similar) or 10-14 neon tetras, and I'm kind of at a loss for a third, kind of "centerpiece" fish. I thought maybe angels, but they'd eat the small ones if they got big enough and I don't know that 55 gal would be enough for them with the others.

So, enter apistogramma! I've never had cichlids before, but from what I've read, these ones in particular do well in community tanks. I don't think I'd want to breed any though. Can you recommend any ones you think might get along well with the setup I'm planning? Also, is it okay to have a single one or do they need company of their own kind? So far I've read that established pairs or harems are good for breeding, but I'm not really interested in breeding.

Thanks in advance! Sorry for my lengthy post.

 

[Brookster123]

In a tank that size you could do 6-7 male cacatouides and it would be awesome!!! A bit expensive but awesome!!

 

[HN1]

I'd agree with an all male tank, though I think 6-7 would be a little high. I'd recommend 3-4 and probably borelli which get a decent bit larger than cacs. Or a mix of a couple species (as long as they are all males).

 

[Iamtechno13]

It would be tough to choose just one. Especially if you're just going to get male's, maybe get a couple different types. There are just so many cool ones to choose from

 

[Brookster123]

This is new to me guys! I didn't know you could mix males like that.. I'm on trouble now.. More tanks!

 

[Venom_]

You should make a black water amazon tank! Apistogrammas love black water conditions and will for sure breed. My Apistos love the leaf litter in my tank.

My Apistos are still juveniles though

 

[lizzztee]

You should make a black water amazon tank! Apistogrammas love black water conditions and will for sure breed. My Apistos love the leaf litter in my tank.
View attachment 237307View attachment 237310View attachment 237311View attachment 237312
My Apistos are still juveniles though

I am definitely interested in a black water tank... I want to get it all established first though before I introduce any leaf litter. What kind of apistos do you have? They are pretty!

 

[lizzztee]

Thank you everyone! I will be looking into starting off with 3 males then, once I get the tank cycled and have the corys established and comfortable.

I didn't know males were okay to mix then! So they are fine together as long as there are no females to fight over? Do you think they'd be big enough to go after neon tetras? Maybe I'll stick to the black skirts then.

 

[Venom_]

They are apistogramma viejita the large one is starting to get some red on his face and fins.

 

[newbie_dave]

This is new to me guys! I didn't know you could mix males like that.. I'm on trouble now.. More tanks!

I was thinking the same haha, I like the idea of a black water tank

 

[Venom_]

They are easy and not that expensive to set up.

 

[newbie_dave]

Just bought almond leafs and have bog wood hahaha

 

[HN1]

Thank you everyone! I will be looking into starting off with 3 males then, once I get the tank cycled and have the corys established and comfortable.

I didn't know males were okay to mix then! So they are fine together as long as there are no females to fight over? Do you think they'd be big enough to go after neon tetras? Maybe I'll stick to the black skirts then.

Don't get me wrong.... they aren't going to school around together and each will need a territory. That said, the interactions and behaviors of them at the borders will be fun to watch. I have seen borelli large enough to eat neons, but most wouldn't. Cardinals are a tad larger and tend to ship better IME (remember most fish in stores have been shipped).

 

[squirrilah fish]

Id do cardinals instead of neons personally.

 

[Iamtechno13]

I get pairs or more of all of my fish and sometimes that means getting up to 10 of each so in most every different species I have, I have extras outside of my pairs and trio's. With these fish I have a few community tanks with my extra guys and gals in their own tanks. I've never had any problems in doing this. As long as the males don't have females to fight over, the territory disputes are really not that bad if anything at all. I have heavily planted tanks and in them there are only a few large fish among all of them that have territories and I wouldn't even call them that. It's more like the area they like to hang out as they all get along pretty well for the most part. Same with the females. They can be rather entertaining to watch.

 

[Iamtechno13]

+1 for the Cardinals over neons.

 

[lizzztee]

Thanks everyone! The whole cichlid world is very new to me, so I appreciate the input! I'm guessing it will probably be a good month at least before I get them (need to cycle the tank and get other things established first) but I'll post an update later!

Thanks for the cardinal suggestion... I will probably go with those instead of neons, depending on what my lfs has.

Plans right now are to cycle the tank, introduce the cory cats, then the schooling fish (cardinals?), and then the apistos. Any other suggestions are welcome!

 

[lizzztee]

They are apistogramma viejita the large one is starting to get some red on his face and fins.

That's awesome! I will look for those at my fish store.

How did you get your tank to have the subdued lighting like that? Is the water darker from the leaf litter? I just ordered a piece of driftwood that's supposed to release tannins to make the water a little darker and more acidic like Amazonian water.

 

[squirrilah fish]

That's awesome! I will look for those at my fish store.

How did you get your tank to have the subdued lighting like that? Is the water darker from the leaf litter? I just ordered a piece of driftwood that's supposed to release tannins to make the water a little darker and more acidic like Amazonian water.

I've used Kent's Blackwater for this too, been really happy with it.

 

[lizzztee]

I've used Kent's Blackwater for this too, been really happy with it.

Ooh thanks! I'll look into that.