Dwarf cichlids.

[Gawang]

Recently I have become interested in several dwarf south american cichlids such as panda dwarf cichlids and many othe dwarf appistos and am wondering the temperaments of these species of fish along with their general friendliness to other species such as Bolivian rams? Any advice and or knowledge would be great!

 

[Discusapisto]

Oh man is this right up my alley your talking about my favorite fish next to discus most of your dwarf cichlids do well together for example: I have a pair of German blue rams in my 55 gallon discus grow out tank it's fully planted soft water and I have a breeding trio of apisto macmasteri in with them and no problems at all. The key is to have enough caves for the apistos one for each female and break up the sightlines on the territories so the rams or apistos can't see each other constantly. If your talking smaller tanks than say a 40 breeder I'd pick one or the other apistos cover a large territory. In my 125 gallon I have orange flash caca. and the dominant male's territory is 4ft of the 6ft tank my pandurini apisto pair own the last two feet lol! Which brings up another point some apistos do better in pairs while others are harem spawners. And two species of apistos are mouth brooders and are fairly newly discovered. Just remember the key to apistos is EXCELLENT water quality and for most species the softer of the water the better. Dwarfs do well with dither fish too like pencil fish or smaller tetras. Hope this helps any questions you have please ask away!

 

[Gawang]

I was planning on a 40 Breeder, as it has a fairly large footprint for a smaller tank. As far as numbers go, what combinations would go together for a relatively peaceful tank?

 

[absolutangel04]

Just a note in addition to what Discusapisto said, depending the species, you can usually do more than 1 species as long you keep just one individual and not a spawning pair. Even individuals still need caves and cover though.
I know a few people who keep rams and apistos together without a hitch. IMO, in a 40b that should be do-able, but it depends on the species for how many fish could live there happily.

 

[Gawang]

I have a pair of Bolivian Rams, that are incredibly peaceful as it comes to rams. I used to keep them with Golden German Rams and they got along spectacularly well. I've never had much experience with Dwarf Cichlids besides Rams.

 

[Discusapisto]

I have a pair of Bolivian Rams, that are incredibly peaceful as it comes to rams. I used to keep them with Golden German Rams and they got along spectacularly well. I've never had much experience with Dwarf Cichlids besides Rams.

Rams (both species) are similar in some ways to apisto care only problem is your more rare species of apisto generally prefer very soft water I'm talking RO water. But more of the common apistos do well in mildly soft water to neutral ph. The abc apistos are the best to start with(agassizii,borellii,cacatuoides). Find a good apisto breeder near you they will generally do better with your local water conditions because they are raised in them. Or try your hand at the more difficult ones if you don't mind a good challenge lol! In a 40 breeder with rams pick out one species of apisto you like and go with that. Let me know which you decide to go with .

 

[Gawang]

I like both the Agassizi's and the Borelli's, and will most likely get the Agassizi's. I love the colorings, especially the red types. One I've always wanted to try if I had the time to set up a truly blackwater aquarium would be some Nijsseni's as they have absolutely beautiful colorings!

 

[absolutangel04]

Also, do you have plans for any other bottom oriented fish?
I agree with Discusapisto about the compatibility of those species.

 

[Discusapisto]

I like both the Agassizi's and the Borelli's, and will most likely get the Agassizi's. I love the colorings, especially the red types. One I've always wanted to try if I had the time to set up a truly blackwater aquarium would be some Nijsseni's as they have absolutely beautiful colorings!

Those are great fish! And a good example of pair forming apistos those guys and pandurini's are not harem spawners. They do better in pairs. Plus they exhibit a bit more aggression than most apistos. They are pretty hardy as well

 

[Discusapisto]

Also, do you have plans for any other bottom oriented fish?
I agree with Discusapisto about the compatibility of those species.

You are right angel I see where you are going i think. Cory's and such will be harassed to death in a apisto tank. Or at least picked on pretty good. Or going in the other direction will feed on any fry the apistos produce.

 

[absolutangel04]

You are right angel I see where you are going i think. Cory's and such will be harassed to death in a apisto tank. Or at least picked on pretty good. Or going in the other direction will feed on any fry the apistos produce.

Yep. Thats where I was going.
Cories and other bottom oriented fish can get chased and harassed because they are not territorial so they don't seem to understand the territorial boundaries set up by spawning fish. Some dwarf cichlids are more tolerant of cories (and others) in their space than others. It depends on the temperaments of the individual fish. But, its worth noting that it can be an issue. Also, IMO, it would be best to avoid other territorial bottom oriented fish in this mix like some more aggressive catfish. And algae eaters/catfish in the tank often mean eggs never hatch because they get eaten while the parent fish are "sleeping."

 

[Discusapisto]

Yep. Thats where I was going.
Cories and other bottom oriented fish can get chased and harassed because they are not territorial so they don't seem to understand the territorial boundaries set up by spawning fish. Some dwarf cichlids are more tolerant of cories (and others) in their space than others. It depends on the temperaments of the individual fish. But, its worth noting that it can be an issue. Also, IMO, it would be best to avoid other territorial bottom oriented fish in this mix like some more aggressive catfish. And algae eaters/catfish in the tank often mean eggs never hatch because they get eaten while the parent fish are "sleeping."

Oh man I remember when I first got into dwarf cichlid keeping years ago I had a common bristle nose pleco who would wipe out my apisto viejta's eggs every time. And me being a newb back in those days I assumed he only ate algae so for a long time I assumed it wasn't him until I caught him red handed with a red flash light bulb at 2 am, just like you said he waited for them to sleep and wham no babies. And here I thought my apistos where infertile lol! But eventually after some much needed fish education I figured it all out haha!!!

 

[Gawang]

Thanks for the heads up on bottom-dwellers, I personally love Cory's and would hate to see mine harassed to death! However, I could make an exception for a few pretty fish

 

[Discusapisto]

Thanks for the heads up on bottom-dwellers, I personally love Cory's and would hate to see mine harassed to death! However, I could make an exception for a few pretty fish

Apistos are worth it

 

[Nakinata]

I bought a 29 gallon just for apistogrammas, unfortunately, I haven't had any luck finding anyone that will sell them to me. Apistogrammas are such amazing fish and there are so many different varieties to choose from.

 

[siva]

IME bottom dwellers are fine if you don't have any breeding pairs. I keep an angel, apisto, ram, nannacara, and keyhole together with cories and plecos in my 55 and no one bothers the bottom dwellers at all. If you plan on getting any male/female pairs, you should avoid any bottom dwellers all together, and also be prepared for the possibility a pair will need removed into a breeder tank. A pair of breeding cichlids of any type doesn't always work in a community setting.

@Nakinata check Severum Mama and HN1's stock list in the classified section of this forum. They often have a variety of dwarf cichlids available, and their stock is top quality. The Wet Spot is another great source. Home