South American Dwarf Cichlids

[FishEggs]

Hi all.

I'm planning on doing a south american biotope tank 40 gallon tall (3ft x 13in footprint). I've always liked German Blue Rams and figured i would finally go for it and build off of them. I also like the Apistogrammas and i'm looking for some advice from experienced keepers. Tank will be moderately planted with a good amount of rock and driftwood.

My question is can i keep a variety of Apistos with the GBRs and how many?

I would also like to have a small school of ember/cardinal tetras and a few emperor tetras too.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Freakgecko91]

A variety? No. 2-3 pairs, probably. They may be dwarves, but they are still territorial and generally do do well in big groups

 

[severum mama]

3 foot is kind of pushing it for multiple pairs, IMO, but you could probably get away with 2 pairs. Don't think I would try 3 pairs but who knows, it could work out if you get lucky. Based on my experience with emperor tetras (lots, lol), I'd leave them out of the list altogether. They grow pretty large for a tetra, are VORACIOUS eaters, and will likely bully the embers. Seriously, when they get size on them they are nippy toward other fish and make it very difficult to get any food to the bottom of the tank (where your dwarf cichlids will all be- they are VERY rarely surface feeders in a tall tank). Embers and cardinals are good choices though.

 

[FishEggs]

I should have asked can i keep ANY variety of Apistos with a pair of GBRs?

I was thinking probably no more than 2 pair but do i need to do only GBRs or is it ok to have a pair of maybe Agasizzi in there too?

I already have the Emperors. They've been breeding in my tanks for about 4 years now. They only seemed to bother the other fish when spawning. Mostly just to chase them away. If they end up being to much of a problem they can go in with the bichirs.