the best apistogramma

[Acer]

hello everyone, im going to need the help of all you guys on this one, i have just been told i can have a chance of buying
2 pair Malbruder
2 pair Morthanhaler
2 pair Borelli
2 pair Triple reds Cacs
2 pair Apache
2 trio Nijsenni
2 pair Fresa
2 pair Harlequin

this list i got straight from the importer, they are all wild caught and am told all will next week finish their quarantine and will be available to me. i have tried to get pics for them to do more research but have kind of come up short.. can any of you more experience folks help me? i'm currently in the process of researching before i buy, i would like to buy maybe 2 pairs of the most colorful interesting apistos, any sugestions or links??? all info will be greatly appreciated thanks..

 

[BrianNY]

Hi Acer. I couldn't help notice that Ken at Fishfarmusa has many of these listed as wilds on aquabid. Is that your importer? I've met him and dealt with him. He's a true pro and has only sold me outstanding fish.

Apistos are terrific fish. Most species can be combined without too much aggression if you provide adaquate hiding places for the more timid. My favorites are the cacs and agassizis. IMO, they have great color and finnage.

HTH

 

[Acer]

hey brian do you happen to have any links to pics or descriptions? besides apistogramma.com/net ??

 

[Jchillin]

Take a look at what fishfarmusa has to offer:

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?disp&viewseller&Fishfarmusa

They are just gorgeous.

 

[Acer]

thanks you guys, Brian the guy your talking about isnt the one, the person im getting them from is from the chicago area suburbs, not sure which one though.. he told me all the apistos i listed in my original post are wild caught from the Peru region, said they have been in the country for about 6 weeks, just getting over their quarintine..

how many do you guys think i'll be able to keep in a 55 gal with 4 angelfish? i was thinking maybe a pair of Fresa, and 1 of Malbruder just because i like the fact that they are the only known mouthbrooders.. any thoughts?

 

[BrianNY]

In local do you mean you can pick them up? That's terrific. You so seldom see them in an lfs. I would start with 2 pair in a 55 and see how the territory thing works out. The angels and apistos will pretty much ignore each other.

 

[Jchillin]

I have to agree with Brian. I have 9 S/A rams living comfortably with 2 angels.

 

[Acer]

yah brian these are for local pickup, i have never seen any apistos at a lfs before and had only read about them online, they closest i can get to miniature cichlids are Kribs!! lol i just saw some kribs at Petsmart out of all places.. the label was damaged so i couldnt see their names, just Kri , they dont look like pulchers though.. anyway i have been doing research all mornin and still cant really seem to find specifics on each one.. do you guys know off hand if i can keep any of them in 7.0ish PH?

 

[Jchillin]

Take a look here: (Link deleted) That's just for starters.

7ph is not a problem...softer water is just more "ideal".

*edit - Not sure what happened but the link is no longer valid. It did contain some pics and info on the apistos you mention.

 

[Acer]

oh.. what i meant for the ph was that i didnt really want to get into trying to bring the ph down to low 4s and 5s i've been reading about..

 

[severum mama]

I wouldn't mess with the pH personally, although maybe it would be a good idea to add peat to the filter or something, just not those chemicals. If you know the importer, maybe you could talk to him and find out the perams of the water in which they are currently kept, and see if he does anything to adjust pH.

I'd also consider the fresas. 8) I've only seen them in pictures, but they are absolutely stunning IMO. I'd love to see pics of any species you get!

 

[BrianNY]

Exactly as severum mama says . If you're lucky enough to have a breeder/distributor locally he/she is your very best source of information. I wouldn't even begin to decide on which species until I went over and viewed them for myself.

I was lucky enough to have an outstanding discus breeder less than an hours drive. I learned more about keeping discus from him than I could have possibly learned anywhere else.

 

[gheitman]

Here is a link I found to photos and descriptions for some of the Apistogramma species:

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/The_Gallery/South_American_Cichlids/Apistogramma_Species_Gallery/

I only have experience keeping and breeding the "triple red" cockatoos myself but have found them to be colorful and fun. I don't alter the pH of my water because it is so close to neutral but I do add Tetra's Blackwater Extract which contains peat among other things.

 

[Acer]

ok it's official i just got off the phone with the president of the Greater Chicago Cichlid Association,he has some A. trifasciata @ $20.00/pr and A. borellii @ $5.00ea
im going to get a pair of the A.trifasciata and 5 A. Borelli tomorrow morning... hopefully everything will go good with the acclimation.he said he uses 80% RO water, 20% city well water, he said they should do good in chicago water..what would be th best way to acclimate them>?

 

[Acer]

ok, i went to the swap meet and got some good deals, i bought the A.trifasciata pair and 6 A. Borelli, i also ran into some Cichlasoma spilurum and a pair of
A. diplotaenia, all the apistos are about 1" to 2" right now, the Cichlasoma spilurum i got really cheap for $5 a trio!! thats what i like about swap meets, you have access to fish you normally wouldnt see at any lfs... oh yah i also bought 2 discus about the size of the bottom of a coke bottle for $7 a piece.. i have to figure out how to resize my pics so i can post them on here.