A. Cacatuoides in community tank?

[NATFT]

Hi all
I am thinking about putting a pair of A. Cacatuoides in my 200L community tank
So far it is stocked with a betta, pleco, Cory's, tetras and some endlers. It is a heavily planted tank with lots of cover. I was thinking of getting a small pot or something for them to use as a cave.
How will this end? I have heard it will work but am happy to hear people's thoughts before I purchase them.
Peace

 

[FishCr8zy]

Hi all
I am thinking about putting a pair of A. Cacatuoides in my 200L community tank
So far it is stocked with a betta, pleco, Cory's, tetras and some endlers. It is a heavily planted tank with lots of cover. I was thinking of getting a small pot or something for them to use as a cave.
How will this end? I have heard it will work but am happy to hear people's thoughts before I purchase them.
Peace

Do you mean breeding pair or 2? Dwarf cichlids are known to be peaceful but cichlids are also known to tear up plants. It depends on the fishes personality, some dwarfs hate plants and may uproot/nip them and others will live peacefully with plants around them. The pot cave is a good idea. But the majority of dwarfs will be fine with plants because they use them as hiding places.

 

[NATFT]

Thanks Fishcr8zy
I was going to order a male and female. If they fancy each other all the better. But I am not to fussed if they breed or not. Would this work? or would I need one male and two females (heard somewhere that works better in a community tank)?
Thanks mate

 

[FishCr8zy]

Thanks Fishcr8zy
I was going to order a male and female. If they fancy each other all the better. But I am not to fussed if they breed or not. Would this work? or would I need one male and two females (heard somewhere that works better in a community tank)?
Thanks mate

I think one male and one female would work better since one female will take up an area of 30 cm as her breeding ground. Any fish ( except the male ) would be chased out. Would two males work? All cichlids become very aggressive when breeding and fish of smaller size are known to have gotten killed from aggression.

 

[bud29]

Do you mean breeding pair or 2? Dwarf cichlids are known to be peaceful but cichlids are also known to tear up plants. It depends on the fishes personality, some dwarfs hate plants and may uproot/nip them and others will live peacefully with plants around them. The pot cave is a good idea. But the majority of dwarfs will be fine with plants because they use them as hiding places.

I so far know of no "dwarf" cichlids that dislike plants. Rams, apistos, curvis, anomalas, etc. all love cover. They do "dig" but that is mainly taking one mouthful of sand here and there, not doing enough in one spot to uproot a plant. Shellies, which are small, dig and uproot plants, however I don't believe they are referred to as dwarf cichlids.

 

[Oohitsae]

I keep my apisto trifasciata's with my Endlers with no issues, so I imagine yours would work with them too. I hear that the ones you are talking about are less aggressive anyways.
A male and female would work much better than 2 males, 2 females could/should work as well if you want to go that route.
All my apistos & rams are in planted tanks and I've never had any problems with them tearing up and uprooting plants, other than occasionally picking at my java moss trying to get scraps off food off.
They do tend to chase each other quite a bit though, which is why they are recommended for larger tanks.

 

[dragonfisher33]

i keep several rams in my tank for some time now and no plant destruction has been witnessed. as far as the pot goes, it's a good choice and lot of breeders use the same exact thing to provide shelters for the dwarf cichlids before they breed.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

I keep and have kept several dwarfs. Currently just keeping rams and apistos. I am new to breeding but IME they can both be kept in community just fine. Rams do best paired and apistos can be paired but seem to like a trio, but a pair will work just fine as well

 

[NATFT]

Great. Thanks everyone. I think I'll be introducing them soon!

 

[FishCr8zy]

Great. Thanks everyone. I think I'll be introducing them soon!

Keep us updated on how they do.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

I think one male and one female would work better since one female will take up an area of 30 cm as her breeding ground. Any fish ( except the male ) would be chased out. Would two males work? All cichlids become very aggressive when breeding and fish of smaller size are known to have gotten killed from aggression.

Do not do 2 males. Unless you really want 1 male and 1 dead fish.

I'm currently keeping 2 different species of Apisto (Gibbiceps and Agasizzii Tefe Pearl Blue). No plant destruction and I've never noticed any from Apistos/dwarf cichlids I've kept in the past. Both species are in separate community tanks and do just fine with Tetras, Pencilfish, and Endlers (I have Tiger Endlers with my Tefes and the only downside is seeing the male Apisto eat some Endler fry). The like pots, or if you getting a pair, halved coconut shells work really well. You should be just fine. Only watch out, IMO, would be the Betta. I don't think Cacatoides would be colorful enough to spur the rage of the Betta but just keep an eye on that.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Forgot to mention that I always find it easier to have a trio. My Gibbicep pair, the male got too aggressive and killed its female. The Tefes are in a trio and I haven't noticed much aggression at all, but this could also be due to the young age of the Tefes. Good luck!

 

[Smcoyle87]

I have Cacatuoides in a 20g community tank with zero problems. Cacatouides, specifically, are very gentle and won't harm the plants. They will, however, nip at the betta if he gets curious and comes down into their territory. I think you're going to love Cacatouides!

 

[Smcoyle87]

Also, the female apisto will be aggressive when breeding only to the point of chasing the interested fish away from her brood. She won't continue to antagonize them and beat them up. She will diligently keep other fish away from the fry though.

 

[Freakgecko91]

I so far know of no "dwarf" cichlids that dislike plants. Rams, apistos, curvis, anomalas, etc. all love cover. They do "dig" but that is mainly taking one mouthful of sand here and there, not doing enough in one spot to uproot a plant. Shellies, which are small, dig and uproot plants, however I don't believe they are referred to as dwarf cichlids.

Yes, shellies are indeed dwarves, technically any cichlid under 4" in length

Most dwarves (south American) will not uproot or eat plants, it's not in their typical behavior, nor diet.

If you are looking at cacatuoides, a harem is going to be your best best, 1 male to 2-3 females

 

[NATFT]

Hmm... There is a little bit of curiosity going on between the male and the betta. The betta has shaped upto him a few times. Luckily they have decided to reside in opposite sides of the tank...

 

[NATFT]

swimming

 

[bthomas]

swimming

Beautiful! Cant wait until I can find these guys locally

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Beautiful fish! They are awesome little fish aren't they.

 

[NATFT]

Yeah, they are such inquisitive little things. I'm still interested to see how they go with the Betta. The colors of the Pisto have caught the Bettas eye. They seem to keep away from each other most of the time.