Apistogramma Hongsloi

[TheChards]

Hi guys,

Does anyone here have any experience of keeping Apistogramma Hongsloi (this is the only name I know for them)? If so, I would be interested to hear of your experiences with them. They've got some at my LFS and the guy there showed them to me last weekend as they're such beautiful looking fish and I don't think they're especially commonly stocked (not in the places I go to anyway).

The internet has turned up a few bits about them but not a lot compared to most fish.

In an ideal world I would like to keep one male and two females in a community tank along with 4 Rainbowfish and a couple of Dwarf Gourami. Water parameters are good and I keep the temperature at a steady 25 degrees C although my pH is a little high at 8. The tank itself is a fairly low-tech tank of about 33 US gallons with a few rocks, driftwood and plenty of low-light plants which I am trying to grow. I usually do a 30% PWC once a week and feed once a day.

I know that these fish would prefer a lower pH but don't know how critical this is. I'm also not sure whether one male and two females is a good combination or whether I'd be better off with a pair, or just a male by himself. Also, I'd be keen to know how big they can get so I know my tank won't be over-stocked. Any advice is very much appreciated!

Many thanks,
Dan

PS - I originally posted this in the Old World Cichlids forum as I wasn't sure which these fish feel under but was recommended that I should post here too.

 

[Colin_T]

They grow to about 2inches for males and 1inch for females.

Wild caught fish won't like the high pH but captive bred stock should be fine in it. Although you might have to lower it a bit to get them breeding.

They will get along with small rainbowfish but bigger species like Glossolepis incisus, might pick on them.
Dwarf gouramis are fine with them but the gouramis often carry diseases and I would try not to mix them.

They do well in a pr (1m & 1f) but will usually do well in a small colony consisting of 1male & several females if they have enough room. I normally just have a pr in each tank and leave it at that. They breed quite readily when looked after and the fry are easy to rear up on newly hatched brineshrimp.

 

[TheChards]

Thanks for the response Colin, that is exactly what I was wanting to hear!

I have read that the wild caught fish aren't as brightly coloured as the domestically bred fish and the ones I've seen at my LFS are certainly very colourful so presumably they won't have a problem with the pH. None of my Rainbows are very big as they're all young but the largest I have are Bosemanis which are probably cross-bred so it's difficult to know exactly how big they'll grow eventually.

As for the Dwarf Gouramis, I've had them for over half a year and have never had any problems with anything else I've kept them with.

Cheers for the advice,
Dan

 

[Colin_T]

If you have had the dwarf gouramis for more than 6 months and they are still alive and well, then they shouldn't cause any problems to the cichlids.

Big male boesemani have a similar temperament to G. incisus and might bully the hongsloi, but if they are grown up with them they are usually fine. most boesemani x grow to 4-5inches.

Many captive bred dwarf cichlids are more colourful than their wild counterparts due to line breeding. Basically the breeders find the nicest coloured offspring and use them to breed from. It results in nice coloured fish but they can suffer from genetic disorders so check them for bent backs or funny shaped fins and mouths. If the fish are really brightly coloured and have a name like blood-red hongsloi, (or something like that) then they are probably several generations captive bred and should be fine in alkaline water.

 

[TheChards]

I see.

Is this the same with species like Dwarf Gouramis for example where sometimes they're called Powder Blue DGs and sometimes they're sold as Sunset DGs even though they're essentially the same fish?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Colin_T]

yep. Dwarf gouramis come in a wide range of colours including coral blue, powder blue, flame and various others. They are all the same fish, just different colours. And they can all carry the same health issues, namely an iridovirus and Tuberculosis (TB).
Fish with the iridovirus usually die within a couple of weeks and TB infected fish usually die about 6 months after you get them. However it depends on when the fish is infected and how strong the fish is. Some fish can catch the iridovirus and not have any problems. Then they can become carriers. Others die within a few days of catching it.
TB can take a while to develop but usually kills small fish within 6 months of them contracting it. And most dwarf gouramis are a good 6months old when you buy them, often older than that.

 

[TheChards]

Well, I ended up getting a pair of these in the end as I could only see one that was definitely female (there were a few who may have been female, or may just have been juvenile males who weren’t showing their colouring) and I didn’t want to take the chance on putting two males with one female. So far, they both seem to be happily exploring the tank and haven’t been picked on by any of the other fish.

I normally feed flaked food and freeze-dried bloodworm to the Rainbows and Dwarf Gourami and catfish pellets for the corys. However, I’m not entirely sure what I should be feeding the Hongsloi. They seem to eat the same as the other fish but if there’s something that they particularly like or eat in the wild that I’m not feeding them then obviously I’d like to change that. Any ideas? Or should I just feed the same as any other type of dwarf cichlid?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Colin_T]

they will eat most food but like frozen or live foods. Frozen prawn is a good food for them and so is live mozzie larvae, which you can usually find in buckets of water in the backyard.