Dwarf

[Tempestuousfury]

I'm not sure where to place this question, so I'll just put it here.

I'm thinking about getting dwarf cichlids for my ten gallon tank.

I'm going to move all of the fish out and leave just the cichlids (and maybe shrimp if they'll be left alone).

Question: I read that dwarfs can be bred in these tanks. However, can they be kept in these tanks as well? What are the chances of the fry surviving with the adults still in the tank?

I'm not exactly sure which dwarf I'll get or if they're even available around here. At the moment a ram is what I'm thinking about getting, so I guess the questions asked above are for these fish.

 

[Peter Lovett]

I'm not very good with the gallon of tanks with all cichlid it the floor area which is important not the volume. I'm guessing your tank is about 18" long by 12" wide if this is the case a pair of most dwarfs should be okay.

However i would not sujest getting Rams they are not an easy fish to keep. If you can get them try Apistogramma Cacatuoides they are a nice looking fish and easy to keep and breed and should be available.

 

[Doggfather]

your best bet would be an apisto they are great little fish

If you want to breed apsitos, keep a ratio of 1:3 males to females, that way the male won't harass and kill the female

 

[ryan]

Apistos would be a good choice. If you manage to obtain a long tank rather than a tall tank you could have a pair of an Apisto species and a few small dither fish. Most of the time Apistos are very good parents guarding and raising the fry although female and male relationships in the pair may get strained and during raising the fry they may get aggressive towards each other. So make sure you can also move one of the fish to another tank. If you cannot purchase a pair then maybe try a trio, one male to two females, but again a female may have to be removed.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

I can't get more tanks. I've got what I've got. All I can do is move fish around. That's why I'm trying to stuff the fish into the smaller tanks.

An apisto? Is that the common name, or is there something that comes after it?

 

[smileandnod]

Apistogramma is I think the Genus.
The species would be, for instance, Cacatuoides.

Very easy to breed, but you will need somewhere to grow the fry out.
Personally I wouldn't keep more than a pair in a tank that size. The male will not try and kill the female. It is more likely to happen the other way around, but even that is highly unlikely.

I have found that the father will stay away, and the female will keep him away from young fry. In a small tank though, he can have a difficult time keeping sufficient distance not to get harrassed.

HTH.
Ian,

 

[AmberC]

I agree that you should keep no more than 2 dwarfs in a ten no matter what the species. I had 2 german blue rams in a ten along with one ghost shrimp. The shrimp got eaten. I had 2 german blue rams in a 20 as well with 4 ghosts and 2 otos.. those shrimp did not get eaten. So its going to depend on the fish.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

That's encouraging.

I didn't really intend to give breeding all my effort, just provide a space for a pair of cichlids.

If they do have fry, how much do you think I would get for a batch of lets say 50 fry at around 3 months? I need to know because I don't have much room for these fry. I could leave some with the parents, put some in the 5, and put some in the breeding trap. All of this would require that I move all of the current residence, but I might be able to give them away without a problem.

 

[AmberC]

Well if you go with german blue rams I dont think you'll get very far with fry in the first place. Rams are the easiest fish to 'get' to spawn.. but the hardest to get the eggs to hatch. Water conditions have to be 'perfect' You will probably find that they will grow fungus and the parents will eat the eggs. Its not easy to breed rams.

 

[Doggfather]

if you do get apisots, and keeps 1 male : 3 females, the male will spawn with each female, so you will get 3 lots of eggs, anywhere over 50 will be produced, i would say

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Of course, the eggs could be moved to a gallon jar with a bubble stone and methylene blue, right? If many fry'd survive that way I'd have to get tons of room for them. That's not something I could do. I'd leave them with the parents to get eaten or not hatch because I can't take care of very many.

So I'm down to 2 apistos or blue German rams of different genders, so other tank occupants. Low chances of reproduction and another growout tank.

How much do you think they cost? I'd have to dish out $20 for a new fluorescent hood, so that'd also be added as a cost.

 

[AmberC]

In my area I've seen german blues range from $9.00 (us) to $12.50 (us) at two different stores I frequent. Not too cheap.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Darn. >_<

Well, maybe it'll be less expensive here. Maybe I could look for dwarfs and then do research for the type I choose. That way I'd have more specialized knowledge and I'd know if I can afford them.