Multiple male Apistogramma community tank?

[Tool13x]

I have a 40g breeder I would like to turn into a South American community tank with a male Apistogramma Cacatuoides, some Otocinclus catfish and perhaps some Corydoras. My original plan was to also have a harem of female A. cacatuoides in the tank but they are very difficult to find locally. I have been looking for at least 6 months.
Another idea I have been exploring is to have that community tank but with a few different male Apistogramma species instead of adding females into the mix. In this scenario I would also set up a separate 30gal breeder with a single or multiple females that I can introduce a male for spawning if I ever want to breed them.
I have been browsing the forums and been seeing a bit of mixed info regarding keeping multiple male Apistogramma in a tank whether from the same or different species. Opinions on this matter? I have found A. pandurini, A. agassizi, and A. macmasteri males locally. Would I be able to keep any of these with my male A. cacatuoides? I was thinking the footprint of the 40 breeder might be large enough to give these guys some individual territories and perhaps there wouldnt be as much aggression without females in the mix. Let me know what you think.

 

[Byron]

It is not wise to combine different cichlid species in the same tank (thinking neotropical cichlids here, African rift lake is a very different story). And a 40g breeder is only sufficient size for one territory so this is even more of a risk.

A group of males of the same species, if added together when young, can sometimes work because one will become the dominant male. The others will often appear to be female. I still would not advise this though.

Most of the Apistogramma will be wild caught, and it is rather unlikely only males will be in the shipment. But I suppose it might occur.

 

[Tool13x]

It is not wise to combine different cichlid species in the same tank (thinking neotropical cichlids here, African rift lake is a very different story). And a 40g breeder is only sufficient size for one territory so this is even more of a risk.

A group of males of the same species, if added together when young, can sometimes work because one will become the dominant male. The others will often appear to be female. I still would not advise this though.

This is why I am asking these questions, the 1 cichlid per tank rule always seems to be the safest bet and I have always followed that. But I have also read in multiple instances that Apisto males can be kept together if because Apistogramma do not display as much conspecific aggression outside of spawning compared to many other cichlid species and it seems to be even less of a concern if they are from different classifications. For instance keeping an A. macmasteri and A. cacatuoides together (from the regani and cacatuoides classifications, respectively.) Also I have also read that you want to keep a minimum of 1 sq ft territory per male with breaks in line of sight, with that in mind a 40 gallon breeder with a surface area of 4.5 sq ft could definitely house 2 or 3 males comfortably.

Most of the Apistogramma will be wild caught, and it is rather unlikely only males will be in the shipment. But I suppose it might occur.

This is very much true, unfortunately what happens is on the rare occasion my LFS has a shipment of Apistogramma they will only sell them in pairs. Its extremely aggravating because it becomes impossible to build a harem this way. I am still on the hunt for a local breeder, I just cant bring myself to spend $40 on an Apisto female from an online auction site.

Thanks for your input as always!