15G Species Tank! Help Me Decide!

[Brahmza]

I've been doing a lot of research online and in doing so I've been changing my ideas for this tank non stop. First, I wanted a group of Scarlet Badis. Then I was thinking a maybe I'd start a red cherry shrimp colony. After that I went on to wanting a Tanganyikan shellie tank of lamprologus meleagris, or a pair of Fairy Cichlids. Now I'm back into looking at the Scarlet Badis. Someone..help me decide! Haha. I'm mainly looking for an interesting species that I could potentially breed.

 

[the_lock_man]

If you went with the Badis, then I would say you've probably only got room for 1 male, possibly two if you plant it really heavily.
 
You could try Peacock Gobies (aka Peacock Gudgeon), they somewhat bigger than the Badis, and marginally easier to get hold of, and they are quite easy to get to spawn too.

 

[leighton_87]

How about a trio of apistogramma?

 

[Brahmza]

I've never seen a Peacock Goby before. Just checked them out online and they're beautiful. Definitely one I'll be looking for. And almost everywhere I've looked at online has pointed to Apistos, but for some reason I've always been skeptical about getting them. I'll be checking out what my LFS has to offer tomorrow, and if nothing, most likely be ordering a pair of peacock gobies.
 
Edit: If there are any specific apisto strains anyone can recommend, I'll gladly check them out. There are just so many out there that it's hard to focus on one kind! Hah

 

[leighton_87]

Apistogramma Cacatouides are often seen as the easiest to breed and most tolerant of water quality - note they come in several colour varieties but all are the same species so just pick your favourite variety

Apistogramma Borelli are also relatively easy to breed

Both of the above will breed in most water conditions - unless your water is really hard. Anything up to a PH of around 7.5/7.6 should be fine.

If however you have soft water with a ph of 6.5 or lower you can choose almost any apistogramma

Two of my favourites are Apistogramma Macmasteri and Apistogramma agassizii

 

[Brahmza]

I found a trio I could pick up of A. agassizii blues. Beautiful looking fish. My tap PH is at 7.0, and is very soft. Assuming that would be suitable for most apistos? Might be taking the plunge and ordering them tomorrow after I scope out my LFS.

 

[leighton_87]

I found a trio I could pick up of A. agassizii blues. Beautiful looking fish. My tap PH is at 7.0, and is very soft. Assuming that would be suitable for most apistos? Might be taking the plunge and ordering them tomorrow after I scope out my LFS.

I've never heard of them but a fools search suggests they might be apistogramma sp. "steel blue" - someone has entered one in this months FOTM competition if that's what your talking about.

If so I have taken the following from a website about them

"Keeping and breeding A. "Steel Blue" is a straight forward undertaking. They are hardy fish that are easy to feed and keep. They are undemanding of water conditions provided you avoid very hard alkaline water"

It does go on to say they can be aggressive which is true of all apistogramma - just make sure you don't get two males and that the tank floor has plenty of territories (caves, plants to break sight, etc)

The females will likely fight for a day or two until the establish which territory is which then each female should choose a territory at opposite ends of the tank and the male will alternate between the two