29-gallon Community-- Apistogramma possible?

[qwertyfish]

Hi everyone!
I am cycling my 29-gallon tank currently and I have these fish from my other tank who deserve and upgrade:
3 Neon Tetras
2 Black-Skirt Tetras
1 Adorable Albino Cory Cat
2 Kuhli Loaches

Does anyone have experience with Apistogrammas, or any South American Dwarf Cichlid?

I'm thinking of adding one (not a pair) so I can try to bond with him/her.

Would this work or would there be any fighting...?

One more question... would adding one limit my options or I should just do a community instead?

 

[Seisage]

I don't have any experience with apistos as I'm also currently in the process of setting up a tank that'll house one, but in doing quite a bit of research on them, I would be a little wary of putting them with the cory and kuhlis. Both are small, relatively timid fish and although apistos are fairly peaceful as far as cichlids go, they can still out-compete other bottom dwellers even if they aren't direct bullies. That being said, the chances of aggression are diminished by only having one, since most aggression comes from defending eggs and fry.

Take this all with a grain of salt, since I don't have any direct experience with apistos yet. This is just based on what I've read from apisto keepers on other forums. I highly recommend checking out the website apistogramma.com (very aptly named). It's another forum website that has a lot of great resources and information on apistos and other dwarf cichlids.

Edit: I also just noticed that this is in the introduction forum. This might get more attention if it's in the Tropical Discussion forum instead. Although there is also a forum specifically for new world cichlids here as well. You can ask a mod to move this thread if you wish. Welcome to TFF

 

[Essjay]

The first thing to do when you finish cycling is to increase the shoals of all the fish you want to move. They will all do better in shoals of at least 6, preferably 10. The exception is if these fish are the last aged survivors of a larger shoal and you don't want more of them, in which case keep the last few as they are till they pass on.

I'll leave it others to comment on the compatibility of any apisto with cories and kuhli loaches.

 

[emeraldking]

Well, welcome to TFF...
I myself wouldn't keep just one Apistogramma specimen. I would go for a couple or more...
And some things have already been mentioned by my fellow members.

 

[qwertyfish]

The first thing to do when you finish cycling is to increase the shoals of all the fish you want to move. They will all do better in shoals of at least 6, preferably 10. The exception is if these fish are the last aged survivors of a larger shoal and you don't want more of them, in which case keep the last few as they are till they pass on.

I'll leave it others to comment on the compatibility of any apisto with cories and kuhli loaches.

The neons are HUGE, and the black-skirts are very shy. All almost a year and a half old... I don't want any more of them (I think?) but I want them to be happy in their larger tank without being scared of the Apistogramma. Would these small numbers still work? Also I won't add the loaches or cory anyway because my sister loves them and she wants them to stay in her tank.

 

[qwertyfish]

Now after this I'm kind of leaning away from Apistos... could I do hatchetfish, glass catfish, pictus cats, and peacock gudgeons?
(I'd convince my sister to put the cory and loaches in the 29)
oh what about gouramis?

 

[Magnum Man]

Most places where you would get an Apisto, you will be buying very young, unless you are getting one from a local store that has had & grown them for a while... a young Apisto would likely not be intimidating at least in it's young stage to your tetras ( I have 5-5 Apistos in a 55 gallon with a pair of angels, some electric blue rams & 2 shoals of much more timid tetras than your black skirts, & everything is groovy right now...