Apistogrammas

[Gypsum]

I now have a 125L tank with cherry barbs, otos, and pygmy corys. Eventually I would like to add apistos but the internet seems full of (at times) contradictory information or not enough information. I suppose being cichlids, they have complicated social lives and behaviours will vary with individual fish.

Is it better to have a male-female pair, or a male and two or three females?

Are there any species of apistos that are easier (or harder) to manage than others?

I've read that pygmy corys are probably fine with apistos, but if I ever wanted to introduce other cory species some time in the future, I probably shouldn't. Is that true?

 

[Essjay]

I would go for one of A. cacatuoides (cockatoo cichlid) A. agassizii or A. borellii - they are also the most common in shops. But be aware that cockatoo cichlid males can disguise themselves as females to escape the attentions of the dominant male in a tank, so you could end up buying 2 males by accident. There are other very pretty species, but these three are the easiest.

Some sources say these three are harem breeders - 1 male, several females - but in 125 litres, I'd stick with a pair. But not just any male and any female. Watch the shop tank without moving. You will see the males displaying to and chasing each other. Females will be just pottering around. Look for a male which allows a female to stay near him, and buy that pair.

Cichlids become aggressive if they have eggs or fry to defend. Cories have no concept of territory, they don't learn to keep out of a cichlid's territory so they can get picked on. This is the only reason for not keeping cories with apistos.

 

[Metalhead88]

I would go for one of A. cacatuoides (cockatoo cichlid) A. agassizii or A. borellii - they are also the most common in shops. But be aware that cockatoo cichlid males can disguise themselves as females to escape the attentions of the dominant male in a tank, so you could end up buying 2 males by accident. There are other very pretty species, but these three are the easiest.

Some sources say these three are harem breeders - 1 male, several females - but in 125 litres, I'd stick with a pair. But not just any male and any female. Watch the shop tank without moving. You will see the males displaying to and chasing each other. Females will be just pottering around. Look for a male which allows a female to stay near him, and buy that pair.

Cichlids become aggressive if they have eggs or fry to defend. Cories have no concept of territory, they don't learn to keep out of a cichlid's territory so they can get picked on. This is the only reason for not keeping cories with apistos.

Thanks for this information. Appisttos have recently caught my eye as well. I've kept cichlids forever in large tanks, but have not done dwarf cichlids in my smaller tanks.

A. cacatuoides has caught my eye and I was thinking of setting up a smaller tank for a pair.

As OP has stated, I've pretty much read all the same contradicting information on stocking and tank setup on the internet.

Do they do well with plants?

 

[Essjay]

Yes, they can be kept with plants, though the fish do appreciate cover so low light plants. I also had lots of wood in the tank when I had some; one pair used a hollow in a log to spawn in.
They do need a cave of some sort to spawn in, more than one so they have some choice. I didn't intend to try breeding them but I like to give my fish things they expect in their environment. These can be made from anything depending on whether you like all natural (eg slate caves) or don't mind something totally man-made.

Both cacatuoides and agassizii have been selectively bred to get colourful named varieties (double red, triple red, gold etc), the more colourful the more expensive!
Borellii is unusual in that males are pale blue rather than shades of yellow/orange. Females are still yellow though.

However @Metalhead88 with your experience you could try one of the other species, but bare in mind that they usually have more specific water requirements than the three I named.

 

[Metalhead88]

Yes, they can be kept with plants, though the fish do appreciate cover so low light plants. I also had lots of wood in the tank when I had some; one pair used a hollow in a log to spawn in.
They do need a cave of some sort to spawn in, more than one so they have some choice. I didn't intend to try breeding them but I like to give my fish things they expect in their environment. These can be made from anything depending on whether you like all natural (eg slate caves) or don't mind something totally man-made.

Both cacatuoides and agassizii have been selectively bred to get colourful named varieties (double red, triple red, gold etc), the more colourful the more expensive!
Borellii is unusual in that males are pale blue rather than shades of yellow/orange. Females are still yellow though.

However @Metalhead88 with your experience you could try one of the other species, but bare in mind that they usually have more specific water requirements than the three I named.

The lfs has triple red cacatuoides reasonably priced. And I like those better than the more expensive ones.

Any specific water requirements for them?
Ive also seen a huge conflict in temperature requirements.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

 

[Essjay]

I kept my cacatuoides at 25 deg C - Seriously Fish says 22 to 29 so that was right in the middle.

Mine spawned regularly, though with other fish in the tank they were lucky if the eggs survived long enough to hatch. i did once move the pair into an old smaller tank, though the male tended to eat the eggs so I moved him out as soon as they were laid. It was fascinating watching the female care for the fry - until the tank sprung a leak, then I moved the fry into my quarantine tank and the female back into my main tank. Only a few survived; I gave the males away and kept the females - until one of them changed into a male. That's how I know how easily sleeper males can fool us

 

[Gypsum]

If there isn't an obvious pair in the fish shop, what's the best way to go about getting a functional pair/harem? I have a single Bolivian ram in my other tank, and efforts at finding him a mate ended in him bullying the other fish and me rehoming it. I'd rather get it right this time.

What else can they get along with in the tank?

 

[Byron]

I've read that pygmy corys are probably fine with apistos, but if I ever wanted to introduce other cory species some time in the future, I probably shouldn't. Is that true?

I would not have pygmy cories in with any cichlid. As essjay mentioned, cories have a natural "bumbling" personality, they just expect to bumble all over the tank sifting the sand for food, browsing surfaces for microscopic critters, and such. Most of the larger species can be pushed around or head bunted by a cichlid without issue (unless the individual cichlid is really aggressive or spawning/protecting eggs or fry) but the pygmy is not going to come out of this well.

With enough tank space, the larger (any but the three "dwarf" species) cories should be OK. But if you intend spawning the dwarf cichlids and raising fry, never have cories. Being nocturnal, cories are easily able to get the eggs or the shoal of fry at night when the cichlid parents cannot protect them. I've had this with Bolivian Rams and Blue Rams in with cories.

 

[Gypsum]

I was under the impression --and have read -- that pygmys are less bumbling than their larger cousins, and they also swim at the mid-level water column and are therefore less likely to antagonise apistos. That's my direct experience of them as well. They often swim quite high in the tank and are a lot more careful in their manner than the blacks and false juliis in the other tank.

 

[Byron]

I was under the impression --and have read -- that pygmys are less bumbling than their larger cousins, and they also swim at the mid-level water column and are therefore less likely to antagonise apistos. That's my direct experience of them as well. They often swim quite high in the tank and are a lot more careful in their manner than the blacks and false juliis in the other tank.

One has to be careful where/what one reads in this hobby. When I used the term bumbling, I apply it to all cories. I have had 20 or more species of wild caught Corydoras over the years, including all three of the "dwarf" species. My 10g tank has for five years now been home to just a group of pygmy cories that have spawned many times. They constantly bumble around the tank, browsing every surface.

I have also had a few of the dwarf cichlids in with cories, and they can get a bit rough. The larger species can shrug this off, but pygmies are not so fortunate.