Apistos

[dirtydogg]

Can you keep a couple of Apistos in a ten gallon aquarium, or do they need mor room than that. I've read that these fish are used to overcrowding in the wild, but I wondering about the swimming area. If it'll work ok, how many should I get?
Current setup is:
10 Gallon currently going through a fishless cycle.
Sand substrate
Good heater
HOB filter suitable for a twenty gallon with adjustable flow
1 cave, rock and fake plant.

 

[pnyklr3]

I think you could keep a male and his females (2-3) in a 10 or 20 gallon. I have my harem in a 55 gallon comunity tank.

You will need more caves, though. You should have at least one cave per female, but more is always better. For my male and 3 females, I have six caves of different types and styles.

Edit: After looking around, you should only keep a pair in a ten gallon. Remember that females have a territory, and males have a territory that includes the females' territories. He regularly checks up on them. Also, a breeding female can get aggressive if she thinks her eggs are in danger, so there needs to be room for the other fish to go.

 

[ECH2005]

I am now considering these guys for my 10gal, are you sure a pair would be able to live happily together in just a 10 gal tank?

 

[pnyklr3]

I personally feel that it should be at least a 20. I think a pair could live in 10 gallons, but there really should be a 2:1 or 3:1 female to male ratio (the males have harems). The breeder I got my apistos from kept her harems in 20 gallons, and had a 55 gallon grow-out tank (they were growing slowly in the 20 gallon they were in...but she also had over 100 fry )

Apisto are good in community tanks, and that's where I have mine. They prefer softer water, lower pH, and hate meds. My tap water was very hard, and very high in pH (pushing 9) so I have switched to RO water. I love my apistos and can't wait for them to fill p my tank with more

I just noticed that you are fom Chicago...can you even find them around there?

 

[black convict 0331]

you can keep them in small tanks like tens and fifteens. Well, this is true to a certain extent. Sure you can keep them in small tanks, and they will live and breed there. But what you won’t see, however, is apistos as they really are in nature defending territories and protecting areas against ‘sneaker’ males and ‘bully’ females. in the wild, that these little fish live in a fairly crowded environment. Perhaps as many as a thousand fish in an area of nine square meters, with leaf litter up to one meter thick on the bottom. You can’t duplicate these conditions in a small aquarium, but you can in a large one30-55.aquarium must have either lots of wood, rocks, and plants or wood, rocks, and leaf litter. Follow the usual precautions with the wood and rocks. "Make sure they are clean (sterile is best)." With the rocks, don’t use ant types that will alter the chemistry of the water (i.e. limestone). The plants to use are Pygmy Chain Swords and Indian Fern, but any plant that you do well with is fine.

 

[Dwarfs]

You'd be better off keeping a single male in a 10g. A 10g is too small for the females to escape from him in IMO

 

[lucky62]

1 male and 1 female in a 10 gal might not be such a good idea .

the Male will most likely relentlessly harass the female , she will probably die from injuries or from the stress of being chased almost nonstop .


This happened to my female ..........in a 70 gallon tank , when I bought them there was one male and one female , I now have one male , and am looking for 2 or 3 females .


Maybe you could get away with two males together I never tried .


Go for at least a 20 long

 

[Ben]

no less then a 20. 10 is not good as they need space to swim. only one could do in a 10