Has Anyone Owned These Fish?

[mrscullen5373]

Heyy quick question

I Have fallen in love with these five species of apistogrammas but i dont know anyone who has owned them before.
There names are;

Agassizi's Dwarf Cichlid - Apistogramma agassizi

Umbrella Apisto - Apistogramma borelli

Apistogramma Panduro

Apistogramma viejita

Apistogramma trifasciata - Three Striped Apisto

Can anyone tell me if they have had either of them before and if so what were they like? e.g. temperament, activity, aggression, tank mates e.t.c

Thank you x x x

 

[Westwood]

I have the viejita, haven't had them long but they are reply nice fish they are very peaceful but I only have them with tetras and some large shrimp. They are quite active she them at both ends of the tank regularly. I'm very pleased with them. Sorry I haven't got too much information, as I haven't had them long. But I do have a question would I be able to keep them with other pairs of apistos?

 

[ChrissyBoy]

I had a pair of Apistogramma Agasizzii Double Red in my tank, unfortunately I'm down to only the female now as the male popped his cloggs a little while back. I'm currently trying to get another pair to join her

They are quite literally the best fish I've had. The male was absolutely stunning! I got them to spawn in my tank once, I noticed the female getting really fat and put an empty fish flake pot half submerged in the gravel for them to spawn in, and they did. In the morning, I had a clutch of cherry red eggs in there. Unfortunately, I think they got eaten. The male got sick soon after this and looked rough for a few weeks and then died.

They got on with all my other fish and were not aggressive in the slightest. Definitely get one if you can, you won't regret it!

 

[mrscullen5373]

I had a pair of Apistogramma Agasizzii Double Red in my tank, unfortunately I'm down to only the female now as the male popped his cloggs a little while back. I'm currently trying to get another pair to join her

They are quite literally the best fish I've had. The male was absolutely stunning! I got them to spawn in my tank once, I noticed the female getting really fat and put an empty fish flake pot half submerged in the gravel for them to spawn in, and they did. In the morning, I had a clutch of cherry red eggs in there. Unfortunately, I think they got eaten. The male got sick soon after this and looked rough for a few weeks and then died.

They got on with all my other fish and were not aggressive in the slightest. Definitely get one if you can, you won't regret it!

Thankyou for the quick replies!

WOW! Are the agassizis really that good!

Grrr i dont know which to get now

Rams or agassizi apistos

Have you owned both 'ChrissyBoy'? If so which is your favourite?
Are they aggressive when breeding?

Thanks again x x x

 

[elisew]

All the Apistos are great imo but they do generally require softer water, like Rams, so your ph would be a big consideration in keeping them and allowing them to thrive

I`ve kept both the agassizzi and the viejita and I loved them, always wanted the borellis as I think they`re gorgeous but changed my setup so never did get them Apistos are a fantastic addtion to a community tank but as said, do be careful if your ph is high

 

[ChrissyBoy]

I have indeed had both Rams and Agasizziis in the past you know. My personal favourite is the Agasizzii due to their colours and non aggressive character. I've got a photo on my iphone of my late male, I'll try and post it for you and you'll see why! The females aren't very colourful but do change from a red to a yellow colour wile breeding.

Rams are lovely fish don't get me wrong, but IMO they haven't got anything on the Agasizziis. Honestly. If you get some, they'll be the pride of your tank. Do try to get the 'double red' variety.

With regards to their temprament whilst breeding, they seemed fine with the other fish. To get them to breed, they need a cave with a very small entrance. Once eggs are laid and fertilised by the male, the female literally sits in the mouth of the cave and guards. Whilst this was going on, I didn't notice any aggressive behaviour towards the other fish.

I will say however, 'elisew' is right about the PH. I believe that's why my one perished. I did try to sort it out and managed to in the end, but it was too late

Hope this helps

 

[mrscullen5373]

Thanks alot
That photo would be very helpful!

I am definatly swinging more towards apisto agassizi now.

Do i need a trio (1 male, 2 female) or is a pair ok?
And will they protect any of there young/eggs like rams or not?

What you said about double red, what other colourations are there?

Thankyou x x x

 

[neo83]

well, currently i have bolivian rams and apistogramma macmasteri often sold as viejitas but many experienced members confirm that there are not many viejitas in the trade, at least in UK. Anyways, i really do love the apisto and unfrotunately i have two males as the smaller one turned out to be a male. However, the females are colourful as well in their own right when they get the yellow colouration, as if they are dipped in yellow paint. They are definitely less aggressive than the bolivian rams. I have been keeping them at pH 7.6, so most probably less chances of breeding. Below is the pic of them:

 

[ChrissyBoy]

No worries, give me a few minutes and I'll e-mail that pic to my work pc and try and post it for you.

Most literature i've read about them say its best to get a male and 2 or 3 females but I'm sure a pair would be fine. They protect their eggs whilst in the cave and their fry for a while after they have hatched. They move the fry to low ground in the tank and if anything threatens them the female shepherds the fry into her mouth for protection. So yes, they do protect their young.

I'm not so sure on the other colourations TBH. All I know is that I've searched Apistogramma Agasizzii on google and the results returned images that look nothing like the fish that I had! lol.

I'll get that pic up ASAP

 

[ChrissyBoy]

I've tried to attach the pics to this post, hope it works. Let me know whether you can see them as I've never done this before:

 

[BigTom]

They are fantastic fish, my agassizis were defintely the pride of my old community tank. Just make sure you have plenty of plants, hiding places and caves, because once they spawn the female can become very aggressive towards the male, to the point of damaging/killing him if he can't find a hiding place. Generally once they've spawned a couple of times she'll chill out a bit.

 

[Westwood]

Few pics of my young viejta, been in the tank 2 days, and still got to develop colour especially the female!

 

[mrscullen5373]

Sorry i didnt reply sooner.
Thankyo to all the wonderful pictures that people have put up for me
you have helped me alot!

All of the fish you have shown me are beautiful but 'ChrissyBoy' . . . ! wowee that is one gorgeous fish!

Its alot to ask but have you got any pictures of your female? I would love to see it

Thanks again everybody!! x x x

 

[kizno1]

Ive kept the Apistogramma agassizii, borelli, Panduro and trifasciata
Panduro male


Female


Agassizii Fire male and female


Normal female



Normal male



unfortunately ive lost the pics of my other ones.

 

[Carlovel1]

I have A.Borellii. Somewhat dissappointed by them, pretty aggressive by Dwarf Cichlid standard, very territorial and loves to nip my other fish. And they are sensetive too, I started of with 6, lost 3 within first week.