Tank Size For Festivum

[FreshwaterAfishianado]

What would be the minimum tank size for a festivum cichlid? I'm in the process of setting up a 3ft 30 gallon tank right now to house apistos (not sure what kind specifically yet, but I've narrowed the list to: A. Guttata, M. Ramirezi, A. Velifera, A. Viejita, A. Diplotaena, A. Hoignoi, A. Hongsloi, A. Inornata, and A. Otmanni) and Diamond Tetras and I was hoping festivums as well.

I also have a 4ft 55 gallon tank but I'm a bit wary of filling in my upstairs apartment. My goal is to try to mimic a small stream in the Valencia Lake basin in Venezuela ( that's why the specific apisto species) as this is the only area diamond tetras are known to live in the wild.

Also if anyone can suggest plants or rocks or other things that will help me mimic this area more closely that would be greatly appreciated as this is my first attempt at a biotope type aquarium and I'm finding the research involved a bit daunting.

 

[FreshwaterAfishianado]

Anyone? The stock I am.considering is
2x Apistos (pair if possible)
2x Festivums (LFS has proven pair available)
6-8x Diamond tetras

 

[Wills]

Go for the 55 as adults Festivums are big big fish and they grow reasonably quickly and easily.
 
When you say apartment - what are your floors made of? And how old is the building? I think you should be okay... 55 dont work out that heavy - no more than a large bit of wooden furniture for example.
 
In the 55 I think your looking quite good but I would go for a hareem with the apistos so 1 male 2 females. Go for 8 Diamonds - bigger schools are always better.
 
I bet you could find some nice small plecs from the region as well - have you searched on planet catfish for the rivers and region your looking at?
 
Wills

 

[FreshwaterAfishianado]

The apartment  isnt terribly old, built in the late '70s i believe, wood construction.
 
Ive never heard of planetcatfish before, i will have to check it out
 
So  the stock would look something like:
3x Apistos (mff)
2x Festivum (paired)
8x Diamond Tetras
1x Plec
 
Would this max out the 55?
Thank you for the info, glad i can get some use out of this new large aquarium, now I'll have to convince the wife to let me stock this AND the 30

 

[Wills]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/search_result.php?family_id=0&genus_id=0&distr_id=84%C2
 
Most of the fish on that list look like good options I would avoid the Farlowella though as they are very hard to keep long term. I quite like the look of the Lasiancistrus Tentaculatus aka L092 but most of the other plecs on there would work - there are a few reasonably easy to find species on there.
 
I think your stocking looks good but from that list you could look at adding a group of 8 or so of the Corydoras Venuzealas.
 
Wills

 

[FreshwaterAfishianado]

Wow both of those fish look great, I love the orange and black coloration on those corys. I've never kept any plecos before,  do they have any special requirements? Should they be kept in groups like the corys?
I'm realy loving this planetcatfish site, I wish more sources online had such effective search options.
Another question, since you mentioned the harem for the apistos would it be beneficial to get a 2nd female festivum as well? or will a pair be happy by themselves?
I know I have way too many questions but I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. And thank you again for all of your help.

 

[Wills]

No problem
 
I would keep the Festivums as a pair - the third one would get shunned and probably beaten a bit as well. Apistos are a hareem breeder which means that one male will breed with multiple females which is a little unusual in American Cichlids. Other American Cichlids are more monogamous though breeding pairs can sometimes be problematic in a tank so its something to be prepared for. You could perhaps keep your 30g as a back up for if one of the cichlids gets a bit bullied or beaten after breeding and you could also keep it as a fry tank? If you run an extra filter in your tank thats good for the 30 if things get heated you can move the fish over with the filter etc. It will also be a good plan since you will probably end up with fry at some point
 
There used to be a great site for biotopes but it changed and isnt as functional now but the profiles are still good - seriouslyfish.
 
Plecs are quite easy to keep you just need to keep an eye on them getting enough food which usually isnt an issue - if you add in cucumber and courgette its good for them. Some species need wood in their diet as well so make sure you have plenty of bog wood in there.
 
Also I would maybe ask around your local shops as to the tank in the appartment.... the best thing to do with big tanks is to run them across the joists - so they run along parallel to the floorboards.
 
Wills

 

[FreshwaterAfishianado]

So another question, not exactly about NW cichlids but now that I've decided on what to stock I can find 3 of the 5 species. I'm having a realty hard time finding anyone local or online that sells corydoras venezuelas or the Lasiancistrus Tentaculatus. Is there a good online supplier that anyone knows of that may be able to get more rare species and be able to ship to WA?

 

[Wills]

In a word no... I have looked a few rare fish collectors I know of in the US - Jeff Rapps etc and he has neither.... interestingly though there is a strain of C.Venezuelas that is quite popular in the UK which is the black one - I actually didnt realise that they are the Venezuelas but their name is C. venezuelanus ''black'' so they might actually be a little bit easier to track down....
 
Maybe open a thread in the Corydora section for these? And one in the plec section asking if people know good places to source in the US.
 
Wills