some apisto questions

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loki993

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Jun 11, 2007
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Ive been looking at some apistos for my tank, online at least, cant find them locally. anyway I had a few questions about them. here are the tank specs:

55 gal
some driftwood, more will be added
medium planting, fake, no real ones yet, but maybe in the future
tank mates:
one decent sized pink kisser
one still small dwarf gourami
one probably medium sized, for a pleco, pleco, common Im pretty sure
soon to be added:
1 angel
possibly/probally 2 GBRs

so what kind of apistos wound be ok with what will be in the tank??
the cacatuoides are nice, especially the sunburst. also I really like, probably more than the cacs, are the hongsloi, viejita f1 and the nijsseni, the females with the stark black and yellow coloring is amazing. I will preface this with that ive not seen any of the fish in person and that all I have for reference is pics from the internet, mostly on twofishguyz.com. so if some look better or worse in person please let me know.

also are they hard to keep, all the research ive done, there seems to be very limited info on them on the net,says there pretty hardy and peaceful. it dosnt mention if some species are more aggressive than others. these fish seem to be kind of expensive, especially if I order online, which I will probably have to, I want to make sure I have an excellent chance of success with them before I pull the trigger.

another thing, everywhere it said they get very aggressive when they breed, were really not interested in breeding them, but if it happens we would need to be prepared, as I really dont want to wake up in the morning and see that theyve torn my plecos eyes out or something like that. id rather be proactive than reactive.

one last question, it seems most places, like twofishguyz and live aquaria, they have a couple, only sells some, most actually, in pairs. why is that?? do they have to be a breeding pair?? maybe its because the males are different colors than the females, anchromatic, i believe?????

I know it may be alot, but thanks in advance.
 
loki993 said:
Ive been looking at some apistos for my tank, online at least, cant find them locally. anyway I had a few questions about them. here are the tank specs:

55 gal
some driftwood, more will be added
medium planting, fake, no real ones yet, but maybe in the future
tank mates:
one decent sized pink kisser
one still small dwarf gourami
one probably medium sized, for a pleco, pleco, common Im pretty sure
soon to be added:
1 angel
possibly/probally 2 GBRs

so what kind of apistos wound be ok with what will be in the tank??
the cacatuoides are nice, especially the sunburst. also I really like, probably more than the cacs, are the hongsloi, viejita f1 and the nijsseni, the females with the stark black and yellow coloring is amazing. I will preface this with that ive not seen any of the fish in person and that all I have for reference is pics from the internet, mostly on twofishguyz.com. so if some look better or worse in person please let me know.

also are they hard to keep, all the research ive done, there seems to be very limited info on them on the net,says there pretty hardy and peaceful. it dosnt mention if some species are more aggressive than others. these fish seem to be kind of expensive, especially if I order online, which I will probably have to, I want to make sure I have an excellent chance of success with them before I pull the trigger.

another thing, everywhere it said they get very aggressive when they breed, were really not interested in breeding them, but if it happens we would need to be prepared, as I really dont want to wake up in the morning and see that theyve torn my plecos eyes out or something like that. id rather be proactive than reactive.

one last question, it seems most places, like twofishguyz and live aquaria, they have a couple, only sells some, most actually, in pairs. why is that?? do they have to be a breeding pair?? maybe its because the males are different colors than the females, anchromatic, i believe?????

I know it may be alot, but thanks in advance.
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Hmmm...I don't know if I would put rams and apistos in the same tank. Seeing as dwarf cichlid do better when there in at least pairs (better coloration, more activity) breeding is bound to happen eventually. Both rams and apistos become nasty when they breed, and there really isn't enough space for both pairs to claim a territory...just my opinion though...

Another thing...no common pleco or kissing gourami. Both get way too large for a 55. You would need to upgrade to something as large as 150 gallons eventually, probably even more, to accomodate that stocking.
 
Another thing...no common pleco or kissing gourami. Both get way too large for a 55. You would need to upgrade to something as large as 150 gallons eventually, probably even more, to accomodate that stocking.
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yes in very aware of the size issues with the kisser and the pleco.they came with the tank, there wasnt anything I could do about it. ive kinda become attached the the guys now as well. yes eventually I plan on getting a larger tank, probally around 100 gals +, bigget the better probally, depends on when I find a deal. dont worry there not nearly big enough yet. they still have plenty of swimming room in the tank and are not cramped. I have time. when you say that sticking do you mean all the fish im looking at or is that size just to accomidate the kisser and pleco?

ive heard all kinda of things about apistos and rams. ive seem that 2 pairs, 2 GBRs and 2 apistos would be fin in my tank, ive heard that it would be a mess, ive heard that there certain apistos I could keep and certain ones I couldnt. ive also heard a guy that has 8 of them in a 180 ltr ( 46 gals??) with discus and a ram and he sad he has no problems. so I have no idea. I guess I could go with a pair of each and keep an eye on them, if things get ugly I could pull one pair. I dont know.
 
The thing is that both apistos and rams only get bad when they are breeding and protecting fry, but you never quite know exactly when that's going to happen, otherwise they are fine together. If you are able to keep a close eye on things and be prepared to make changes when they do breed then you might be ok. Who knows, maybe they won't breed, but let's hope they do :)

With the stocking, many people on this site recommend tanks up to 150 gallons for a single common pleco because of their massive size and massive bioload. With another fish that grows over a foot long, you should definitely look into something at least that big. If you plan on upgrading eventually than you are fine, but bigger and sooner are always better!
 
just what I think. Im keeping an eye on the local classifieds and garage sales around here, check the board here too but theres not much local, I figure I have time to wait for the deal of the century to come along :). maybe Ill get some apistos and wait on the rams, im having some trouble keeping them anyway, but I think its more bad fish from the LFS rather than my tank conditions. I cant seem to find anyone local that breeds them, which seems to be consensus that thats the best way to get them, no hormones and parasites. itll all work out eventually.

apistos are supposed to be hardy right?? thats what ive heard??

any idea why their sold in pairs most of the time?? I know most fish like having others with them, but only with the apistos ive seen some sold exclusively that way?? are they breeding pairs normally of just a male and female??
 
Depends on how you take care of them.;)
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well currently I have 3 fish in our 55 and I change 45-50 percent every week almost to the point of obsession. so they would never be able to complain about dirty water:) . honestly though it seems kinda hard to find info on them.
 
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