Cockatoo Pics

[Molino]

Here are some pics I took of my Apistogramma Cacatuoides today. It's easy to see, when looking at the male, why they are called Cockatoo Dwarfs.

Male without flash:
http://www.members.shaw.ca/molino/Misc/CockatooM-102003.jpg

Male with flash (flaring at female):
http://www.members.shaw.ca/molino/Misc/CockatooM-102003-2.jpg

Female (with flash):
http://www.members.shaw.ca/molino/Misc/CockatooF-102003.jpg

[Matt W]

The male looks like he was suprised by the flash! :)

Those are great looking fish!!

[peifc]

Great pictures and fishes as always, Nelson.

[Dwarfnut]

Awesome fish and great pics!! Wish I could find some of those around here!! I may just have to order some fish soon!!

Bill C.

[Deb2]

Nice color on that male. :)

[demon_surfer]

Molino Im looking into getting some of those, could you tell me how you keep em?
you know what size tank, ratio of male to female and all that good stuff? I would really appreciate it.

[Molino]

Thanks everyone. I'm still not sure if I like the picture of the male, with or without the flash. The colour looks a lot better with the flash off, but I lost some of the focus.

demon_surfer: I keep these two in a planted 10 gallon tank. A 20 gallon long would be better and you could add another female in a tank that size. Cacatuoides are actually some of the hardier Apistos, so will tolerate and even breed in pH in the mid 7s. They do however prefer a ph below 7.

Dwarfnut: judging by your name, you keep Dwarfs? Which types of Dwarf Cichlids do you have?

[Dwarfnut]

Molino,
Yes, I like the dwarfs... Central and South American mostly, but I like them all!!

I have kept several types of Rams, Kribs, and even a few odd Apistos so far...

I would like to get some more apistos and try breeding them, but it will have to wait a bit longer!! I'm going to be moving in Dec to my new house, so I don't want to get too much going before then! My big concern tho is that in Dec, I'm going to have a hard time getting fish shipped to Colorado because of the cold! If i could find find some nice ones now, I'd make room for them and then just move them with the rest! You say you got your's from Rapps?? Any issues with any of his fish?

Thanks,
Bill C.

[Molino]

Dwarfnut: Good luck with the move. I didn't get my fish from Rapps, although I've only heard good things about him. I don't know if he ships to Canada, but if he does shipping is probably very pricey.

I got my Cockatoos from a local store here that specializes in Apistos. I also have some Apisto Pandurinis, but I got them at a local fish auction.

[valerie]

Nelson, what ph do you keep your apistos in? I was going to get some last year but opted for the rams instead. Do you mess with the water or are you just using tap?If you do change the water what do you do to it?

[Molino]

Valerie, For my Cockatoos in the 10 gallon the water is straight tap water in the high 7s. They may not breed, but Cockatoos are much more tolerant of high ph than other Apistos.

In my 20 gallon long tank I add CO2 with a yeast mixture. The ph is in the low 7s, but I am slowly lowering with the CO2. I did have it at about 6.5 for a few months, but had to raise it back up for the introduction of some new fish.

[rich]

those are pretty triple reds. ive got a trio of orange flash in a 29 gal right now. if you get that twenty i would actually advise mabye not adding another female or at least dropping the new female in as soon as you drop in the current pair. i dropped the second female in after the pair had already established their territories for a few weeks and now the females just chase each other around. they may be a harem breeder but they sure do get pissed at each other. i got some dither fish for them recently and that seemed to break up a bit of the chasing.


demon: i have a 1 male 2 female pair in a 29 gal community with plenty of pots, plants and caves for all the residents to hide in. the kh is bout 3.5 gh about 4, ph bout 6.8, temp around 78.

i plan on getting some a.rotpunkts in the near future and setting up a breeding tank for them. dwarf cichlids are great. i also got a book recently that has a picture of a small cichlid called lamprologus ornatipinnis that is an amazing looking little fish. anyone here raise them or have a line on a breeder?

[Molino]

Hey Rich, those lamprologus ornatipinnis look really cute.

Anyway here are two pictures I found of them on the internet, trying to look intimidating, which is difficult for a 1" fish. :)
http://www.cichlidae.be/c_lamprologus_ornatipinnis.htm

[demon_surfer]

do you guys know a good place to get apistogrammas online?

Ill probably go through my LFS (hes a good guy) but id like some options yah know. :)

[peifc]

www.apistogramma.com
www.apisto.bravepages.com
www.geocities.com/mikefjacobs

[Dwarfnut]

Rich,
Just be careful mixing the South American dwarfs with the African Dwarfs... sometimes things can get ugly! Even tho those African Dwarfs are small, they still have a lot of attitude! More importantly, Most African fish like hard, alkaline water... the opposite of south american fish!!

Good luck, let me know if you find any of those for sale!

Bill C.

[demon_surfer]

thanks for the links, have you ordered from them before? are they reputable?

[peifc]

The well known and most ordered from is apistogramma.com. I know a few people who ordered from the regularly. And they have beautiful and healthy fish.

Second best is apisto.bravepages.com. I haven't ordered from them, but I heard many good things about them.