which cichlid to breed?

[Garloki72]

Hey there i am new at this forum thing so bear with me. I have a 30 gallon tank and i currently decided to move on from angelfish, which i use to breed, and start a new breeding operation. So what i was thinking about are some apistos since the water in my area is very soft and acidic. So what i wanted to know is what cichlid can i keep and breed in my tank? I would like so to try apistos. My tank ph stays 6.2-6.4.

[SubRosa]

Dicrossus maculatus or D. filamentosa

[RazzleFish]

The easiest Apistos would be Apistogramma cacatuoides or agassizi. The ones that would bring in more money would include Apistogramma macmasteri, Apistogramma hongsloi and Apistogramma viejita. You could also try German Blue or Bolivian Rams.

[Garloki72]

I do want to breed A.cacatuoides but i have read that they need a ph of 6.8-7.2 to breed. Is this true?

[RazzleFish]

I do want to breed A.cacatuoides but i have read that they need a ph of 6.8-7.2 to breed. Is this true?

There is a lot of debate over this. There have been cases where they will spawn in a tank with a pH of 8.0 but egg and fry survival drop WAY down. On the same hand many say that the lower the pH the more fry will survive so therefore they will do best (in theory) in water with the pH as low as you can get it. Also, I have seen cases where a person uses almond leaves, driftwood and peat filtration to create an enviornment that has a pH as low as 1.2 and they have reported A. cacatuoides spawing and raising fry in that water.

I think your pH would be perfect for them if you choose to breed them.

[Garloki72]

I think i will try to breed these apistos since i really like how the males look with the fins. Any advice on how to keep them and how to trigger them to spawn would be really appriciated.

[RDTigger]

What pH is your tap water?

A 30G is a starting size for African peacocks if your pH is 7.6+ or some New Wold Cichlid if it's more neutral.

[RazzleFish]

Depending on your set-up you can breed them as pairs or herems. I am getting a herem set-up soon with 1 male and 3 females but I think MsJinkzed breeds them as pairs. Either way to trigger spawing, feed them with a lot of meaty foods that are either live or frozen (Live is better) for a few weeks. Then after about 2 weeks of good foods do a large water change (75%) and then do daily partial water changes (10-15%). The female will turn yellow with very dark black markings and will "flirt" with the male. They will spawn upside-down in a cave (either coconut caves or tera-cotta pots). The female will then attack any fish (including the male) that comes close to the cave. At this point if you are breeding in pairs it is best to remove the male to prevent fighting. If you have a herem then he will spawn with another female.

PS: how big is your tank? And what are the demensions? Each female is said to need about 1 square foot of "floor space" and each male needs about 3 square feet. The tank should have a lot of driftwood and plants with at least 2 more caves than there are apistos. Also, do you plan on keeping dithers with them?

[RazzleFish]

Edit: I missed that you have a 30. Alright so if you have it heavily planted with a lot of hiding places you can have up to 1 male and 3 females unless you would rather do a pair.

[Garloki72]

I will get a harem of 1m 3f. I think i will work because the tank is 36 inches in length.

[RazzleFish]

Ya, that is what I am planning on doing in the same sized tank.

What color forms are you going to breed?

Good luck!

[toddnbecka]

If Apisto's are what you want to work with, your water should be great for that. If you want to breed something that does better in less acidic water some crushed coral would swing your water chemistry in the opposite direction and buffer the pH around 7.4-7.6.

[Garloki72]

I really think im going for the cokatoos. And i am want to get some triple reds because they look awsome!