If I'm not breeding ... Do apistos / SA Cichlids NEED caves?

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Doc7

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Nov 18, 2010
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I don't intend to breed my fish intentionally.

Will apistos and other SA Cichlids (Flag fish curviceps, rams, Kribs etc) be unhappy in a heavily planted tank without caves?

Here is the tank as it is now, it's not scaped yet just growing a lot of stems to get it started, but to give an idea of the amount of plants i intend on having:




I don't really have good spots to hide caves... and not sure i want to sacrifice the floor space either.

But gouramis need floating plants (which i don't enjoy or want), rainbowfish need a covered tank, and angelfish would eat my smaller tetras and amano shrimp which are too big for the mouths of SA cichlids. I really don't see another centerpiece fish to get instead...

6y2umh.jpg
 
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AngelFishRock

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They don't need caves but I find that my apistos and my bolivian rams use them when they feel threatened. I have Terra cotta (clay) pots in all of my tanks and most of my dwarf cichlids use them. They are inexpensive and look kinda cool with plants around them.
 
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Doc7

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Could I have 2 each of 2 species of these types cichlids (dwarf, apisto, ram, krib, etc) in this tank? (1m 1f of each)

How about 3-4 GBRs (1 or 2 males) ?

I've never kept cichlids of any type... It's a 36x18 , 40 gallon breeder (w/ massive overfiltration)

Thank you!
 
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AngelFishRock

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Kribs and apistos don't mix. German blue rams prefer high temperatures. Apistos do well with bolivian rams and angels, well depending on what type of apisto. I would stick to cacatoides and agasizzis, they have a more docile temperment compared to other species I've seen. Two male apistos usually don't mix so one male and one or two females would be a better option. If its a breeder tank I'm assuming its more wide than tall so I wouldn't do angels.

I would try 1 m 2 f apistos and 3-4 bolivian rams.
Maybe some hatchet fish for a top dweller.
 
TheFishBoss97

TheFishBoss97

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:iagree: with apistos and bolivians

or just the GBRs......maybe electric blues.......they would look stunning against that greenery?
 
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AngelFishRock

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allaboutfish said:
apistos dont do well in trios. the odd female usually ends up being killed off.
Click to expand...

Depends on what kind of apisto but you could start off with 2 females and let the male choose which one he wants and rehome the other....if you only have 1 female the male might not take to her so starting with more than one and watching them closely is a good idea.
 
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