25 Gallon tank

[DigitalBoy]

Hi. I have a 25 gallon tank http://www.aappeal.com/ts/25/001/index.html, it has a trio of Apistogramma Cacatuoides, 10 neons, 3 SAE, 4 guppies and 3 catfish. It is a fairly long tank (30 x 12 x 16).
Now I am thinking of adding another pair of dwarf cichlids to my tank, what do you think would make a good pair? I would definately prefer someone that looks different from Apisto cacatuoides, and who will not be too hard to picky about water conditions and also will tolerate my apistos. My water ph is around 7, although I am working towards lowering it by adding more R/O water.

Thank you!

Dmitry

[mordor]

A. Borelli :?

[DigitalBoy]

What about Apistogramma agassizii and Ram?
Even with borelli, would it be alright to add it to my tank the way it is? I know that Rams are open spawners - so they would have different territories than Cacatuoides.

[aspen]

i have my cacatoides and rams and viejetas together. they all get along ok. providing the right habitat seems to be the trick. leaving little pots, caves etc, and slate and some big-leafed plants like swords for the rams will help. there are lots of possibilities with apistos.

rick

[DigitalBoy]

How big is your tank, and what are your water conditions?
Would it make sense to add a pair of rams to my existing setup?

Thank you.

[aspen]

i have intentionally overstocked my 35 gal with:

3 discus (2 5- 6" look like they are pairing, and the third a runt is to provide a third fish for them to ease agression on each other)
2 cacatuoides
2 viejitas
2 rams
4 rummy nose tetras. (used to be 6, but 2 died on the weekend- mysterious)

there are a lot of fish in this tank and it is quite active. none of these fish have firmly paired and laid, but the reason i've jammed them in, is in the hope that something will happen. mostly, the cacatuoides (most likely to spawn- oldest and most agressive) have claimed and are maintaining the nice cave. lots of yellow in both fish, but i haven't gotten down and started doing r/o water changes yet, due to the fact that i don't think they are quite ready yet.

i intend to pull pairs that are spawning, and move them to breeding tanks.

imo, agression between pairs is a problem with breeding any types of cichlids. it seems that if you keep them in an assorted group like this, they seem less likely to be agressive towards their mate, and more likely to maintain a place to call home, with both fish helping each other to maintain it. that's MY theory anyways. besides it looks very nice with all of the activity in there, with the males all acting the part and showing nice finnage.

rick