good apisto tankmates

[aspen]

besides looking for new interesting speces of apistos, i also like to find new different tankmates in my community tanks. i bought some nannostamus harrisoni, or harrison's pencilfish, and they are quite nice fish. they seem to occupy the very top of the water, are not picky or overly agressive with each other and are quite a nice addition to a community tank, with apistos. they eat very neatly, from the very top of the tank mainly, but are not always darting back and forth like many other tetra species. anyways, if you were thinking of getting some different tetra- like species, these seem quite nice so far. there are a few different nice pencilfish species as well, and all are reputed to be good in a community. breeding is generally very difficult afaik, and enjoy very clean water conditions. but your apistos are kept nicely aren't they?

rick

[Eva32181]

Would you keep "apisto tankmates" in little 10 gallon breeder tanks, or only in larger community/display setups? I have wondered about adding a few small fish to one of my 10 gallon tanks, but I worry about baby-eating, disease, all that stuff. Anyone try this and has an opinion about it?

[Neil]

aspen,
I think pencilfish are great dithers for apisto. I am using some now. I have this really cool new species of pencil called Nannostomus sp."Coral Red". It is a beautiful fish and a very good tankmate and dither for the apistos. They don't seem to even pick the fry off. I quite often leave them in a tank where the parents are attentive and suffer very few losses. They are mellower than tetras too, as you mention. And I haven't figured out how to breed them yet either. But they do do the dance and shimmy.

Eva,
Yes, it's kind of a trade-off. When you put target or dithers in a breeder, it often stimulates the parental juices and keeps the aggression to a minimum between the parents. But then you have the egg or baby stealing possiblities to worry about. Additionally, sometimes added neighbors in the tank may provoke one of the parents to freak out too much and eat them themselves. But, it may just as easily provide a focus for both parents to stay busy enough to not have a chance to loose their protection mode and keep the babies safe.
People do it both ways with success and failure. There is no one right way. It is best to try and get to know the species and the individual fish you are working with to get a "feel" for which method is right for each circumstance. That is kind of the art in fishkeeping and one of the main reasons that many of us don't get bored with it.

[Cichlids1]

I too have migrated from tetras to pencilfish. Currently have N. beckfordi and N. harrisoni. The harrisoni are a bit bigger and seem to be able to deal with the more rambunctous apistos and Laeatacara. They also rarely come from the surface unless they are after food. The beckfordi are a little smaller and a little more shy for me also. But they look real good in a medium tank packed with plants. Even had them spawn a couple times. By know means was I trying to get them to, but I might actually make an attempt down the road. The N. sp. Coral Red are about the sweetest looking pencilfish currently available. But, at $5 - $6 each, I'm a little hesistant to throw them to the apistos.

[farm41]

Are these pencil fish going to do okay with a high light tank?

I would be interested in some if they are going to do fine with it. I do have some cabomba that gets fairly large and covers a lot of the tank surface.

[Neil]

farm41,
They usually are out in the open in my tanks (waiting for food), but i don't have high light tanks. I think that if you have plant cover for security they will be OK. I bet they are out in the open most of the time even in a tank with heavy lighting.