General Information on Apistogramma

[Littlefish]

:D

Hi all !

I've been in this hobby for 10 years now. I started with goldfish as many other guys (and girls) do...

Then , i felt in love with the reef aquariums systems, and i have wonder about starting a ciclids aquarium now.

Im building a 55 g tank and i would like to know some basic info on the subject.

My tank will be set up this week, so any advice will be great !

* I need to know the basic quemestry for apistos water. (ph, temp, hardness, etc).

* What about live plants ...
* Any problems asociated with the use of Activated Carbon ?


Im planning to use my local tap water, which is ph 7.0.

I will use activated carbon on a aquaclear powefilter (300 ).

ok.... any advice will be great, as i said before......


:D

[farm41]

Welcome Littlefish,

Your 55g tank will be very nice for apistos, and they do well in a planted tank. The ph of 7 is fine for maintaining most apistos, some may need it lower for breeding. Apistos are a softwater fish, but some won't mind a medium hardness.

Tell us what species of apisto are available to you and you will get a lot more detailed help.

What's the activated carbon for?

HTH

[Randall]

Dear Littlefish,

What a cute name; welcome to the Forum!

If you're interested in keeping New World dwarf cichlids in your 55-gallon tank, may I suggest that in addition to one or possibly two Apistogramma species, you also look into Nannacara anomala and the Laetacara species. All are beautiful, fairly mild-mannered dwarfs--although some Apisto species are more aggressive than others--and in the case of Nannacara and Laetacara are good choices with which to start.

If you don't have it already, please consider picking up a copy of Linke & Staeck's, American Cichlids I - Dwarf Cichlids, Tetra-Press, 1994, ISBN-1-56465-168-1. This a fairly comprehensive resource that covers most of the representative New World species, as well as water chemistry, temperature, appropriate tank setups, husbandry and breeding.

All the best,

Randall Kohn

[Neil]

Littlefish,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

It's great that you are going to try Dwarf Cichlids. I think that you will find the experience rewarding.
If you keep your water in the neutral range - 7pH, 4dGH, 78 degrees, you should be able to house most species of South American or West African Dwarf Cichlid comfortably, but check on their specific requirements before buying. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! For breeding of many of the "soft-water" fish you will need to probably decrease those values a little, but there are many that will actually breed in that water.
The key to Dwarf Cichlids is to keep the water clean by regular water changes and by not overloading the biological system. Stock the tank lightly, put plenty of cover for the fishes security (INCLUDING PLANTS) and you should not need activated carbon.
Feed a varied diet and keep up with your water changes and you should have some happy fish :D .
Neil

[aspen]

hi, in addition to the other great info posted, i would like to say, that a community, with tetras and other community fish, with a single pair or trio of apistos would be a good place to start. mixing apistos species, and having too many in the same tank, hasn't worked well for me. the african cichlid means of managing agression, doesn't apply well to s/a dwarfs, ime. they may be small but they are very interesting in such a community.

hth, rick