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Hello Ladies and Gents, It is with great pleasure that the British Cichlid Association can announce their plans for the Spring Convention 2011 which will take place on the 1st May, 2011. The committee have been working tirelessly to arrange a fantastic event and details can be found below. We...

Have to agree, shape and markings suggest Geophagus braziliensis. Andrew

Assuming you are referring to a variety of fish, the closest (off the top of thehead) could be: Pseudotropheus sp. Acei. Doesn't fit with 'Tanxania' (possibly Tanzania / Tanganyika) as this is a Malawi Mbuna. Andrew

Hi there, You have Nannacara anomala, otherwse called the Golden Eyed Dwarf Cichlid (still a dwarf South American cichlid that shares territory with some apisto species). And, yes, it is a pair (in your pictures the female is showing faint banding on the flanks, this will intensify as she...

Contents of about 30 tanks (27 in my fish house). Heros efasciatus ‘Rotkeil/Red Shoulder’ > ~500 juveniles growing on Heros severus > ~80 juveniles and the adult pair Heros efasciatus > 2 Heros notatus > 5 Pterophyllum scalare > 4 Pterophyllum leopoldi > 4 Crenicichla regain > 2 Corydoras...

Hi there, Taken from an article I am writing: If they originated from Manaus or Barcelos in Brazil, then they are likely to be Mesonauta insignis. If they are from Colombia, then they are likely to be M. egregious. From Iquitos in Peru, then you are likely dealing with M. mirificus...

Hi there, As I'm based in the UK, I've only used Aquabid for dry goods and killi eggs. However, Apistodave (Dave Soares) does co-operate with Uwe Romer (who I've managed to meet!!) when it comes to Apisto's. Quality wise, I haven't heard anything negative (in fact only positive so far) so I...

In a sense, yes, they are man made. The fish have been line bred and with each succesive generation we have been selecting the most colourful individuals to enhance the trait. Now whether this is for double red, triple red etc, it's still the same, it's an aquarium derived colour strain. We've...

Hi Wolf, What we regard nowadays as double red, triple red etc are all line bred colour morphs (both with aggies and cac's). Although they would have had wild ancestors, they are now well and truly domesticated. The big problem we face with wild caught Apisto's just now is that everytime we...

Hi there, For the correct names: Huallaga > Apistogramma baenschi, also previously referred to as Apistogramma sp. Inka (Huallaga is because they are found in the Rio Huallaga drainage system). Norbert 2 > I would assume is Apistogramma norberti Maulbruter > Apistogramma sp. Maulbrüter, the...

Close on the name, only out by a continent or so :D , Bolivian rams would be the name your after ^_^ Apart from the shrimps (that may become dinner for the rams!!), they should fit in fine with your current stock (on the proviso there is room in the tank). Andrew

Hi there, The Geophagus genus has been split up a bit in the last few years: What were the 'Demon' fish (Geophagus jurupari being a common name a while back) have now been reclassified into the genus Satanoperca (which includes amongst others S. daemon, S. jurupari, S. acuticeps, S. leucostica...

Hi Gill, Clamped fins is normally the indication of an unhappy fish, whether this is disease or submissive due to dominance of other fish in the tank is something you would have to make a judgement on when the fish are in front of you. Czech fish I have found to be expensive (as reflected in...

Hi there, First thing to do with the Apisto nijsseni is find out if they are wild or captive bred. If wild, then you're looking at soft water and acidic conditions (and if tank bred whatever the water conditions they were bred in, which could be anything from acidic to alkaline and soft to...

For most of the common colour morphs (and in fact a wider range of the tank bred Apisto's), the majority will be bred in the local tap water (which will not be the perfect, acidic water associated with the Amazon). Wild fish will prefer the acidic, soft water conditions, but these (and what will...

Hi there, As you say, it's all down to opinions and experience. In my own experience, Apisto cacatuoides are much easier to keep and breed. As to whether they are in pairs or harems, my own Apisto cacatuoides are in pairs. If you consider that an ideal female territory should be in the region...

Hi there, Something about it that's got me thinking it's possibly along the lines of a 'Cichlasoma' trimaculatam or Flowerhorn style fish (possibly a hybrid). Lets have a few more pictures, side on please. Andrew

Hi Mike, I was into plecs a few years back, but with setting up the fish house moved over to fish that don't hide behind the log!!!! (I did have nice group of 6 x L264 (Josemali/Sultan plecs) but have to admit to still holding L260/Queen Arabesque as a firm favourite). I grow the bbs myself...

Hi Mike, My main staple for baby apisto's is fresh bbs (baby brine shrimp) which I think is a must (also use it with the adults). I've never used the liquifry products, but I'm sure they'll work. The frozen cyclops is just that bit bigger than bbs, and I would aim to use that in the tanks once...

Hi there, From my own experience, forget the plecs. It seems that although the female apisto can build sand up to minimise the entrance to the breeding cave, a determined plec will just barge its way through in search of a tasty snack. I've used oto's in the past without problems, and if...

Apisto cacatuoides can breed from about 6 months of age (like most apisto's), so I wouldn't be suprised if you were get them them breeding very soon. Quite often, just the move from the LFS (and the change of water) is enough to trigger spawning. You'll know when the female is coming into...

OK, let's relate some personal experience instead (posted a while back on this site): Here's my experience: Started with 6 juveniles, eventually selected 1 pair and put them into 1 of my breeding tanks (18"L x 18"W x 15"T). Tank decorated with silica sand, bog wood, 2 amazon sword plants (in...

Hi there, Male is Apisto. aggasizzi (right hand photo), female (left hand photo) is not the same species, possibly from the macmasteri family but would need more images for a better ID. Andrew

Hi there, My understanding is that they are all just colour forms of the same species. There was 1 form seperated for a while which has 2 distinct spots, Mikrogeophagus sp. 'Zwielfleck/Two-patch' (1 spot on the flank and 1 on the caudal peduncle), but whether this stays seperate from...

Hi Meg, Still not clear enough to decide if it has lyreate extensions on the top and bottom egdes of the tail fin. Which ever it is, it's a male with those vertical bars in the tail (although the hunch is it's D filamentosus). Andrew

Hi there, It depends on which checkerboard you have: If it's Dicrossus maculatus, males need to be at least half adult size (9 to 12cm male adult size), they will then show a slightly lanceolate caudal fin filled with vertical bands. If it's Dicrossus filamentosus, males tend to show the...

Hi Daz, Depends on where you are, if you're in the UK, I'm hoping to bring in a box of them in January. Andrew

Hi Mark, I would go with 1sq ft as the minimum per pair, as you said subject to hidey holes been plentiful. Don't see any problem with mixing aggie's and cac's. Body shape is completely different and will make it easy to distinguish who goes with who. They are both easy species to work with...

Hi there, I've used/using the following pencils with my Apisto's: Nanostomus eques Nanostomus beckfordi Nanostomus mortenthaleri The key with the Apisto's (for breeding at least) is not to put in anything else that shares floor space with them as this will then give rise to conflict over...

Hi there, The Xingu pikes aren't dwarve's (as CFC already pointed out), maybe you missed this article on Vinny's site where, the pair were over 10" in length: Orange Pike Spawning Andrew

Hi there, Something else to look for with aggie's > only the males will show patterning in the caudal (tail) fin. And yes, male top, probable female on the bottom As a word of warning when you sex these guys (and this is one of the things I don't like with aggie's), it is possible to have...

Hi there, Commonly called 'egg spots', they can be used for sexing (just can't remember which way at present) and form part of the breeding ritual for these fish. Andrew ps > your post was moved to the African Cichlid section as these fish originate in Lake Malawi

Hi there, Apart from giving them time to settle in, what else have you got in the tank (as this might be keeping them under cover)???. For feeding, just make sure some food (frozen daphnia would be a good start) hits the bottom of the tank, Apisto's are part of the eartheater family so they...

Hi there, It's a central american cichlid Hypsophrys nicaraguensis, can get fairly large (10") but in the right setting is reasonably peaceful (for a central american cichlid anyway!!). Andrew

Hi there, First fish is Acarichthys heckelii and the second looks like 'Geophagus' steindachneri. Both are from the Geophagine family of cichlids (earth eaters), but I would say are too distantly related to breed. Chances are you have 2 males and the lip locking display is just squabbles over...

Hi there, I reckon it's a sub dominant male. I like the aggies, but hate sexing them because of the sleeper males that you can end up with (looks sort of female, but it's just a defence strategy to stop the dominant male bullying the rivals). Key thing to look for, in the caudal fin (apart...

Hi there, If you want to go the final step and buy a true digital SLR, I picked up a Nikon D50 last year, has the option to use totally automatic settings, but then as you gain confidence you can start to experiment with the settings yourself, also has the advantage that you can buy add ons...

Hi there, I was lucky to pick up a pair ealier this year (BAS in Bolton had a small number of them in this year), very pretty fish, just have to persuade them to breed. The price quoted is a bit expensive, it depends on the source, but certainly expect to pay over £100 per pair in the UK. My...

Hi there, Aerate your water prior to use, when I was using drums, this would be for 24 hours. I wouldn't trust the pH reading from pure RO water, because of (and apologies for the little bit of chemistry): Distilled/deionised/RO water has a very low ionic strength. There is no pH value on the...

I have a small 'wildlife' pond in the back garden, from that I get daphnia and various mosquito type larvae. I then feed baby brine shrimp daily to all my apisto's (adults and juveniles). It's the same species that you have (Apisto cacatuoides), just a different colour morph. Andrew