Apistogramma Nijsseni

[Gill]

Seen some of these today @ the LFS.

Ive read up on them but would like some feedback from anyone who has had them.
Priced at 7.50 GBP each.

Apistogramma Viejeta at 14.50 Each aswell.

 

[thegnu]

hi,
Apistogramma Nijsseni are a fantastic dwarf cichlid, really colorful, but unfortunately i haven't had much success with them. perhaps andrew from Biddulph Aquatics can put you and me right on them. the a.viejita are cheap arnt they. what are they unsexable juveniles or something

 

[Gill]

hi,
Apistogramma Nijsseni are a fantastic dwarf cichlid, really colorful, but unfortunately i haven't had much success with them. perhaps andrew from Biddulph Aquatics can put you and me right on them. the a.viejita are cheap arnt they. what are they unsexable juveniles or something

Sorry Typo = 14.50 each

 

[a.d.wood]

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 hard!!!).

They are part of the 'Nijsseni' complex, and this little group also includes A. panduro, A. baenschi, A. norberti and a few others. They are what I would regard as a 'blackwater' secies, so will benefit from high levels of tannins in the water (will also help soften and lower the pH of the water). Feeding wise, standard frozen food and live food selection will work well (I've never found my Apisto's to get on too well with dried foods).

I would suggest a single pair as a starting point and standard apisto tank setup (sand substrate, bogwood caves, plants etc), easy to sex when adults, female will have a black edge to the trailing ventral fins (both males and females have the red edge around the caudal fin) and the male should be a nice azure blue (female yellow) and exhibit very little (if any) black markings on the body.

The price quoted seems reasonable for adult fish, for the Apisto viejta though, I would say that it was too expensive for that type of fish.

Andrew

 

[Gill]

Thanks Andrew,

They are Imports from the Chezc Republic, And they have been in Quarantine in Standard water for 4 weeks prior to being on sale on saturday.

I will try 2 in the Nano Cube.

They have a mix of males and females.

Will maybe get some tommorrow.


Can I ask. if some of the females had clamped fins, they should settle down once in their own territory.

 

[a.d.wood]

Can I ask. if some of the females had clamped fins, they should settle down once in their own territory.

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 the Apisto viejta price), but water conditions are normally a lot closer to neutral pH and middle of the road hardness, so it does make it easier to acclimatise fish into your tank without having to consider RO water (unless you have liquid cement for water!!).

If you are picking a pair out of the tank, aim for the best coloured (which are not necessarily the largest fish) as these will be the dominant fish in the tank and acclimatised to the new conditions the best.

Andrew

 

[Gill]

Thanks Andrew for the helpful Advise.

There were only a few clamped up in the corner.

I will make a judgement when i go to get them, And will end up annoying the staff by saying "NOT that one, that one over there".
I usually take around 1/2 hour to an hour too choose the fish i want.