Apistogrammas

[MAM]

i'm still relatively new to fish keeping. i currently have mollies and cory cats and bettas. want to branch out (have a puffer tank in the works). i have 20 gal tank that i want to keep a smaller pleco (4" variety) or two and was thinking as tank mates possibly some agassizii (sp?) or ramirezi.
first question: will they be okay with the pleco or will they bother it?
second question: what would be the best number to get for that tank size and male to female ratio? (for example, could i have a pair of agassizii and a pair of ramirezi?)
thanks folks!!!!

 

[juanveldez]

yeah they would pretty much leave the pelcos alone. everything that I have read about apistos and the other dwarves is that they like to be kept in a tril( ratio of 1 male to 2 females). there are littarlly TONS of different apistos out there.

 

[MAM]

are apistogramma varieties basically similar in behavior or is there one type thats more passive or one type thats more aggressive? a trio of one kind sounds nice, i will have to do some looking at my lfs to decide what kind i want. how do you tell males from females?

 

[juanveldez]

my understanding is that they are all pretty simmilar in behavior. and that they are all pretty passive. as for telling males from females usually males are the much more showoffish of the 2 and will be brightly colored

 

[Cian McLiam]

Most Apistos are bluffers, they'll huff and puff but rarely actually do anything except chase. Except Veijitas, they're downright mean!!
I have apisto hongsloi and cacatuoides in a ~50g and they are doing fine.
They are mostly harem breeders, keep one male to several females if possible. The females will claim they're own territory in caves and shady places and usually 10cm+ in circumference so leave enough space and caves to avoid hassle. The males will compete for territory higher up in the tank.
For breeding, the cacatuoides is probably the best starter, the hongsloi are a bit slow on the uptake and a lot require the water to have very low conductivity to breed successfully. But they are SO worth it, everyone that I shared my old apartment with would sit and watch the female gather up the fry in her mouth and bring them to 'bed' for the night, 4 or 5 at a time. When they breed they can get nasty, the females will bully a male to death despite being much smaller, while she is gaurding the eggs/fry. Some male Cacs will help with the fry, others arent interested. Females without a pertner will sometimes spwn alone and Ive witnessed a female kidnapping fry from another and raising them in her cave!!!
Ive kept Agassizii, macmasteri, trifasciata and have also kept rams with a little success but the two species I have now seem the best for temperment, ease of keeping and colours.
Discrossus Filementossus are another beautiful species worth checking out...

Ken

 

[Cian McLiam]

Oh, about sexing, as a general rule, the males are larger, sometimes much larger are more colourful and also can have longer rays at the front of their dorsal fins. Females are usually small, hard to tell apart from species to species and are usually bright yellow when in breeding condition, dull grey when not.
Female Rams have a pink belly, while males have the longer rays on the dorsal fins and they arent apistos but a seperate genus, microgeophagus.

Ken

 

[MAM]

ramirezi aren't apistogramma? then theres a couple of websites out there very confused about their fish.......... i've seen the scientific name apistogramma ramirezi used for the bolivian rams..................

 

[Cian McLiam]

That is wrong! they Bolivian Rams are also Microgeophagus, Microgeophagus altispinosa. They are supposedly a little hardier than Blue Rams but arent as colourful.

Ken

 

[emjay653]

Ken_g_w - Have you ever kept Apisto Hoignei? I have a pair and was looking for more info on them. As an aside, when you say caves, do you mean things like flowerpots?

Many A Molly - You could try this forum, in addition to this one, http/apistogramma.com/forum/index.php as it's dedicated to Apistos

Mj

 

[MAM]

thanks emjay, i will check it out.

 

[Cian McLiam]

Thats an excellent forum, I usually pop around once or twice a week. The guys there really know what they are talking about!! The Apisto Study group, HERE is also excellent.
Sorry emjay, have never kept Hoignei, but I believe they are closely related to Hongsloi.
Bogwood caves are good, as are small overturned flowerpots with a small opening cut into the rim. Coconut shells look more natural though

Ken

 

[emjay653]

Thx Ken, I'll try a couple. I assume I'll need to silicone close the opening in the bottom of the pot.

You're welcome M.A.M.

Mj

 

[joshua]

just a note, if there's several males some may appear to look like females if they arent the alpha male (to prevent getting bashed up i guess)

 

[joshua]

Apistogrammas

this website has almost pics of all apistos you could possibly find.


and about sexing,

Usually female's ventral are more black especially when ready to spawn. The following are some other generic criteria which I use to determine female apistos

1) less colourfully
2) yellowish
3) slight shorter body
4) shorter ventral fin
5) small black patch between base of gills and ventral
(Macmasteri family)
6) no dosal extension (except for Trifasciata females)
7) less pointed tip at end of dosal fins
8) tails not lyrated
9) generally smaller

However, these are only guidlines as there are often smaller males which show some of these characteristics mentioned above.

hope that helped