what fish can live in the same tank as breeding apistogramma?

[djsaltynuts]

i want to setup a tank for apistos to breed for profit. i wanted to add drift wood so itd be nice to have suckermouth catfish to eat wood slime. also since this will be a new tank i wanted to add almond leaves to gradually lower the ph over a couple months during this time i was going to add these little white worms that seem to live off of mulm as well as some mulm. but while im doing this cycle id like to build up some bacteria so adding another species to the tank would help. i was very interested in doing glass catfish but i dont know if those would be unwise since im trying to breed. would the apistos defend their eggs/fry well enough to keep glass catfish or plecos off them. i also considered adding shrimp for food or triops eggs. if anyone has any suggestions on small bugs or inverts to culture for food. also considered taking algae out of a pond but i wouldnt want to deal with possible pathogens or tiny dragon fly nymphs. any other fish that might work well with breeding apistos id be interested ive heard pencil fish work. also considered hatchet fish.

 

[kno4te]

tlindsey

 

[Deadeye]

Other peaceful cichlids, tetras, plecos, cories. If you really want best success breeding I would pass on anything but the apisto cichlids and tetras.

 

[tlindsey]

I've personally have kept a couple of species of Apistogramma and had 1 spawn. The most crucial part of keeping Apistogramma is maintaining them in the ideal environment. I setup a 20 long just for a pair of Orange Flash Apisto's a few years ago did some research prior. The issue ai was faced with was the PH out of my tap it ranges from 7.5 and high as 8 but that's rare. I had a choice setting up a R/O system or Tannins well Driftwood dead Oakwood branches and dried dead Oak leaves for leaf litter was my choice. Most species of wc Apistogramma come from Blackwater leaf littered waters. I later added a small group of Eques Browntail Pencilfish which have very small mouths and are micro predators but were no issue with the pair of Orange Flash. Also 3 Banjo Catfish were added later with them. I would recommend doing thourough research on the species you plan on breeding that's very important. I find that Ted Judy and Apistogramma.com are a great resource. I suggest not adding anything not natural to them GL hope this helps.

 

[twentyleagues]

If you want to try and breed for profit I'd put nothing else with them. Or if you do, something that can't or won't prey on the eggs or the fry. I have experienced any type of catfish will eventually go after eggs/ wigglers, especially cories.

 

[djsaltynuts]

so a whiptail cat or another sucker mouth is a no go? im gonna try to build as effecient of a biofilter as possible (of course) and maybe get a vine of monstera adasonii to run up to the window for nitrates. my tap is at 7.2 so its super neutral but im gonna let tanins build up and i was planning on doing waterchanges with cold water (via a reptile “little dripper”) to simulate rain. i am really trying to breed for profit but itd be nice to have some glass catfish in there. i hear they eat guppy fry but they dont seem to be huge bottom feeders or “cleaner fish” like loaches and corys. theyre also very skittish so i wasnt sure if apisto parents could keep them away or what. i guess they probably stop guarding them while theyre still at a small size. do you guys know if assasin snails would be doable for eating left over meaty foods?

 

[djsaltynuts]

also since im attempting to breed for profit do apistos have a low spawn rate? i was considering doing multies idk if thatd be more likely to succeed. i have never had a pair of cichlids of opposite sex that didnt breed so maybe im expecting this to be too easy. also if i seek to grow out fry with the parents will they be by the parents once theyve stopped being gaurded? ive never kept a dwarf cichlid besides german blue rams when i was a kid so im unfamiliar with their behavior (pea puffer killed him).

 

[twentyleagues]

I've had a pair of apisto borelli for about 4 years. When I first got them they were in a 40b to themselves. I've seen them in breeding colors a couple of times but never seen a spawn. After about a year of having them they have always had something living with them. First it was the fry from the filimented barbs well 3 times actually. Then it was the angels that my ex wanted. Now since my move they have been in the 75 of mixed randomness. I may try them in a smaller tank again as I slowly get the fish room separated and set up. Also I've never done anything with water parameters to induce breeding I may also work on that. Since I've had them for around 4 years now I may never get a spawn. With the slow rate I've been moving on set up of the fish room it could very well be that they don't get their new personal tank for at least a year more.

 

[djsaltynuts]

I've had a pair of apisto borelli for about 4 years. When I first got them they were in a 40b to themselves. I've seen them in breeding colors a couple of times but never seen a spawn. After about a year of having them they have always had something living with them. First it was the fry from the filimented barbs well 3 times actually. Then it was the angles that my ex wanted. Now since my move they have been in the 75 of mixed randomness. I may try them in a smaller tank again as I slowly get the fish room separated and set up. Also I've never done anything with water parameters to induce breeding I may also work on that. Since I've had them for around 4 years now I may never get a spawn. With the slow rate I've been moving on set up of the fish room it could very well be that they don't get their new personal tank for at least a year more.

this is very discouraging should i do something else? do you know if multies are easier to breed? ive heard good things about cold water changes simulating a rainy season.

 

[djsaltynuts]

if im trying to simulate a rainy season should i add more tanins during these periods because the rivers generally get darker with the debris from flooding? or tanins in a dry period because the water hasnt had water added to it? im gonna have constant tanins but im talking about adding almond leave and red bush tea to directly darken the water column.