I just bought these two for my tank, they are Macmasteri. I was told they’re male and female, and there’s certainly a size difference, but since they’re small that could just be room to grow.
What are the telltale signs?
Of course, also the fire red photo bombing
My very first Apisto, beautiful Cacatuoides. Giving that Guy Fieri energy. He has been placed in a 65 liter habitat that will be a species only tank - will be bringing in a female next week. Currently it’s housing a mystery fry nursery on behalf of it appearing from an egg on one of the anubias.
He is eating well, and has made the tank his.
Just wanted to say I had no idea these fish were THIS attentive, can’t wait to keep him in good spirits.
Got a new guy added to my 60*30cm tank, single male Apistogramma agassizii. He is so bold that within a minute of introduction, he started exploring everything - no stress, no hiding.
Can you help me identify which variety of Apistogramma agassizii is it? Looks closer to Double red or wild morph? or something else?
Hi all! I’ve had this 20 gal long setup running for about 2 months. I have 6 cardinals and 2 amanos in there and plan on grabbing 4-6 more cardinals. I was planning on putting a pair of apistogramma in there after it’s more established in a couple months. Is this reasonable or should I go with a single male? I have a tidal 55 on the tank and will be adding more plants and potentially another cave to add more LOS breaks. Thanks!
I have a pair of Apistogramma cacatuoides in a 2 ft tank, along with some Gertrude’s rainbows and a few algae eaters. The Apistos have been together for around a year and have successfully raised two batches of fry.
Over the past week or so, though, I’ve noticed some odd behaviour. The female has suddenly coloured up, but not in the typical yellow breeding dress, she’s showing colours that look almost like a less pronounced version of the male’s coloration. At the same time, she has become quite territorial and aggressive towards the male.
There hasn’t been any serious damage so far, but she regularly chases and nips at him. What I find particularly surprising is that the male doesn’t really fight back in spite of being much larger (and quite dominant in the past) and usually just moves away. Both fish otherwise appear healthy, active and are eating well.
There haven’t been any major changes to the tank or water parameters. The tank has simply continued to mature and the plants have grown in considerably.
Has anyone seen this kind of change in behaviour after an established pair has been together and bred successfully for a fairly long time?
Posting a video for reference, although I couldn’t catch her actually attacking the male in the clip.
I’m at the end of my cycling and I was originally planning on an apisto and Cory’s - but I’m wondering if there’s not enough room for both of those based on how I have it set up?
Just getting ready to introduce some Apistogramma to my 55 gallon tank and am adding some caves in the hope that they’ll breed. Not sure which species yet, but either cacuatoides or agassizii. These caves were 3d printed and the price is about $2 worth of material. Coke can shown for size reference.
Hi everyone,
I’m currently planning a 80 × 35 × 45 cm (~125 L / 33 gal) blackwater / Peruvian (or wherever choosen apisto is from) Amazon-inspired aquarium for apisto baenschi and I’d like some opinions on the final stocking, particularly regarding keeping an L260 Queen Arabesque Pleco with a pair of Apistogramma.
This isn’t my first aquarium and I already keep other plecos and South American cichlids, but this will be my first aquarium specifically built around Apistogramma and softer, more acidic water.
The tank I’m taking over comes with its established filter, which has been running for around 1.5 years at roughly pH 7.5. I’ll be changing the hardscape and gradually transitioning it toward blackwater rather than suddenly dropping the pH.
My filtered source water is approximately:
pH: 6.8–7.2
GH: ~7 dGH
KH: ~5 dKH
A home RO system isn’t really practical for me, so I’m still researching how far I can safely and consistently take these parameters using my source water, botanicals/peat and properly prepared water changes without chasing pH with chemicals.
The aquarium itself will have fine sand, lots of driftwood and thin branches, leaf litter, caves, plenty of sight breaks and some South American plants. It will be planted, but I’ll intentionally leave some open sand are at the middle for the Apistos to eat.
Planned stocking
13 × Nannostomus marginatus
8 × Otocinclus, preferably O. macrospilus or another Peruvian species
6–7 × Carnegiella strigata (Marbled Hatchetfish)
1 × L260 Queen Arabesque Pleco
Apistogramma Pair
My first choice is A. baenschi, ideally a pair.
Availability isnt a big problem where I live, though Im not sure about my waters softness, so I’m keeping a few alternatives in mind:
A. baenschi – first choice, pair
A. trifasciata – possibly a trio
A. bitaeniata – pair
A. cacatuoides – pair/trio
I’m also completely open to other Apistogramma species (w mohawk pls) suggestions that would suit this footprint, community and water situation.
My biggest question is the L260.
I absolutely love plecos and already keep Hypancistrus, so I’d really like to have one L260 in this aquarium if it can be done responsibly.
I’m not aiming to maximize Apistogramma fry survival or turn this into a breeding tank. I mainly want to observe their natural behavior, courtship and parental care. Having some fry survive occasionally would be great, but losing some to the community is something I’m prepared to accept.
What I’m more concerned about is whether the L260 and breeding Apistogramma will constantly stress each other, particularly at night.
My plan would be to give the L260 its own narrow cave at one end of the aquarium, while providing several separate Apisto caves/territories elsewhere. Driftwood, branches and plants would create strong visual barriers between them.
For people who have actually kept Hypancistrus with breeding Apistogramma:
•Does a single L260 work in an 80 × 35 cm footprint, or would you leave plecos out entirely?
•Is egg/fry predation the main concern, or does territorial conflict become a significant problem too?
•Does giving the Hypancistrus a dedicated cave away from the Apisto territories meaningfully reduce conflict?
•Would your answer change depending on whether I choose baenschi, trifasciata, bitaeniata or cacatuoides?
And regarding the water: would you consider my GH 7 / KH 5 source water workable for any of these species while I gradually transition the aquarium, particularly captive-bred baenschi, or would you strongly recommend choosing one of the more tolerant Apistogramma species unless I eventually move to RO? Can I get some RO water and mix it with my own water to maintain lower gh and kh levels and keep it up like that?
I’d especially appreciate experiences from people who have actually kept Apistos + Hypancistrus or any meaty diet pleco together long-term, rather than purely breeding-focused setups.
Are they really that common ? I’m guessing most widely available?
This guy was from a shipment of elizabethaes but was returned by customer & insisted it was not an elizabethae. I am curious to know what yall think? Apologies for the -not the greatest- photo, genuinely the best pics I got of the little guy after several mins 😭 thank you in advance!! I need more eyes bcs mine are unsure
Super excited as I set up this tank specifically for breeding and she actually had babies!!! So excited
My betta passed away recently, leaving me with an empty tank and after a lot of researching and conversations with my LFS I've gone in a cichlid direction with a pair of baenschi/inca.
I've been referring to them as Tweedledum and Tweedledee whilst I workshop some names for them.
The male has been quick to claim the prized cave at the front of the tank, and the female keeps appearing at the back left area of the tank so I'll be keeping an eye out to work out what land she has claimed.
(The last picture is one I took 2 days before getting them - I added a very lovely purple waffle plant/hemigraphis alternata, a banana plant, some red root floaters and rearranged a little bit just to make the lower half of the tank feel dense enough that sight lines should hopefully not be a concern).