Re: Apistos for beginner - pair or harem?

[Frauley/Elson <fraulels@minet.ca>]

Kristo K M Kulju wrote:
> 
> Hello!
> 
> I have 140 l (= ~ 37 gallons) well planted community tank (ph ~ 6.7-7, NO2
> 0ppm NO3<15ppm) with black neon tetras, small corys (C. similis), SAEs
> and Ancistrus sp. I'm planning to get some apistos, but I'm a little
> confused about polygamous nature of these fish. I was told by many
> hobbyists that you _have to_ have many females per male, otherwise the
> male will harass the female to death. But after reading this mailing list
> and The Krib archives I got the impression that people do keep apistos
> also in pairs.
> 
> So, what would be suitable setup for my tank (1M + 1F / 1M + 2-3F / 2M +
> 2F)? Is this very species specific? Species I have been considering
> (limited mostly by availability here in Finland): A. agassizii, A.
> borelli, A. cacatuoides, A. macmasteri, A. nijsseni, A. steindachneri.
> 
> Thanks for any help,
> 
>         Kristo
>
Kristo,
I have 1M, 4F agassizii spawning in a 60L tank, very happily. I've had
similar luck with borellii in the past. Cacatuoides may work in harems
but I have had no success. They do well in pairs, but in spite of what I
hear and read, in my tanks, the females fight too much for territory. I
never had enough mcmasteri to try - friends did and bred them, but I had
success with pairs. Njisseni pair well, but I have no experience of
steindachneri.
Most of my apisto tanks have 76cm bases, and plants. In larger tanks,
people may have had different experiences.
Gary (Montreal)
PS - Convince your hockey players to keep apistos, and I'll send you
some new species when Saku Koivu's season ends. Tell him to call me :-)



-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@listbox.com.
For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help,
email apisto-request@listbox.com.
Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!