Fwd: Looking for a

["Ed Pon" <edpon@hotmail.com>]

>I am getting ready to start populating my 55 and have decided to go the 
way of 
>the Dwarf...Apistos are extremely attractive ( kind of why were all 
here huh?) 
>and I would like suggestions for suitable tank-mates before I get 
started.  I 
>have heard that I don't want to mix some types of Apistos togethter for 
fear 
>of hybridization.  Which Apistos/Dwarfs (I like P. Altospinoza too) can 
I put 
>together safely?  I definately want A. Juruensis and A. Cacatouides 

I have mixed different types of apistos in the past, usually trying to  
keep from mixing the ones that are not easy to distinguish from each 
other (both males and females).  Most of the time, the effort ended up 
with one type dominating the tank and the sub-dominant species hiding 
and perhaps dying off slowly. I think it's a good thing to attempt, but 
you really need to keep an eye on situations like I just described.  
This appears to me to be one of the challenges of keeping cichlids--if 
you hang around at your local fish store long enough, you'll hear many 
beginning aquarists complain about their frustration with balancing the 
aggression of various cichlid species in their tanks.

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