Re: New to list...lotsa Q's...

[Donald Nute <dnute@ai.uga.edu>]

On Tue, 13 Jan 1998, jessem wrote:

> I know nothing about Dwarf Cichlids, other than that they are very
> pretty, and I'm wondering if they any species would work well in a 10
> gallon aquarium that I'm planning on setting up. My limitations are that
> the tank is only ten gallons, and that I can only provide 15W of
> fluorescent lighting. Can I work dwarf cichlids into this setup? 

Hello, Jesse. I've bred A. borelli, A. cacatuoides, A. aggassizii, and A.
mcmasteri in 10 gallon tanks with live plants, gravel, foam filters or box
filters or undergravel filters, soft water (in Georgia) or hard water (in
Indiana.) I've kept tetras, killies, and cory cats in tanks where I kept
them and even in tanks where I bred them, but you raise a lot fewer fry
that way. I've bred rams and kribs in the same setups. I don't adjust
hardness or pH in any way, although that would probably be necessary with
some more sensitive species. I feed flake food, frozen brine shrimp, and
newly hatch brine shrimp. In the summer, I sometimes feed mosquito larvae.
I've had excellent success with these fish, and I have also had periods
when none of the Apistogrammas do well for me, not breeding and dying
early. I'm not sure what the difference was when things didn't go well.
But these are wonderful fish to keep and no harder than many other groups.
If you do run into unexplained problems, don't despair. Clean water is
very important. If you have problems, I'd recommend adding a bit of salt
(an excellent prophylactic in my experience) and feeding only newly
hatched brine shrimp for a while.
 
> If so, what are the requirements of dwarf cichlids? I understand they
> need peat filtering. Where do I find the peat for this? Do I use peat
> moss or peat? I've tried putting some boiled portions of Hagen Peat
> Plates I had lying around, into my Aquaclear Mini, and as they color of
> the water didn't change to the diluted tea color I expected, I'm
> assuming I did something wrong.

Like I said, I have never had to resort to peat filtering for any of the
more common species, even in the hard water of Indiana.
 
> Also, what be an adequate filter? I've used Aquaclear Minis in the past
> and liked them.

Again, they all work okay. Avoid overfeeding and do reasonable water
changes, and you should be okay. I try to change about 20-25% every two
weeks, but sometimes it's three weeks before I get to it. Every week is a
good idea if you have fry and are feeding them several times a day.

> How many of which sexes of which species (whew!) can I keep in the above
> mentioned setup? Also, what (if any) would make suitable tankmates?

I have not found Apistos to be as agressive as some people report except
when they are spawning. In a 10 gallon tank, you might be able to keep two
small pairs of different species so long as no one is breeding. But if
they spawn, you might have to remove all but the brooding female. They
will tolerate fish of other species better than other cichlids when they
spawn. I have found killies and small tetras to make excellent tank mates.
I have kept cory cats with Apistos, but I suspect them of eating eggs at
night. 
 
> Finally, what do they eat? 

I've told you what I feed them already.

> I would greatly appreciate any and all info regarding Dwarf Cichlids. I
> only hope the amount of questions I ask aren't terribly overwhelming.
> Thanks in advance!

Above all, enjoy them! They represent the marvelous behavior of cichlids
in a small, attractive package.

Don

Donald Nute
Professor and Head, Department of Philosophy        (706) 542-2823
Director, Artificial Intelligence Center            (706) 542-0358
The University of Georgia                       FAX (706) 542-2839
Athens, Georgia  30602, U.S.A     http://ai.uga.edu/faculty/~dnute