Cacatuoides set up question

[Slackananda <slackananda@slackananda.com>]

Hello,

I have recently become interested in apistos after reading a lot of great 
info at The Krib. I bought a pair of cacatuoides at my LFS, but 
unfortunately the male died the next day. (All of the other males at the 
store died too, so they gave me my money back, but all the females were 
fine......) The female lives in a community tank and has become my favorite 
fish. I love the way she maneuvers so delicately compared to the other fish.

I have a twenty gallon set up that I want to breed cacatuoides in. It is 
also my first attempt at keeping live plants, and has been doing great for 
about six weeks. It's fairly densey planted with a cave-like piece of 
driftwood and two half coconut shells. The current inhabitants are a dozen 
ghost shrimp, two otos and five marble hatchetfish. PH is 6.6, temp 80 
degrees. I don't know what the hardness is, but I hear the local water is 
fairly hard. I can do water changes with RO water if needed.

My question is, how many cacatuoides should I get for this tank. A pair? A 
male and two females? Could I get away with more even? I'd be grateful for 
any comments and general advice. The hatchetfish stay right at the top of 
the water, so I don't think they'll be a problem. Will otos disturb 
breeding cacatuoides?

Finally, I would be grateful for pointers to a good source for these fish. 
The clerk at the LFS said they only get cacatuoides in once every six 
months or so, and I can't wait that long!!!

Thanks,

Will



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