hi everyone...this is my first post here =) i'm rather new to the aquarium hobby, and have been almost exclusively keeping discus thus far. however, i've been thinking of keeping a small tank at my desk, and was wondering if apistos are a possible fit for me. i notice at the LFS they keep their apistos in those really small tanks usually used for fighting fish, like 1/2 foot square with divider in for 2 fish...if i just want to keep 1 pair, what's the smallest size tank that's viable?
The LFS is keeping them this way because they need a convenient way to store the apistos till they get sold. The minimum apistos can be kept in are a standard 2ft tank, no smaller than that imho. You can try having them in a 1.5ft tank, but that's pushing it.
I agree with Terence. If you noticed the fishes in there, they are extremely stressed by the conditions. They are often in their stress coat of black colourations.
Depending on the species you have, you can have them in a 1ft cube like some of the apistogramma keepers here. But I would say a 1.5ft tank at least. Else when one starts to chase another, the chased might die of stress and stress-related diseases.
aww =( looks like i'll just have to be content with boring shrimps at my desk then lol!
Far from Boring, shrimps can be quite a marvel to watch too buddy.. especially when they start breeding.. i'm always tempted to start one Shrimptank from looking at all the awesome pictures here on AQ.
If I were a fish, I'd BREED all Day!
You can have a pair of cichlids in a 1ft cube, but that will be the African Rift Lake cichlid Neolamprologus multifasciatus.
http://www.gcca.net/fom/Neolamprolog...ifasciatus.htm
I kept L.occellatus once, a bigger more feisty version of the above in a 2ft tank, they are extremely interesting to watch.
I'm currently keeping 2 pairs (Apistogramma baenschi and Apistogramma sp. 'Algodon I') in a 2 ft tank with a glass divider. They are doing fine and my Algodon pair even spawned once. However you need to know more about their behaviours and recreate the best living conditions for them before considering such limited space.
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