Housing Apistogramma & Pelvicachromis together?

[cricha]

Hi all,

I've got a 90X45X45cm well planted tank. Currently there's a pair of A macmasteri & a few dithers in it.

I've been eyeing a pair of Pelvicachromis taeniatus but am wondering if it's safe to place them together with the Apistos. Any thought?

regards

[Cacatuoides]

Haven't try putting two species of different origins together before but have kept Pelvicachromis....They are rather peaceful on their own and not that territorial except when breeding time....you can try it out since you got a big tank space to enjoy the best of both species...

any pictures of your tank?

[cricha]

Hi Eman,

thanks for the reply. How are your pair doing?

Here's a pic of my tank



and here's one of my pair of macmasteri

[Cacatuoides]

Nice tank you've got Chris!! Somehow a pair of Pelvicachromis doesn't quite suit your setup.... they sometimes like to dig in the soil, maybe you can consider a pair of Taeniacara Candidi? It'll complement your tank..

My apistos are doing very well, I've stopped keeping west african cichlids sometime back....
Apistos are still the ones I love most

[trident]

Chris,
That's a very nice setup. Don't the macmasteri get hidden in there most of the time?
And the pair of macmasteri is very nice too.
Richard

[cricha]

Thanks for the kind words about my tank.

As I said in my intro, I actually got into the hobby because i loved the look of a planted tank. After a while I got bored of the usual Tetra's, etc. I got myself a pair of A borelli and that started this .... madness

The pair of mamore red that I got last Thurs just spawned last night
Problem is I will be in Sg for 4 days. I have 2 white cloud minnows and a tiny panda cory in the tank. Should I remove them? Any other advice will be greatly appreciated as this is my first spawn.

[luenny]

Hi Cricha,
Nice tank and nice fishes. Your macmasteri looks nice and round.

As for your spawn, I am no expert on this but I think if you want to keep the fries, better be safe than sorry and remove whatever other fishes you can find. Might be a bit late because if you spook the parents they might eat the eggs/fries. But then I'll take my chances removing other fishes if I were you.

[trident]

Chris,
Luenny is right there, remove the other fishes and the male too.
The male can sometimes eat the eggs or fries, so don't take the risk.
Richard

[cricha]

I've removed all the other fishes but is the removal of the male necessary. The female isn't at all bothered by him so far.

I think that my pair of macmasteri also spawned yesterday. Female in full breeding colour and very agro. Must have been the heavy rains.

Also picked up a pair of Nigerian red & A caca. Saw some beautiful Elizabethae but was way over my budget. Heard from Kevin of SLS that a group from AQ, will be coming up to visit SLS this Deepavali. Too bad I will be in sg at that time.

BTW where can I buy a female baenschi in sg? What's the price like?

[trident]

Chris,
Did you put the P. Nigerian red and A. caca together?

[cricha]

No, didn't put them together. P Nigerian red supposed to more aggressive. So decided to put them in my planted tank with the macmasteri. They're surprisingly shy compared to my apistos.

My male mac has them banished to one corner of the tank. Anytime they make a move he's there. Quite interesting to watch.

[cricha]

Here's a pic of my male mac keeping a close eye on the Nigerian-red female



Here's one more of the big guy defending the female against a male borelli

[doppelbanddwarf]

Wow wouldn't the nigerian reds be stressed?

[Cacatuoides]

Wow, Chris you're fast!!
So fast got yourself new gems already!!
It really easy for you guys to scoop dwarf cichlids there,
unlike here where we got to hunt every corner of Singapore for any trace of apistos or westies....

Nice male macmasteri....any pictures of the male nigerian red?
See you in S'pore soon!!

[cricha]

Yup, I believe the N-reds are stressed. Trying very hard to solve that. Problem is I don't have any spare tanks at the moment.

Hi Eman, here's a pic of the N-red male (algae included)

[trident]

Chris,
Poor fish, so stressed. No spare tank?
Put them in my tank!
The P. Nigerian looks soooo beautiful.
Richard

[planted86]

Yup, I believe the N-reds are stressed. Trying very hard to solve that. Problem is I don't have any spare tanks at the moment.

Hi Eman, here's a pic of the N-red male (algae included)

is the mouth bleeding or is that the original colour??

[Cacatuoides]

NIce male chris, I'm sure its coloration will improve further when its under better conditions
They are very interesting species to keep and observe

planted86: Yes, this is their natural coloration, the red will become more intense eventually