Recommended tank size to house a pair of Apistogramma sp.

[pepe2403]

I have caught the apisto fever and really down with it badly. Now i am considering if i should make a rack and place 1ft cube tanks to house all the different species which i intend to purchase.
Here i have some questions.
1.Will 1ft cube tanks be enough to house a pair in it?
2.Will running sponge filters for the 1ft cube tank be enough? Planning to hook up my exisiting hiblow ot run all the cube tanks.

Currently have only 2 pairs but i am thinking of expanding the collection once i have to time to embark on the project.

[Cacatuoides]

You can take a look at Eugene's apisto rack

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...article_id=648

I would recommend 2ft for each pair....seen some species fight to death in 1ft cube tanks

Sponge filters are sufficient for these tanks....remember to cycle the tank well before commencing its operations

Do post lots of pictures of yourup-coming project!!

[trident]

pepe,
I am using 1 ft cube for my apistos and using only sponge filter hooked up to my hiblow. sounds familiar?

[doubleace]

Pepe,

Tanks
1ft, 1.5ft or 2ft is acceptable to house a pair of apisto. Like what Eman said some species fight to death in 1ft cube tanks so you have to give for covers for them to hide from each other. Do not house a pair smaller than 1ft.. thats the min requirement.

Sponge filter
If you want to save electricity and space then sponge filter is the best. 1 pump serve all rather then 1 pump for each tank.

I'm housing my apistos in a 1ft cube tank with sponge filter too.

You can do like Eugene's setup, he's using 2ft by 1.5ft tank divded into 3 portion to house his apistos (if i never get the measurement wrong). Or what Eman told me that time when i started this hobby, he told me to use a 2ft tank with parition in between. If you want to house 2 pairs then put the partition if not then remove the partition anytime.

Depend on your choice I'm just giving you some suggestion. Feel free to ask questions. I'm sure all the bros here are willing to help.

[Samuel2618]

Hi Pepe2403,

It all voiced down to why you want to keep apistos..

If you are into breeding them.. Then dividing your tanks (depending on size of cause) will be the best and most space efficient method.. Using sponge filter will also save quite an amount of electricity as compared to those using canister filter..

However if you are more into fish sighting rather than breeding.. Then perhaps dividing your tanks will not look that nice in terms of tank setups. Therefore for this reasons.. you need more tanks.. An ideal tank size for a pair is at least a 1.5ft.. A 1ft cube tank although seems a bit small for a pair of apistos but if it is densely planted and provided with a number of caves.. It should be alright..

Regards
samuel

[pepe2403]

Many thanks to all replies. I will need to keep the setup neat and uniform as it will be located in my living room. Therefore i opt for 1ft cube tanks as it will look neat and tidy.
Will need to look out for a suitable rack and start buying tanks and such. Seems like it's going to be a big project again.

[wks]

When setting up an apisto tank rack, you may want to consider other aspects such as lighting position, fish viewing and water changing. You won't enjoy this hobby when you realise the number of trips you have to make to the bathroom with a pail after all that water changing. Also take note of lighting space above the tank, its very frustrating to find that you can't mannoeuvre your net/ filter during maintenance. Lastly, if the rack is of incorrect height, you can't see your prized collection in comfort, it defeats the whole purpose of a rack.

[pepe2403]

Thanks for all the advices. Will look into all aspect before i embark on this project.

[celticfish]

Some say a Fiveplan S-size is sufficient some say 2 ft for a pair.
the short answer is YES and NO to both.

Apistos are cichlids.
And cichlid fish are, in general, "smart" and have "personalities".
Same for apistos.
So if you get a "compaitible" pair a Fiveplan S-size will work.
But when they start pre-spawning activities it might not be enough.
During pre-spawning the male may kill an unreceptive female.
God, being quite fair, turns this around when the eggs arrive, the female may kill the male now.
Thus you will hear some folks saying "1 ft is enough" and others, "my male killed the female in a 4 ft tank!"
This is why some people like a rack setup.
You can move fish around when breeding starts in one tank, etcetera.

The crucial point is deferring Apistos aggression towards one another.
Points to note (disclaimer - may not be exhuastive as I'm shooting from the hip1 ):

a) Break "line-of-sight" as much as possible (i.e. lots of moss or fern so the fish cannot see one another easily).
If they want to mate they WILL find one another.
And if one of them doesn't want to, it will be hard to find it.

b) Dither fish - to distract or spread aggression AND, hopefully, increase pair bonding.
But his is usually more to distract the female when she is guarding eggs/fry.

c) Numerous numbers of apistos (can be same or different species) - concept like above.
This allows you to "chuck" 100 pcs in a 3ft tank. But you will probably never be able to sex them correctly later on though!

The way Apisto is usually sold (in dictated pairs) is not very conducive to a potential breeder who buys them.
Just like discus fish pairs there are compatible pairs and incompatible pairs.
Personally, If I realize a pair is incompatible I'll lose interest...
Trying to breed the pair, IMHO, is futile and will usually result in fatality of one or the other.
One of the reason why I tend to buy two pairs of a particular species...

[benny]

The discussion for the fish rack has been split into a thread of it's own.

http://aquaticquotient.com/forum/sho...694#post307694

Cheers,