best dward cichlid

**TyroneGenade** · 22nd Jul 2009, 16:57

Hello,

I am establishing a planted tank. It is currently stocked with a few juvenile kilies (Aphyosemion australe and marginatum), some shrimp and more snails than I care for (but they are proving handy in keeping algae under control while I search for Otos). I would like to add some personality to the tank.

A friend imports Apistogramma on a monthly basis. The tank is set at 24 deg C and don't intend to raise it as this is the best for the killies. What would be a good Apisto or other dwarf to add which will thrive at this temperature and not grow large enough to threaten shrimp or smaller fish.

I plan on adding about 12 Otos and some SAEs. The SAEs are biggish so the cichlid suggestion shouldn't be to skittish.

Any suggestions? I'm partial to borellii but my friend currently has some maciliensis.

thanks

**Jitticus** · 23rd Jul 2009, 02:08

I'm not experienced enough yet, but as far as I can tell, Apistos can tolerate such temperatures. Since you have shrimps. won't the apistos snack on them?

Perhaps some Laetecara curviceps? A friend of mine keeps his in an airconditioned room and they are thriving.

**FishSoup** · 23rd Jul 2009, 02:26

24 degrees is just about perfect for apistos. As Jitticus mentioned though, smaller shrimps will probably be eaten by Apistogrammas. Amano/yamato shrimp (Caridina japonica) however will survive just fine with apistos.

What will the pH of your tank be? Most apistos survive better in soft, acidic water; however for many species this is more of an issue if you plan to breed your dwarfs. Slight acidity or neutral pH should allow most species to survive just fine, and some very wide-ranging species (such as Ap. agassizii) can even tolerate slightly alkaline water.

**TyroneGenade** · 23rd Jul 2009, 17:16

Hello,

Thanks for the replies.

The tank will be soft and acidic. This is just the way it goes for me... I have very soft tap water.

I would be looking to add small Apisto species. There are some maciliensis available and they are quite small, else the borellii idea. I had considered Laetecara curviceps but had had them before and they are surely big enough to eat shrimps!

My shrimps get quite big. Big females reach about 3-4 cm. Males about 2 and seem to tough it out very well in a big planted tank.

Thanks for the advice.

**TyroneGenade** · 25th Jul 2009, 22:39

Has anyone on this forum been able to keep shrimp and dwarf cichlids together successfully? That is, the shrimp were still able to multiply?

**genes** · 26th Jul 2009, 15:11

How small are your juvenile killies? My fully grown A. cacatuoides used to prey on my boraras brigittae at night. Finished my school of brigittae within a week. So i would not recommend apistos. Try Taeniacara candidi instead. However, if you are buying a young pair of apistos, it may be feasible before they grow large enough to feed on your killi fries.

**doppelbanddwarf** · 26th Jul 2009, 17:00

I've had Apisto males eating fully grown endlers too.

**EvolutionZ** · 26th Jul 2009, 20:43

my old adult agasizzi 'netz' used to kill cories just for fun..

**Zenislev** · 26th Jul 2009, 22:02

They swallow shrimps whole. I've seen my Hongsloi and German rams doing that.

**TyroneGenade** · 26th Jul 2009, 23:20

Hello,

Yes, I am leaning towards Taeniacara candidi if I can get it. Gary Elson suggested borellii which would have been my first pick in any case. Locally, the only shrimp available are what are being called "Rainbow Caridina" (but which my source says are not Malayan shrimp so I am a bit confused...) and Cherry shrimp. What I really want are RCS which means I will have to go find them myself somewhere and get someone to bring them back in their carry on luggage or something... This is unless I can find a fish exporter who handles normal aquarium fish and would be prepared to sneak a few shrimp into a bag of Boraras maculatus (I haven't seen these in South Africa for about 20 years!) or something. In the mean time my Caridina africana are tough enough to stick it out with the killies and probably the Taeniacara candidi/Apisto borellii.

I have Aphyosemion australe and marginatum in my tank. They max out at about 4-5 cm. Very pretty. I've seen hongsloi and cacatuoides and know how BIG they are. I wouldn't keep them with shrimp but the killies should tough it out. I had australe in with Ctenopoma ansorgei without incident---though the ansorgei weren't nearly as aggressive as the literature made them out to be. They did eat my platies though.

Thanks for the advice.

**exotic_idiot** · 28th Jul 2009, 16:22

Hi tyrone, saw your advice at killies's thread.. Thanks a lot for the information..
Regarding the best dwarf cichlid, i can say there's no such thing as best? If you want easy to look after species, i would suggest keeping apistogramma trifasciata... If you wanted to com them together with your killies, provide enough hideout or plenty of plants for cover...

Have fun keeping apisto... And do provide a cave for them to spawn too...
Cheers,
Ben