Beginner Dwarf Cichlids
Contents:
- An apisto dilemma
by swaldron/slip.net (Steven J. Waldron) (Thu, 20 Aug 1998)
- Good Apistogramma (was Blasphemy)
by swaldron/slip.net (Steven J. Waldron) (Sun, 23 Aug 1998)
- small fish
by Piabinha/aol.com (Mon, 21 Sep 1998)
- red tail Rio Xingu - breeding apistos.
by Marco Lacerda <marcolacerda/ax.apc.org> (Wed, 16 Dec 1998)
- apisto specialization
by Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise/bewellnet.com> (Tue, 19 Jan 1999)
by swaldron/slip.net (Steven J. Waldron)
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Start with A. cacatuoides-they won't dissapoint. Easy to acquire, easy to
breed and you can set up a few harems w/ a couple males in a 75: witness
sneaker males, displaying manly males (oh! the elaborate finnage of a good
cactuoides), a golden/black female guarding her shoal of fry, etc.- get the
full apisto experience for less than 20 bucks. Save the nijsseni until you
cut your teeth on something less rare and range-restricted... Buena suerte
- Steve Waldron
>Well, I'm almost there. I've decided to get one pair of apisto (or a male +
>harem, depending...) for a 75 gallon well planted aquarium, lots of caves,
>driftwood, etc. a few dithers etc. Lots of room and happy fish.
>
>My problem is that I've never actually seen a mature apisto except in books or
>on the internet. (!) It's kind of odd to be in a virtual fish hobby, but once
>I make a decision on which apisto to buy I'll stand the chance of being
>somewhat less hypothetical.
>
>So the question is, with so many attractive apistos, which one does one
>choose? The pics of A. nijsseni in the Linke/Staeke book are imposing, but on
>the internet I saw a great shot of an A. juruensis...
>
>I don't want to make this a beauty contest, and perhaps I should be looking at
>other factors such as courting behaviour etc. but I would like some help from
>those of you more familiar with the different species. Also, being very new to
>this discussion group, perhaps this is a tired old subject or once a raging
>debate that eventually grew boring. Whatever.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mike
>
>
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by swaldron/slip.net (Steven J. Waldron)
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
>Ok, I admit it I hate cacatoides. I just get annoyed that I signed on
>to learn more about apistos and it is just hit after hit on cacatoides.
>No wonder the Germans are ten years ahead. They try new and challenging
>fish, Americans are placated with the same old livestock round after
>round. I have bred cacatoides, orange form, it was not near as much of
>an accomplishment as breeding nijsenni or norberti or Dicrossus
>filamentosa. I just wish I would here more about other fish, the hobby
>is in a depressed anorexic state if only one species predominates our
>thought. Frankly, I would hate for the cacatoides to be the first fish a
>bystander conjures up in there mind as an apisto, how about "mamore
>blue".
>
Grasshopper: "You must walk before you can learn to run."
What's up your butt? A cacatuoides perhaps? Nijsseni, norberti, and
filamentosa are all very nice fish- but suggesting these to a novice apisto
keeper is like handing the keys of a lamborghini to a 16 year old? With the
right conditions/conditioning- nijsseni and norberti aren't particulalry
difficult fish ( I can't speak for filamentosum), but I believe a newbie
should cut their teeth on something more expendable and widely available.
Here's a short list of fool proof apistos that may not delight with the
flashy colors of the aforementioned but will satisfy nonetheless, filling
the neophyte with confidence and experience, so that someday they might
have the skills to crack the riddle of the Dicrossus or the
Taenicara...BTW, this ain't no beauty contest, we're talking ease of
husbandry and personality.."personality goes a long way..."
Apistogramma eunotus: Polygamous, tolerant of most water conditions and
have the cool habit of not making a lunch of older sibs/offspring. You can
have several generations raised simultaneously in your tank, much like a
Neolamprologus. Most A. eunotus have the rep. of being "grey mice", some
varieties are down right spectacular, rivaling any Apisto in the macmasteri
group. Polygamous
A. sp. "rotpunkt": Tolerant of a spectrum of H2O chemistry, males are big,
big-lipped and electric green, females are beautiful when tending fry.
Monogamous
A. borelli: Again, easy to breed and keep. Nice finnage on older males,
some are mostly blue and yellow, some are blue with red spots on the
opercula. if you like tiny cichlids- this is one of the smallest.
Polygamous
A. macmasteri: Big, beautiful (blue, yellow and red in males, orange/yellow
in brooding females) and easy to keep and breed under the right water
parameters. Monogamous
A steindachneri: The largest Apisto and one of my favorites (my first
apisto!): They will astound you (and overflow your rearing tanks) with
masses of fry. Tolerant of alkaline conditions . Monogamous (at least in my
tanks)
- Steve Waldron
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by Piabinha/aol.com
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
In a message dated 9/19/1998 4:42:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time, gomberg-at-wcf.com
writes:
<< Actually, I have raised some of the easier West Africans entirely on
naturally occurring plankton in a well planted tank plus mashed flake food.
No live food whatever other than the bugs in a real tank. Makes you
wonder, doesn't it? >>
i have said before that i have "raised" (actually the fish breed and raise
themselves quite happily without my lazy assistance) kribs, N. anomala and A.
Rotpunkt quite well in a diet of flake and pellet food only. i have not yet
started live food cultures, since i don't have the time. obviously the fry
were feeding off the infusoria in the tanks. they all grew perfectly well to
adult size. some of my babies turned out very healthy and perfectly formed.
the only difference that i noticed in my fish were the rotpunkt which grew
very slowly but that i attributed to the fact that they were raised in a
10-gallon tank, whereas the N. anomala and kribs were raised in larger tanks
(55 and 29-gallon respectively).
re: cliff's observations about conditions that make fry grow faster: i think i
read somewhere that fish that grow too fast also don't get to live very long,
and that fish that grew at a slower pace, lived longer lives. i think there
should be a happy medium between stunting their growth and overly speedy
growth.
tsuh yang chen, nyc
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by Marco Lacerda <marcolacerda/ax.apc.org>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Ken Laidlaw wrote:
>
> > Dear Jason,
> > I've bred it in similar water conditions, it is normally a medium to
> > easy fish.
>
> Hi Marco,
>
> What do you and others consider the difficult Apistos?
>
> Cheers,
> Ken.
Specially the blackwater fish.
Like: A. paucisquamis, A. elizabethae, A. mendezi, A. diplotaenia etc.
Cheers.
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by Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise/bewellnet.com>
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Gary,
>From the stories I've heard & what I've read in the literature it seems that the
black water species from the upper Rio Negro of Brazil give people the most
problems: A. elizabethae, A. gibbiceps, A. paucisquamis, A. mendezi, etc. Even in
ideal water conditions these fish don't consistently reproduce for most
aquarists.
Mike Wise
Frauley/Elson wrote:
> Hi,
> I'm working on an article about South American dwarfs (apisto and
> dicrossus) that are highly adapted to their specialized environments
> (aren't they all...). When I say 'adapted' I mean very adapted. In
> effect, what I want is list member feedback on apistos that are
> absolutely unforgiving about water parameters - the toughest apistos to
> breed and maintain. From my own experience, Turucui and Atahualpa were
> the toughest, but that was due to aggression.
> I'd like to see the broad picture of what people have experienced with
> unaggressive, 'delicate' apistos. What are the delicate apistos, in the
> opinions and from the experience of the many on this list?
> Thanks, Gary
>
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Apistogramma/Dwarf Cichlids
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