# which Apistogramma



## Martin in Holland (22 Sep 2014)

Hi all, I would like to keep some (1 male 2 or 3 female) Apistogramma's in mij 300 liter planted tank. Which one do you advice me to keep? it would be the first time that I keep those fish so it would be best to keep it at a calm and easy kind.


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## dw1305 (22 Sep 2014)

Hi all, 
Depends what you can get really. The traditional choice would be _Apistogramma cacatuoides, _easy to keep, colourful and pretty calm. The only downside would be a lot of the "Triple Red" stock is now in-bred and of dubious quality. 

Other options would be _Apistogramma agassizii, A macmasteri or A. hongsloi, _a little bit more demanding of slightly softer water, but all really nice fish.  If you like a less "red" fish _A. panduro_ or _A. baenschi _are possibilities. These are pair breeding (all the others are harem breeders).

Have a look here for some details: <http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Aquarium_care.php>

cheers Darrel


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## stu_ (22 Sep 2014)

Hi
What's your water like? Hardness/ph
I use to keep _Borellii_.They're pretty easy to keep as long as the water's not too hard.


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## Martin in Holland (23 Sep 2014)

Th water KH is 1...I have to dump some CaCO3 in it to be able to get a good pH reading...the GH is the same...low low very low...I keep my KH at 4 -5


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## dw1305 (23 Sep 2014)

Hi all,





Martin in China said:


> Th water KH is 1...I have to dump some CaCO3 in it to be able to get a good pH reading...the GH is the same...low low very low...I keep my KH at 4 -5


Excellent, any of those mentioned should do fine. 

cheers Darrel


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## Martin in Holland (24 Sep 2014)

Great, now I look for which one I can find here...I will take my time doing that, need to find a good home for the Colombian red fins first (they nip to much on the plants...and on me)


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## DrMike (12 Oct 2014)

The list is almost endless... in a tank that size you could go for a colony of the smaller species, or a trio of the larger ones. _Apistogramma borellii _- a personal favourite and a lovely peaceful fish, should thrive and are little gems, they're also often available which can be a real problem with Dwarf Cichlids - lack of availability. All the species mentioned by Darrel would be good choices, and I'd also add _A.trifasciata, A.hoignei, or A.viejita_ (which may not actually be _A.viejita_, but often sold as it). To be honest there are only a handful of Apistogrammas which are really aggressive (_A.sp. "Steel Blue"_) and/or delicate (_A.elizabethae_).

Then there are fish such as _Dicrossus filamentosa_ (or _D.maculatus_ if you can find it),_ Nannacara anomala_ (females are a bit feisty when guarding young), and the Ram_ M.ramrezi_.

If you're in China there will be a lot of man made fish available in the local tropical fish markets, especially for the Rams and _A.agasizii_, I don't know why but the Chinese market seems to particularly like mutated fish of this kind. My advice would be to avoid them like the plague, they are (like fancy Goldfish) usually sickly and short lived. The wild type may not look so attractive as juveniles, but the adults are far more attractive and hardy too, plus you're much more likely to have success in breeding them (one of the main attractions of Dwarf Cichlids).


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## Martin in Holland (12 Oct 2014)

I'm not fond of all those mutated fish at all. I like to see a more natural looking fish, this means I always have to watch out on which fish to buy.


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## DrMike (12 Oct 2014)

I agree, it's sad they're creeping in to the tropical hobby so much in recent years. In Dwarf Cichlids the worst offenders are Rams (lots of man-made forms on offer), but Apistos are almost a 'mutators' dream, they're naturally so genetically unstable with a tendency to individual markings and traits .... I think it's only a matter of time before we see "electric blue balloon _A.borellii_"  

Have you come across a German guy called Uwe Romer? He has written some good books on _Apistogrammas_, well worth looking up if you want to do some research first? It is worthwhile, they're such interesting little fish, and keeping them is quite addictive.


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