# dwarf cichlids with shrimp



## norfolkdiscus (8 Jun 2011)

can any body help, i have a 5 foot tank that is fully planted and need advise on dwarf cichlids. i need to know if any
members have kept dwarf ciclids with shrimps and the shrimp numbers have not declined and they still get to breed
as i would like to keep cichlids and shrimps.

any info would be of great help.


----------



## dw1305 (8 Jun 2011)

Hi all,
I've kept_ Apistogramma cacatuoides_ with Red Cherry Shrimps, and even in a very heavily planted tank it is difficult to maintain shrimp numbers. The problem is that the fish will pick of the smaller shrimps and any swimming shrimps, which means that over time you lose all your male shrimps, as these are both smaller and more active than the females.
When I first had shrimps I kept RCS with _A. borellii_, and these took much longer to exterminate the shrimps. 

I now use my spare cherry shrimps as _Apistogramma_ feed, by putting a large wodge of moss in the shrimp tank, and then 1 or 2 days later adding it to the cichlids. 

Amano Shrimps may well be all right, as they are a bit bigger.

cheers Darrel


----------



## nayr88 (8 Jun 2011)

im getting okai with my Apisto caca's and Amano shrimp, but cheap cherries would be the most out there i would go with adding any other shrimp to the tank. 

if they where ok with them id add a better quality cherry shrimp....but that would be it.

in a dense 5 footer id say you should be okai, i just wouldnt go out and buy a ton of crs or super suppppper red cherries.

my sisters boyfriends family own a 3foot with all sorts of fish that consume cherries and im not lieinng when i say they started with around 10 cherries and now have around 150 lol...so it can be done....keep the appistos well fed and dont go crazy with stocking.


----------



## norfolkdiscus (8 Jun 2011)

thanks darrel.
i was kinda thinking apistogramma agazzi or smaller if there any. but your comments have been a geat help.


----------



## norfolkdiscus (8 Jun 2011)

have been looking on www.dwarfcichlid.com and found some good info, but trying to find some of the cichlids in the uk will be hard i think.


----------



## dw1305 (8 Jun 2011)

Hi all,
If you can find them I'd recommend either _A. borellii or A. trifasciata/A. erythura_ as small _Apistogramma_ species. None of them need very acid water, and the males are lovely colours once they've coloured up. 

With _A. borellii_ you could easily keep several males and a large number of females in your tank <http://dwarfcichlid.com/Apistogramma_borellii.php>. I'd recommend ApistoBob's web pages as well to any dwarf cichlid keeper, the "Aquarium Care" pages are very useful. I've corresponded with Bob for a long time and he is very knowledgeable. You could try "Apistogramma Forums" and the "British Cichlid Association" forums as well. 

With _A. trifasciata_ the males are a lot more aggressive, and I've never kept _A. erythrura_ (formerly _A. trifasciata_ "Mamore"). 

I only stopped keeping them because I had real trouble getting rid of the fry (I won't post), if you want a cichlid to provide some pin money I'd go with any of the red forms of _A. hongsloi, A. macmasteri, A. agassizii or A. cacatuoides_. 
_A. agassizii_ may be all right with shrimps, the others all have big mouths.

Out of these _A. cacatuoides_ is fine in any water that isn't hard, but the others all need softer water to breed successfully.

I haven't seen them, but apparently there are fish of the red tailed form of _A. erythrura_ about, and it is a cracker. <http://apisto.sites.no/fish.aspx?fishIndexID=2411&gruppeID=1>.

cheers Darrel


----------



## norfolkdiscus (8 Jun 2011)

any peeps got any ideas on where would the best place be to get dwarf cichlids not to far from norfolk


----------

