# apistogramma viejita redneck



## Barbara Turner (7 Mar 2019)

Hi
My Lfs has a lovely pair of apistogramma viejita red neck,  I'm just trying to talk myself out of buying them. At the moment I have dwarf rainbow fish, Cardinal tetras, Otos, pygmy Cory's  a male beta and cherry shrimps. The Beta keeps the cherry shrimp population in check.

Is it a bad idea?


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## Kalum (7 Mar 2019)

i'd say the betta is the odd one out and not suited to be in a community setup and certainly not with Apistos


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## sparkyweasel (7 Mar 2019)

That sounds like the perfect excuse for getting another tank. 
I love Apistos, but I wouldn't trust them with the Betta, and not too sure about with the shrimps, they might get too much inquisitive attention even though they're a bit big to eat.


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## dw1305 (7 Mar 2019)

Hi all,
I like these. Relatively easy to keep and very nice fish.





Barbara Turner said:


> apistogramma viejita red neck


You probably already know this, but they are a <"colour selected form of _Apistogramma macmasteri">.  _They benefit from some live food and, unless your water is really hard, they may well breed successfully.

Have a look at <"Dwarf Cichlids - _Apistogramma macmasteri_">.

The <"real _A. viejita"> _has recently been re-introduced to the UK, but is a much rarer and less colourful fish. 





Barbara Turner said:


> The Betta keeps the cherry shrimp population in check.


Your _Apistogramma_ should do that <"very sucessfully">.


Kalum said:


> i'd say the betta is the odd one out and not suited to be in a community setup and certainly not with Apistos


I'd agree with that as well.

cheers Darrel


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## Barbara Turner (7 Mar 2019)

I got given the Beta as a birthday present, I was too soft to take him back and put him back  into a 10cm cube tank , I'm sure he does eat a few baby cherries but I've never seen him do so.  The population is still increasing. He comes up to be hand fed frozen bloodworm so would be hard to get rid of now. 



 




dw1305 said:


> The <"real _A. viejita"> _has recently been re-introduced to the UK, but is a much rarer and less colourful fish



I suspected they were really  Apistogramma macmasteri, do you know how much you should expect to pay for a pair?

 Will the macmasteri adults eat the adult cherry shrimps or just have fun hunting for the babies?


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## mort (7 Mar 2019)

Barbara Turner said:


> I suspected they were really  Apistogramma macmasteri, do you know how much you should expect to pay for a pair?
> 
> Will the macmasteri adults eat the adult cherry shrimps or just have fun hunting for the babies?



For A macmasteri you should expect to pay £20 and upwards for a pair, for the viejita variant that normally rises a little to £25-30 but have also seen them around £20 for young fish. As with anything though price doesn't always equate to the quality on offer. If you can find a specialist you might be able to get them that aren't as massed produced.

Cherry shrimp will likely be on the menu at any side.


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## zozo (7 Mar 2019)

Barbara Turner said:


> apistogramma viejita red neck



What's next the Apistogramma KKK.. 

Sorry, we shouldn't make political jokes..  i forgot


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## dw1305 (7 Mar 2019)

Hi all,





Barbara Turner said:


> Will the macmasteri adults eat the adult cherry shrimps or just have fun hunting for the babies?


I had _A. cacatuoides, _but they ate all sizes. I fed mine a lot of live food, and they were in a tank with _Asellus (_which they hunted)_, _but I've read a report that suggests _Macrobrachium_ shrimps are a major food item in <"their natural habit">. 





Barbara Turner said:


> do you know how much you should expect to pay for a pair?


About @mort's suggestion. 

They are  reasonably quick growing, so if you can find some-one selling them locally six fry would be worth acquiring, you should be able to sell any spares on once they are sexable. 

If you don't mind a bit of a drive <"Peter Clarke"> is in Chesterfield, and he will have a wide range of _Apistogramma_ at reasonable prices. His business is "Apisto Aquatics".

cheers Darrel


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## alto (7 Mar 2019)

If you’ve a pair like that in the photo, and there aren’t many apisto’s to be had locally, you can easily expect the price asked to be twice what’s been mentioned by other posters ... a local shop sells (often misidentified) Apistogramma “pairs” for ridiculous sums
(but having also seen some fish farm list prices, those exorbitant fees begin long before the local shop gets them in)

I might try a plakat Betta (HMPK) with some mild mannered dwarf cichlids (if I had another tank to move whomever to) but not your swim/agility-challenged boy

Darrel’s suggestion of beginning with a group of 6 juveniles is far more likely to result in a longterm successful “pair” - note that many Apistogramma are harem or group spawners rather than “pair forming”, or may separate soon after spawning (& need a larger tank for separate M/F territories)

Definitely research any considered species before buying (Apistogramma.com usually has loads of anecdotal information, in addition to “recommendations”)


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## Barbara Turner (8 Mar 2019)

dw1305 said:


> If you don't mind a bit of a drive <"Peter Clarke"> is in Chesterfield, and he will have a wide range of _Apistogramma_ at reasonable prices. His business is "Apisto Aquatics".


Thanks for the link, closest place i dound was glasgow, and I don't like posting fish. 

I need to spend some time reading up about _Apistogramma macmasteri_

Only thing that worries me so far his that my water is reasonaly hard. Here's the data from seven trent.. 

*Analysis* *Typical Value* *UK/EU Limit* *Units*
Hardness Level -  Hard 
Hardness Clark 17.79 No standard applies Degrees Clark
Hardness French 25.42 No standard applies French Degrees



mort said:


> £20 and upwards for a pair, for the viejita variant that normally rises a little to £25-30 but have also seen them around £20 for young fish.


They were £50 for the pair so sound like they were on the expensive side.  but there were very pretty fish, with some lovely colours. It was a week ago so no idea if they have sold. 




alto said:


> I might try a plakat Betta (HMPK) with some mild mannered dwarf cichlids (if I had another tank to move whomever to) but not your swim/agility-challenged boy



I would be very surprised if  my beta attacked the dwarf chilids, I guess the biggest risk is that they will decide to spend there entire life hiding. I really want to set up a second monster paladium tank, there are a few ideas i want to try out so the last thing i want is fish that need a seperate tank.


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## alto (8 Mar 2019)

Barbara Turner said:


> I would be very surprised if my beta attacked the dwarf chilids, I guess the biggest risk is that they will decide to spend there entire life hiding. I really want to set up a second monster paladium tank, there are a few ideas i want to try out so the last thing i want is fish that need a seperate tank.


Sorry for the confusion but quite the reverse, the Apistogramma will seemingly ignore the noisome Betta until the moment they decide they’re done ... if Betta is lucky (or not too belligerent) he may just end up hiding out somewhere rather than with fins completely tattered or missing


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## Kalum (8 Mar 2019)

Barbara Turner said:


> I would be very surprised if  my beta attacked the dwarf chilids, I guess the biggest risk is that they will decide to spend there entire life hiding. I really want to set up a second monster paladium tank, there are a few ideas i want to try out so the last thing i want is fish that need a seperate tank.



The biggest risk is that you end up with dead fish because one has killed the other (more than likely your betta in this case). A HMPK would have more of a chance of defending itself due to it's smaller fins but might also be the aggressor (my current HMPK will attack anything in sight no matter the size, including flaring at my hand during water changes)

Up to you if you place them together but it's not a sensible 'experiment' in my opinion


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## dw1305 (8 Mar 2019)

Hi all, 





Barbara Turner said:


> I would be very surprised if my beta attacked the dwarf chilids,


What @alto says, thy are quite mellow, but they are still cichlids. 





Barbara Turner said:


> I need to spend some time reading up about _Apistogramma macmasteri_





Barbara Turner said:


> Only thing that worries me so far his that my water is reasonaly hard.


Too hard for successful breeding. 

cheers Darrel


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## Barbara Turner (8 Mar 2019)

dw1305 said:


> Too hard for successful breeding.



I really don't fancy going down the RO water route again, even if I still do have the filter. Filtering, heating and transporting 200L of water every week is too much like hardwork.

The consens seems to be that it's a bad idea.  Shame as I could do with some more intelligent fish.


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## Conort2 (9 Mar 2019)

Barbara Turner said:


> I really don't fancy going down the RO water route again, even if I still do have the filter. Filtering, heating and transporting 200L of water every week is too much like hardwork.
> 
> The consens seems to be that it's a bad idea.  Shame as I could do with some more intelligent fish.


You're going to struggle with the Betta in there o find another personable fish, I would suggest honey gourami but think that in the long term they'll have issues with your Betta.

You done the right thing not choosing the apistos, plus 50quid for a pair of macmasteri is an absolute rip off.

Cheers

Conor


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