These pencilfish are interesting (if available)
N eques
For Apistogramma species, I’d do some research on Apistogramma.com
Just place “panduro” etc into the search box & choose “title” as a search limit ... else you’ll get every post from anyone that links fish they’ve bred/kept in your search results - which can net you some interesting reading but is not very efficient
Care needs to be taken so that the Apisto’s obtain sufficient food ... I tried keeping the
green neon horde with S
vaillanti & finally moved them to another tank with S
osphromenoides (which are far faster eaters)
If you source tank bred fish, they may already be completely acclimated & breeding in harder more alkaline water
(eg, there are some major discus breeders producing in hard alkaline water) - some of the dwarf cichlids (& apistogramma species) are far more tolerant of harder, alkaline water than others
If you lack a quarantine tank, I’d tend to add all of one species in one go, eg, 20 green neons from one shop rather than 2 lots of 10 - even if not “diseased”, fish may have very different “normal flora” & one group or both, may end up indisposed
Always watch fish for awhile (at shop) to ensure they’re active & normal respiration, no body blemishes, straight back, convex belly, clear fins etc
Choosing small juvenile fish also allows more numbers to be added in one go, without overloading bioload - active fast growing plants are quite effective at subsidizing fish additions; more frequent water changes will also limit any bio-challenges
Do a water change just prior to adding new fish, follow up with more frequent water changes - the best “medicine” for indisposed fish is loads of clean water
(Though if you see any ich spots that’s like a national disaster & calls for immediate intervention
)
Remember when adding shop fish to a planted aquarium, keep lights low, CO2 lower for a couple days - most fish need to adapt to the relatively higher CO2 levels ...
If you run very high flow, fish especially from quiet waters, may struggle
Seriously Fish is an excelllent resource as natural habitat information is often included
Note the best way to “pair apisto’s” (assuming they are pair bonding rather than just fleeting partners) is beginning with a group of juveniles (but this can be difficult to source, contact any local clubs, breed associations)
There are a couple ukaps planted tank journals with awesome A bitaeniata Shishita
Martin & TomC apisto site is fanatastic