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I now have a trio of A. cacatuoides in my 30g along with a small group of kuhlis. I posted here to get suggestions for a schooler to add to this tank but not having experience with apistos I thought I'd ask the question here. Are there any fish I should avoid keeping with them? Do apistos bother other mid-dwelling fish? Threadfin rainbows were suggested...with their long fins be safe with the apistos?

Thanks

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

i dont see any issue with threadfins. i had some rams and they never noticed eachother. threads are really fast and like cichlids change directions fairly quickly. threads also stay slightly higher then mid water so i doubt they will even notice them.just keep in mind threads have very small mouths so they need small bits of flake. doesnt need to be mashed or powderd just small like the tip of a pen or so.usually with other top dwellers they just take the scraps expelled from the gills but doesnt sound like you have any others to do that.just need to remember them when feeding and you should be fine

Hi Theresa

I also bought a pair of these beautiful fish on the weekend. At least I think they're the same. LFS spelt them Cacateudies "Double Red", but I assume he spelt it wrong & they are the same fish??? They are currently sharing QT with:-

2 platys
1 bolivian butterfly
2 endlers

It has only been a couple of days, but no-one is picking on anyone and all is very peaceful in the tank. I guess this may change if they breed, but so far, I'm thrilled with how my A. cacatuoides are getting on with everyone. Pretty much like Sin Sytle says, if anything, they just don't seem to notice the other fish.

I hope you find yours as peaceful with whatever you chose.

Cheers
TW

Those are the same fish, 'double red' is one of the color varieties.

How large are yours? Mine are still a bit shy...they're ~1" long and I think feel overwhelmed bing essentially the only fish in a relatively large tank.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

That sounds fine to me.

I would stay away from any other bottom spawning cichlids though. As they may compete for spawning territories.

As for other fish, they usually won't bother any mid and upper level dwellers at all.



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There is always a bigger fish...

How large are yours?

They are fairly small. The female is quite slim & probably only 1 inch at maximum. The male is slim also, but longer. Maybe an inch & a half. They seem quite at home in a 20G QT, with lots of rocks & plants. Are yours the same colour type?

Cheers
TW

Hi Theresa

How are your Apisto's going. Thought I'd update behaviour I've noticed, now mine have settled in a little longer. The female is still peaceful & bothers no-one. The male bothers no-one, except for my Bolivian butterfly ram. The Bolivian is twice his size, but the apisto is definitely the boss & chases the ram whenever he is in his line of vision. When they move out of QT & into the community tank, it shouldn't be a problem, but for now the Bolivian is not in danger of being hurt, as it is all chase & no bite, but has to watch where she goes.

Cheers
TW

How are your Apisto's going

I ended up with more than expected because of a shipping problem by the breeder. I'm also seriously questioning the sexing-ability of him as well.

In my 30g I believe I have 2 males and 4 females. For the first few days there were some territory issues between the males-one is definitely more agressive than the other-but I think they've straightened that out. No problems at all amongst the females.

I have another trio in a 10g...I very much think the second 'female' in this group is a male. No territory/agression problems at all in this tank. I'm having a more difficult time getting these three to eat for some reason.

I posted a few pics of them here.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Young Apistos are a pain to sex. Get too many males and there'll be trouble. I bought a trio only to find that one of the "females" was a male. I took him back and traded for what looked like the last female in the store, but now it's looking a little like a male too.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Hi Theresa

Any pairing up yet? BTW, what schooling fish did you end up going with?

Cheers
TW