FishProfiles.com Message Forums

i would like to breed apistogramma of various species and have a spare 2' tank lying around whic i have been using for this and that. my water is hard and alkaline so i usually treat with blackwater solution and peat to soften it up. i was thinking of patritioning the tank into 2 1' cubes with a small internal filter in each some bogwood and minimal substrate and keep a breeding pair in each side. it also crossed my mind to keep a dwarf clown plec in there to keep it clean and makeit more internesting. Any sugestions or criticisms?

I'd suggest that 1ft is too small for a pair, particularly when a male wants to breed. Also, it doesn't give you much water to stabilise the pH etc especially as you plan on changing the parameters considerably. I'd recommend a single pair in the 2ft'er. Assuming the dwarf pleco doesn't get more than about 4-5 inches (I wouldn't know cos we have a VERY limited range of plecos avail here in OZ) it would be good with the apistos and maybe a small school of small tetras.

I've found fewer apistos in a larger tank are more interesting and much happier than more apistos in smaller or divided tanks. Good luck, apistos are great fish. What species are you thinking of getting?

Dean