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I'm going to add at least a pair of A. cacatuoides to my 30g which currently has a school of 15 neons and 4 kuhlii loaches. How are they best kept: pairs, groups?

The tank is what I consider heavily planted with anubias, has a dark substrate, and four good-sized pieces of driftwood. Will that suffice or should I look into adding some sort of caves, such as flower pots?

Thanks

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

hi theresa
heavily planted is the key to everything if your tank is planted these guys will love ya. they can be kept in pairs or harems. this really depends on how much fry you wanna see. in a harem setting they can even time their spawns to come all at the same time. as you can imagin this will leave you with your fair share of fry to take care of heheh.

as for caves the plants and driftwood should be enough. try to make a cave out of the wood by piling it or if its shaped right it will do on its own. if they dont take to it you can place a pot in there and put the wood on top to hide it. personally dont like the look of pots but if it doesnt bother ya they will work. deffinetly not required.

im no expert on loaches but if i remember right they wont hesitate to eat eggs. not sure if kuhliis are the same size and aggression as my Yoyo loaches, but if they are....i cant see apistos keeping them off. just a foot note you might want to keep in mind. i dont see any issue between adults though and i doubt wigglers would be predated.

hope this helped, the web is also crammed with info. ive read site after site on them for myself. just search their scientific name and you should get enough reading material to last ya months

best of luck. keep me updated.

I agree. But, in a 30 gal, I don't know if I would go with more than one pair. As if they spawn, the males may fight over territories. Other than that, I think they will be a fine addition to your tank.

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There is always a bigger fish...

nah i wouldnt go with more then one male either. 1 male and 3 females would be fine or just a pair. not saying it couldnt work concidering all the plant life, its just not worth the headache to find out it doesnt.

Thanks...I've been doing a lot of reading and decided to go with 1M/2F, really looking forward to getting them

I do have some pots but I'm going to play with the wood and see if I can make a cave with it, I don't suppose it needs to be too large

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

The trio is supposed to be shipped on Tuesday, so I decided to basically re-do the tank. I added an additional piece of wood from another tank, and rearranged all of it to create a number of caves. I did put in a pot just in case..it's hiding behind some wood and isn't too visible from the front of the tank.



Next question: should the pot(s) be placed horizontal, like in this picture, or vertical? Vertical wouldn't be a problem...I have the bottom hole enlarged and a cut-out along what would be the top of the pot.



Thanks again

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Either way is fine. I have spawned them with the pot both ways. I have gotten more spawns in them on their side like you have it there. And on its side, you will be able to see the eggs and wrigglers. Where as when it is upright, you won't see them, or at least not as easily.

BTW, nice looking set up. I really like the mixture of black and white substrate. Looks very nice.

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There is always a bigger fish...

very nicely done i dont see any apparent issues you should worry about. well aside from what your gona do with all the fry hehehe. looks like a great setup