# 48 Gallon tank centered around dwarf cichlids



## KajukiKing (Dec 15, 2008)

I have a 48 Gallon tank that is heavily planted. I plan on buying dwarf cichlids for this tank along with a few others. I am wondering if the apistogramma's are going to create hybrids? Also if these combo of fish will get along

Apistogramma cacatuoides Triple Red 1 pair
Apistogramma borelli Opal red face 1 pair
Ivanacara adoketa 1 pair
angle fish 1
Some sort of Rams ( I hear these will not mix with the apisto's, is this true
1 pleco
1 red tail black shark

Thanks in advance.


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## DCguy (Mar 9, 2008)

You will not have to worry about hybrids in this tank. In fact, I will be surprised if you have much for successful spawning. In my opinion you are trying to fit in too many species to have successful reproduction. The cacatuoides and borellii would do fine together. However, when you add the others you start to get crowded. In addition, the angel fish is likely to become a problem as it will get much larger than the other fish. I also avoid any "sharks" as they can be aggressive and territorial.

If you are just looking for a community tank with colorful fish you might be ok with this set up. In that case be sure to add all the fish at once to avoid having fish stake out territories and then having new additions. Finally, rams and apistos will normally do fine together in a proper environment.

DC


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

I would definitely leave out the red tailed shark and make sure your pleco is a bristlenose pleco and not a common pleco.


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## KajukiKing (Dec 15, 2008)

Would if I just keep just the two apisto pairs
change the angle to a pearl gourami
get rid of the rams and shark and get 4 bosmani rainbows
and the plec will be a bristlenose or vampire or bulldog
maybe a synodontis species or a small school of cories?

I want the tank to be centered around the apistos


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *KajukiKing*,

I think *DCguy* & *MidNightCowBoy* offer some good advice. You have to remember so many dwarf cichlids would be competing for the same territories.

A note on the apsitos. In the wild they are harem breeders, one male guarding a territory, in which you may find several females guarding smaller territories. I think it may be a good idea to start off with one species of apisto in the tank, one male and three females. My choice would be the A. cacatuoides Triple Red, as they are much hardier than most apistos and can handle a wide vatiety of water parameters.

This will enable you to get a feel for how dwarf SA cichlids behave and interact. Once you have had a couple of succesfull spawnings you should have a better idea how dwarf SA cichlids behave and what other cichlids you may be able to introduce to the tank.

As for tank mates, well if your keeping dwarf SA cichlids, it would make sense to add SA dwarf species of fish, for the obvious reason, that they are less likely to pose any threat to your spawning cichlids and thier fry.

Good catfish to keep would a species of otocinclus catfish, a small algea eating catfish. There are two dwarf corydoras species commonly available, Corydoras habrosus & Corydoras pygmaeus.

Many tetra species are very good predators when it comes to picking off dwarf cichlid fry once they reach thr free swimming stage and the parents find it harder to keep fry together in a small school. Another small dither fish native to the Amazon that does well with dwarf cichlids are Pencilfish. Not all Pencilfish are appropriate tankmates, as Golden Pencilfish will readily hunt young. However species such as Nannostomus marginatus & Nannostomus mortenthaleri are a little smaller and are easier for dwarf cichlids to keep at bay. Also hatchetfish are a great dither fish, they stay very close to the surface, and would be of little threat to spawning substrate dwellers. There are a few varieties from the smaller Marbled hatchetfish, to the large Spotted Silver hatchetfish.


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## Fishguy28 (Feb 5, 2007)

Why hasn't anyone given advice on the Ivanacara? It is my understanding that it is best to keep only a pair in a well planted tank with an almost absurd amount of wood and caves in a tank no less than 30 gallons. I was told that they are quite aggressive and dithers should be something cheap like zebra danios because they will need to be replaced often. For such a small fish the just don't sound fit for a community tank.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

G'day *Fishguy28*,



> Why hasn't anyone given advice on the Ivanacara?


Possibly becuase very few of us have kept this species, and without persoanl experience you can only offer advice that you've read.


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## Fishguy28 (Feb 5, 2007)

DeadFishFloating said:


> G'day *Fishguy28*,
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You're probably right. It's the alleged aggression and lack of a good information source(the conditions for proper keeping and breeding seems for the moment to be a closely guarded secret) that has unfortunately steered me and probably others away from these fish not to mention the price tag that comes with them.


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