# Cichlids for Ten Gallon Tank



## SchizotypalVamp (Jun 12, 2008)

Hi,

I maintain a list of things that can be stocked in a ten gallon tank on another forum. However, there were a couple things I realized I never sorted out, and one of those was the apistogrammas. Here are the fish I have on the list:

*Cichlids*
Shelldwellers
Apistogramma borelli
Nijssen's Dwarf Cichlid** (Apistogramma nijssen)
Apistogramma wapasina
Checkerboard Cichlid(Dicrossus filamentous)

**debated
I realized I had never gotten confirmation that the Apistos were appropriate for stocking in a ten gallon. I read the post on this forum about their care, and think I will be linking it under the cichlids section in my list. However, would one/a pair of dwarf cichlids thrive in that tank size? Are there any others you would recommend? Are there any other cichlids in general that could go here and be happy? Cichlids are not my area of expertise. Thank you for your reponses. It's a bit late so I apologize for any incoherence.

I also just found your cookie-cutter setups, but I'm also a bit confused, because I would never add anything over 3 inches to a 10 gallon. Is the max size of those cichlids rare? I believe this was the reason I didn't put them on there in the first place, size.


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## naegling23 (Jan 4, 2008)

The key to dwarfs in a 10gal is to keep it heavily planted so they can "hide"

I would think 1 pair of most apisto species would be ok in a 10 gallon with proper care. Iniridae with their smaller size should be a good one. Blue rams can also work, but are very tricky since they are sensitive to water conditions which are harder to control in a small tank.


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## DCguy (Mar 9, 2008)

I think that naegling has it correct. The key to keeping dwarf cichlids in a small tank is habitat. I have seen densely planted 10 gallon tanks provide better environments than sparsely decorated larger tanks. In fact, I have seen big problems with just a pair of apistos in a large tank that has little or no habitat. The key is for the target fish to be able to find places to inhabit that are out of sight from the more dominate fish.

I am concerned that the audience you are talking to with you site will not be experienced hobbyists that understand aquascaping complexity. It is always hard for new dwarf cichlid fans to understand that a complex environment will actually give them better viewing opportunities than a sparsely decorated tank.

Here is a page on creating good habitat for dwarf cichlids. Note that the photos on this page are of tanks that are smaller than 10 gallons.
www.dwarfcichlid.com/Good_habitat.php

DC


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## DirtyBlackSocks (Jan 24, 2008)

Technically you can keep a single apisto specimin in as little as 5 gallons and it will survive just fine - if you want pairs in a 10 gallon, like everyone already said, you need a lot of line of sight breaks in case the male decides to beat on the female or vice versa - some of the more aggressive guys such as pandurini or njiseni might not be the best choice - but most are just fine.


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## SchizotypalVamp (Jun 12, 2008)

I have some fish marked as "debated" and will put a note underneath about them. The people who I share the list with on the forum know to do their research before they buy, which is also part of the reason why I deliberately don't list the needs of each fish(the other is that I haven't kept many of these fish and so with good research and asking experienced keepers a person can be just as informed as I am but maybe come to different conclusions, which is better than me handing out wrong information) and the people who don't research fish are not likely to see it. However, you do have a point and I meant to put a disclaimer on the top (DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH), so I'll ask a mod to edit that for me.

Thank you for the information so far!


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