# Help me set up my fish room



## pmcbar (Dec 12, 2006)

I set up a small fish room and have fish on the way. I need suggestions, feedback and opinions on who to put in what tanks. Here is what I have on the way:
Pairs: 
Crenicichla regani Dwarf Pike 
Apistogramma steindachneri
Nannacara anomala
Nanacara aureocephalus

Trios:
Apistogramma nijsseni
Apistogramma agassizii
Apistogramma viejita

In addition I got a great deal on 6 Apistogramma hongsloi. Unfortunately (and that is why it was a great deal) they are either all 6 males or 5 males and one female.
I also will be getting more angels.
My goal is to breed as many of these as possible given the tank limitations I have.

Empty Tanks:
2- 20 HighÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s 24x12x16
1-29 30x12x18
1-30 36x12x16
1-45 35x12x24 
1-55 48x12x21

Current Tanks available
75 with Angels and a breeding Trio of Apistogramma cacatuoides (Orange Flash)
29 with a breeding Trio of Apistogramma cacatuoides (Orange Flash)
30 with a breeding trio of Apistogramma cacatuoides (Reds)

My thoughts:
1-20 Pair of Apistogramma steindachneri
1-20 Pair of Nannacara anomala
1-29 Apistogramma nijsseni trio
1-30 Apistogramma viejita trio
1-45 Angels/Dwarf Pike/ Nanacara aureocephalus
1-55 Angels and Apistogramma agassizii trio

I also have a 125 not set up for breeding that has a bunch of misc. apisto cacatuoides, bolivian rams angels and a breeding pair of fetivums. Yes I know I said not set up for breeding but sometimes the fish canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t help themselves. 
If the Honsloi turn out to be all males I was thinking of 3 in there and 3 in 75. If I do have a female I was thinking of putting them in the 75 and the other 4 in the 125.

Ok so weigh in and help me out, all opinions appreciated.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Obviously the pairs, or once you obtain pairs will need their own tanks, then you will need tanks for the cast offs and once you get rid of the cast offs those tanks can be used for fry grow outs. That's what I do atleast... Things are constantly moving around in the fish room so to try and set things in stone now will be too difficult.


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## pmcbar (Dec 12, 2006)

Thanks for the reply.
I do have a whole bunch of 10 gallon tanks to grow out the fry. 
I was more concered with the initial setup. What fish to put with what fish and compatablity issues. If I had enough tanks and room I would set everybody up in there own tank, unfortunately thats not an option right now.
So just looking for suggestion and opions on mixing and matching


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

My suggestion then would be to invest in some dividers. Weather it'd be egg crate or store bought... If you intention is to breed fish then mixing and matching will only due for a very temporary amount of time.


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## pmcbar (Dec 12, 2006)

Ok
So what fish would you put in what tank with dividers?


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I would split all your tanks that are 36" long or longer... You have 11 sets of fish and 9 tanks. Divide the 75 and the 55. Do not put similar looking species in the divided tanks.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

My experience is mainly with apistogramma.

My setups are pretty basic. Fine sand substrate, some branchy wood covered in java moss, Indian Almond leaves, a couple of small clay pots for females to spawn in, heater and sponge filter.

My tanks are 2'x1'x15", but I rarely fill the tanks higher than 11 or 12 inches. My first piece of advice, do not attempt trios in 2 foot or 30 inch tanks. If you are doing trios in a larger tank, you need to be able to seperate the females territories with a divider, and still face the possibility of removing the male. If you are going to setup tanks with tank dividers, definately set the tank up with two seperate territories.

Some apistogramma complexes are easier to breed and keep than others. If you haven't kept and bred apistos before, I highly suggest you start with good beginner species.

The agassizii super-complex is a bit different. There are so many location variants, some are easy to spawn, while others are much harder. Agassizii (along with Nijsseni) are very aggressive apistos. You may need to seperate the male from the female if she is not ready to spawn, and then you'll need to seperate the male from the female post spawning.

I have found Cacatuoides and some Regani complex species easiest to spawn and raise. I have had to remove the male Cacatuoides post spawning for his safety, but the Regani complex pairs appear to be much less aggressive than each other.

If you are succesfull in breeding your apistos, you will need 3 tanks per pair. One breeding tank that you can divide, a fry tank (I usually remove fry from the mother between 4 and 6 weeks of age) and a grow out tank for larger fry. It can take 6 months (and longer) to grow fry to a sale-able size.

Defiantely do *NOT* mix fry growouts from similar species.


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## DeadFishFloating (Oct 9, 2007)

Tank setup photos.



















If you do not have the tanks to seperate pairs, consider large fry nets as a short term solution.


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## pmcbar (Dec 12, 2006)

Thanks for the reply.
I do have 2 sets of caucatuoides trios that are breeding. Hence the beginner species. I have been growing the fry out in 10 gallon tanks and as they get bigger, I split them up in additional 10 gallon tanks. 
My current set of trios do well in the tank together, however much like you pointed out, in the original trio, I did have the female killed the male after the spawn. So it is something I watch and am prepared for.
I have been leaving the fry in the tank with mom for several weeks before I put them in there own tank. I also have plenty of driftwood, plants (mostly java fern) and flower pots for caves.
So I think I'm on the right track. I do really enjoy the behavior of apitso's and how they raise there fry, defend their territories etc. So that is why I thought I would expand the number of Apisto's I have and give some other dwarf's a try.

Anybody else have their two cents worth to throw in?


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## pmcbar (Dec 12, 2006)

My fish room or should I say my fish wall is basically set up.
Here are some pics








Overview. There is one 6' section, a 49" section and a 47" section









6' section
Top tank has yellow lab fry
Middle left is a breeding trio of Apistogramma Caucatoides Orange Flash. Middle right is a breeding trio of Apistogramma Caucatoides Triple Reds
Bottom left is a brand new trio of Apistogramma Viejita. Bottom right is a trio of Apistogramma Nijsseni









49" section
Middle left a Pair of Nanacara Anomala. Middle Right is a pair of Apistogramma steindachneri 
Bottom tank has a trio of Apistogramma "Fire Red" agassizii









All grow outs of my Caucatoides except one tank that has 6 Apistogramma hongsloi. At least 5 of which are males , still hoping one is a female so I can set a tank up with them.









My 125
Yellow Labs, Demasoni, Acei and Hongi

Still need to do some work on lights, add backgrounds to the tanks and install the sponge filters.
I'm using the extra HOB's I had running on my other tanks to filter them now while the sponge filters are seeding.
A fun way to spend a vacation


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *pmcbar*,

Cool fish room, i like the set up. How do you do water changes with the tanks on the ground?

Thanks,
Matt


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## pmcbar (Dec 12, 2006)

Thanks Matt.
I use a python. I start in the upper tanks and then move it quickly to the bottom tanks, it maintains the siphon, altough it isn't as fast in the lower tanks. I siphon the water into the floor drain


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## deaver (Apr 23, 2011)

cool thread


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