# cockatoo cichlid tank setup



## labido27 (Apr 11, 2009)

I am going setup a cockatoo,Apistopgramma cacatuoides, drawf cichlid aquarium. Checkout my other post about Firemouths or Apistos for more info. I have a 15 gallon with baby-juvenile convicts which I will put in my 30 gallon tank. I need to re scape the 15 gallon for the apistos though. I know they need caves, so what is the best type of caves? There will be fine sand in the tank. And probably plastic plants. Is there any other requirements they need specifically? I have done research on them but any tips would be appreciated. 
Now to tell them apart the males are more colorful right and they have extensions on their dorsal fins. Not to mention they are bigger. Are there any other tips to help me identify them? If I put the apistos in the 15 gallon I will get 3 females and 1 male. 
I also have the option though of re aquascaping my 30 gallon and turning that into the apistos tank. The convicts will stay in their tank if I do this option. Any suggestions on which tank would be better?
the 30 gallon has 3 adult convicts which I will sell to my LFS, probably for both of these options since adult convicts wont go over well with the younger ones.


----------



## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

I'm going to move this over into the South American forum as Apistos are SA. You should get more replies over there!


----------



## labido27 (Apr 11, 2009)

Sorry, I originally put the post there because it had firemouths in it, I was deciding on either Firemouths or apistos. 
Does anyone even own cockatoo cichlids here? it seems these forums are not very alive right now....
Does anyone here have a setup of these cichlids and would be willing to tell me about it? so I can best setup my tank for these fish? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


----------



## OllieNZ (Apr 18, 2014)

If you check a couple of posts down you see my post with a video of my pair's first spawn. I did have a big post typed up but my dang phone deleted it before I could post. I'll get on the comp tomorrow and give you a decent reply.


----------



## labido27 (Apr 11, 2009)

ok thanks so much. I did see your post about a spawn of apistos, congratulations on that.


----------



## labido27 (Apr 11, 2009)

I think what I am going to do is use the 30 gallon for my apistos. I will trade in the 3 convicts in the tank at my lfs.


----------



## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Here's some old posts to wade through...

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/...p?nomobile=1&f=50&t=319506&ss=6168j5573544j13


----------



## OllieNZ (Apr 18, 2014)

Hi,
Sorry its taken so long but here goes....
When looking at getting my pair a did a load of research so here's a few things I learnt that should help.
Females will typically claim 12"square for their territory so only 2 females in a 24x12" footprint tank males will roam the whole tank so one male per tank even in larger tanks more than one male can be hit or miss.
The more complex the environment the easier things will be so lots of plants, wood, rocks and leaf litter (especially good for the babies) you don't have to use live plants if you don't want to but imo the benefits of live plants out weigh any hassles.
I'm using a coco hut for a cave but anything will do you'll need at least one cave per female I've intentionally only provided one cave so I can observe breeding etc. Facing the cave to the rear/end of the tank so it's not facing the main busyness of the tank will help make the female feel more secure when she is gaurding eggs/fry 
They also need soft water.
Hope this helps.


----------



## MonteSS (Dec 8, 2008)

Male firemouths are bullies and need a 4' tank.

As mentioned 1m and 2f are max for a 15g.

The small cichlid stones are a good size cave.

Sand substrate. Plastic plants are fine. Create a thick jungle of them.

There are many color strains of Cacs. I found the Orange Flash the least aggresive.


----------

